The Annual · 9th Denny Poker Tournament
Josh Reel Wins the League and the Annual
Nobody had done both in the same year. In five previous tries the new champion had turned up in May and cashed once between them.
Four weeks after taking the Canterberry Poker League title, Josh Reel sat down for the 9th Annual Denny Poker Tournament, knocked out six of the sixteen players in it, and won that too — seven hours and forty-two minutes, $275, and a second trophy in a month.
It has not happened before. Eight Annuals had been played before this one, and in the five where a newly crowned champion turned up, the champion cashed exactly once between them. Josh entered as champion and won it.
He also took out six of the seven players who filled the places behind him down to seventh — everyone but the man in fifth. Paul Coffman was one of them: second for $170 after a twenty-eight-minute heads-up match, four months after taking second in a league tournament for his first ever cash.
Kelly Kruegel was third for $120, the best Annual finish of her career in only her second. Erik Treiber took fourth and $95, and Clay Yawn completed the money in fifth for $80 — six months after playing his first league tournament.
Where the money went
| Player | Prize | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Josh Reel | $275 |
| 2 | Paul Coffman | $170 |
| 3 | Kelly Kruegel | $120 |
| 4 | Erik Treiber | $95 |
| 5 | Clay Yawn | $80 |
The undercard
David Doole bubbled in sixth. Seventh was shared by Lori Mazza and Warren Mervin, who went out on the same hand — both of them to the winner, a month after Warren had taken the all-time league win record for himself.
Eric Denny was the first player out after two hours and thirty-five minutes, knocked out by Clay. Nobody rebought.
The bigger picture
Nine Annuals, seven different winners. Joe Johnson and Brian Albers have two each and the other five have one apiece.
The question this tournament has asked for six years is whether a strong league season means anything in May. The answer had been no, five times running. It took the man who has now won the league twice to change it.
The 9th Annual Denny Poker Tournament — Saturday, May 9, 2015. 16 entrants, no rebuys, five paid from a $740 prize pool.