| Steve Ford Moved into 1st Place Early and never Looked Back
The end is near. Who will be crowned the 2003 Four Queens Champion and take home $188,180?
The action started at 1:10 with $1,000-$2,000 blinds and a $300 ante. If you are lucky enough to steal the blinds and antes that adds $5,400 to your stack.
The button was on the short stack Peter Costa with $17,700. On the second hand of play Peter moved all-in and picked up the antes and blinds.
Two hands later Peter pushed all-in again and Dan Harrington called. Peter showed A-10 of hearts and Dan turned over A-K of diamonds. The board came 2h-4s-Qc-3s-7c and Peter was forced to take a ninth place finish. Peter received $9,410.
At 1:35 p.m. Thor Hansen pushed his remaining $20,000 into the pot and Randall Skaggs came over the top with $40,000. Thor showed A-Q and Randall turned over K-K. The board came 9-3-9-4-9 and Randall took the pot with nines full. Thor had to settle for an eighth place finish and $11,760 in cash.
At the end of level 10 Kirk Conrad had the chip lead with $184,500, Daniel Negreanu was in second with $175,500, Randall Skaggs was in third with $152,000, Kathy Liebert was is fourth with $149,500, Steve Ford was in fifth with $145,000, Dan Harrington was in sixth with $115,500 and Paul Kroh was the short stack with $49,000.
Level 11 began at 2:55: with a $500 ante and $1,500-$3,000 blinds.
At 3:25 Paul was the next casualty. Daniel raised to $8,000 and Paul Kroh called. The flop came 9-4-3, Paul bet $12,000 and Daniel called. The turn card came an eight, Paul checked, Daniel bet $16,000 and Paul called. The river card came another three, Paul moved all-in and Daniel called. Paul showed A-5 for ace-high and Daniel turned over K-3 for a set of threes.
Daniel took the chip lead with that win but it only lasted a few minutes. Four hands later he was eliminated. First his pocket aces lost to Steve’s pocket queens. On the next hand his pocket fours turned into a set on the turn but that four made Steve a straight with his 2-3. Steve took out Daniel and took the chip lead with $400,000. Daniel finished in seventh place and pocketed $16,465.
At 3:45 p.m. Dan Harrington moved all-in on Randall’s big blind for $22,000, Randall made the call with A-4 of hearts, Dan showed K-Q. The board came 9-8-6-A-6 and Dan was forced to take fifth place and $25,875.
Level 12 began with Steve in the lead with $428,000, Randall was in second with $213,000, Kathy was in third with $178,000 and Kirk was in fourth with $152,000.
The blinds were $2,000-$4,000 with a $500 ante.
There were no casualties at that level. At the end of level 12 the chip leader was still Steve with $392,500, Randall closed the gap between first and second with $375,500, Kirk lost some of his chips but moved up to third place with $136,500 and Kathy was trailing with $66,500.
Level 13 began at 6:20 p.m. with a $1,000 ante and $3,000-$6,000 blinds.
At 6:45 p.m. Kathy was on the small blind and Randall had the big blind. First to act was Steve who raised to $18,000, everyone folded to Kathy, she moved all in for about $60,000 and Steve called. Kathy showed Kh-Jc and Steve turned over Kc-Ks. The board came 4c-3c-9s-Ac-5c and Steve’s king of clubs made a bigger flush for the win. Kathy was forced to take a fourth place finish and added $32,930 to her bankroll.
After an hour and fifteen minutes of play the remaining three players made a money deal.
Kirk Conrad who started the final table in fourth place was declared the third place finisher.
Randall Skaggs who started the day one of the shorts stacks moved from eighth place to a second place finish.
Steve Ford who started the day in third place moved in to first place early on and never looked back.
Best All-Around Player
Comes Down to the Wire
Minh Nguyen started the day with 268 points, David Kutcher had 244, Tom Brownscombe had 234 and John Robertson had 212.
All four players took their last chance for points when they entered the $120 No-Limit Hold’em event.
