The Annual · 2021
Paul Coffman Finally Wins the Annual, and Jeff Holderman Loses Another One
Nine knockouts, more than anyone has ever made in an Annual — and second place again.
Paul Coffman had finished second in the Annual twice, in 2015 and 2016, and had played it eight times. On Saturday he won it — eight hours and forty-eight minutes, $720, and the trophy that goes with it.
The man he beat was Jeff Holderman, four weeks after Holderman won the Player of the Year. He made nine of the day’s nineteen eliminations, which no player has managed in fifteen Annuals, and then lost heads-up in seventeen minutes. It is his fifth second-place finish of 2021. He has won once all year.
Juan Lopez took third and $360, which is exactly where he finished the 2020 Annual. Warren Mervin completed the money in fourth for $180, his best Annual result since a third in 2012 and his twelfth time in the field.
Where the money went
| Player | Prize | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paul Coffman | $720 |
| 2 | Jeff Holderman | $540 |
| 3 | Juan Lopez | $360 |
| 4 | Warren Mervin | $180 |
The undercard
Rick Mickaliger bubbled in fifth, comfortably his best day since joining in March. Lance Cain was the first player out — after five hours and six minutes, which tells you what kind of tournament this is.
David Doole and Rick Mazza, who won three Eight Deuce tournaments between them this year, finished sixth and eleventh.
The bigger picture
Two things about this one were unusual. It was the first Annual ever played in the fall — the previous fourteen all ran between late April and mid-June — and at fourteen players it drew the smallest field since 2008, when the event was in its second year and the league had not yet started.
The money held up regardless. Fourteen entries and six rebuys made $1,800, and $720 for the win is more than any Eight Deuce tournament has paid; the ten of those this year topped out at $460.
Paul Coffman’s year now reads: a tournament win in April and the Annual in November. The Tournament of Champions follows on December 3, and every player who won a tournament this season is in it.
The 2021 Annual — Saturday, November 6, 2021. 14 entrants, 6 rebuys, four paid from an $1,800 prize pool. The fifteenth Annual; it is a separate event from the Eight Deuce season and does not count toward the Player of the Year.