Canterberry Poker League · Tournament #13
Seven of Thirteen for Mazza
A new league record for knockouts in a night — and the man he beat heads-up did not make a single one.
Thirteen players had to be eliminated, and Rick Mazza personally handled seven of them — more than anyone has managed in a single Canterberry Poker League tournament. He played four and a half hours, closed it in thirteen minutes and eight seconds heads-up, and took $135.
It is his second league win, eleven months after his first, and the two could hardly look less alike: in September he won an eight-man table with three knockouts, and here he took out more than half a field of fourteen.
The man across from him at the end got there by the exact opposite route. Mike McEvoy reached the final two without a single knockout and took $75. In January he made six and finished fourth; here he made none and finished second, which is as neat a demonstration as this league has offered that the two things are not the same.
Mandy Denny was third for $45, her best finish in the league and only her second cash — she bubbled in fifth last month, and in fifth on the very first night this league ever ran. Matt Moriarty completed the money in fourth for $25 — three cashes from four league tournaments, and still looking for a finish better than second.
Where the money went
| Player | Prize | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rick Mazza | $135 |
| 2 | Mike McEvoy | $75 |
| 3 | Mandy Denny | $45 |
| 4 | Matt Moriarty | $25 |
The undercard
Josh Reel bubbled in fifth, a month on from winning. Brian Schrameyer finished eighth with two knockouts, the most of anybody who missed the money, and he was responsible for both of the last two players out. Joe Johnson was the first of them, gone after two hours and four minutes.
The bigger picture
Three tournaments, three different winners, and none of them is the same as any of last season’s first three. Mazza takes the lead on 43 points, eighteen clear — the biggest gap anybody has held at any point in either season.
Behind him it is congested to the point of absurdity: Mike Short, Mandy and Josh are all level on 25, with Lee Ugarte a point back and Warren Mervin and Tom Buzbee a point behind him.
| League standings — after #13 | Points | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rick Mazza | 43 |
| 2 | Mike Short | 25 |
| 3 | Mandy Denny | 25 |
| 4 | Josh Reel | 25 |
| 5 | Lee Ugarte | 24 |
Canterberry Poker League #13 — Friday, August 7, 2009. 14 entrants, four paid from a $280 prize pool. Points shown are the league standings after three tournaments of the 2009-10 season.