Only one of the contenders made the final table and had a chance to win the title. John Robertson went to the final table with the chip lead, that alone guaranteed him no less than third. He needed to win to become the Best All-Around Player, he needed to take second to tie Minh, a ninth place finish or better guaranteed him second.
John took a bad beat with pocket aces that cost him most of his chips. He went all-in a few hands later and finished in sixth place.
Minh Nguyen was the Best All-Around Player, winning a beautiful crystal decanter set, $2,000 in cash and a weeks stay for next year. John Robertson won $1,000 and a weeks stay and David Kutcher won $1,000.
Championship Event Gets Underway with 97 Players Competing for $470,450 in Prize Money
End of Day 2 Chip Count. Daniel Negreanu Leads with 225K
Kathy Liebert Close Behind with 172K
1. Danny Negreanu 225,700
2. Kathy Liebert 182,400
3. Steve Ford 163,800
4. Kirk Conrad 145,800
5. Paul Kroh 126,600
6. Dan Harrington 45,700
7. Thor Hansen 32,600
8. Randall Skaggs 30,600
9. Peter Costa 17,700
10. Bill Kirby Bubble
At noon 42 players took their seats to start day 2 of the Championship event at the Four Queens Classic.
Play began at level 6 with a $75 ante and $300-$600 blinds. Fifteen players were eliminated in the first 90 minute level. At 1:45 p.m. the blinds increased to $400-$800 with a $100 ante.
Of the remaining 27 players, Bill Kirby was in the lead with about $90,000, Paul Kroh was in second with around $80,000, Daniel Negreanu and Mike Laing were neck and neck with $60,000, and Toto Leonidas had close to $45,000.
At the end of level eight 17 players remained. Bill Kirby was leading the race with $183,000, Mike Laing was in a close second with $160,000, Paul Kroh had $85,000, Danny Negreanu had $51,000, Toto Leonidas had $46,000 and Erik Seidel was struggling with $10,000.
At 2:30 p.m. the blinds increased to $600-$1,200 with a $100 ante. At the end of level nine there were still 17 players but the chips changed hands. Paul Kroh took over first with $185,000, a new name, Steve Ford jumped up to $150,000, Bill Kirby dropped down to $102,000, Mike Laing dropped his lead to $50,000, Danny Negreanu increased his lead to $75,000, Toto Leonidas was up to $70,000 and they must have been dealing Erik Seidel out because he was still holding on to that $10,000.
At 5:00 p.m. the blinds increased to $800-$1,600 with a $200 ante. Ten minutes later Daniel and Mike went head-to-head and Mike was eliminated when Daniel snagged an ace-high flush on the turn. Daniel was up to $100,000 in chips and they were down to 16 players.
Five minutes later they finally dealt Erik in and he was eliminated in 16th place. Toto finished in 15th place and Barry Greenstein was right behind him in 14th place. Harley Hall was next in 13th place. A few hands later Jim Meehan moved all-in against Daniel. Jim showed A-K and Daniel turned over pocket queens. Daniel’s queens held up and Jim finished in 12 place.
11 handed, Steve Ford was leading with $180,000, Paul Kroh had $153,000, Daniel increased his lead to $140,000, Kirk Conran had $135,000 and Bill Kirby was back up to $125,000.
Bob Cochran finished in 11th place when Daniel’s pocket jacks took the pot. Play for day 2 will end when the next player is eliminated.
At 7:10 p.m. Bill Kirby played his last hand when Daniel hit a set of 10’s on the turn. It’s not much of a consolation prize but Bill became eligible for the bubble tournament.
At the end of day 2 Daniel was in the lead with $225,700, Kathy Liebert was in a close second with $182,400, Steve Ford was on their heels with $163,800, Kirk Conrad is not far behind with $145,800, Paul Kroh has $126,500, Dan Harrington was left with $45,700, Thor Hansen has $32,600 and Randall Skaggs was down to $30,600.
|
