MPT 2009 #5 - Clash at Caesars (10/3/2009)

ATLANTIC CITY, NJ - A champion returned to form, while the favorite to earn Player of the Year honors remains a bridesmaid. The early season talk was whether perennial runner-up Bigfus would break through to win a tournament, but Bigfus took home a trophy and Sass has now passed her for the career lead in second place finishes. Despite being the only series regular to not record a MPT tournament title, Sass' consistent play has given her a commanding lead over a surprising RowanB, who cashed for the second straight event, but has yet to seriously contend for a win this season. However, none of this should overshadow the play of TSS777, who rebounded from one of his weakest showings in his MPT career to remind players and fans why he is one of the most successful players in the short history of the tournament series.

The tournament began with some aggressive play from the three-time Main Event Champion Betdponies, who fell into a trap bluffing all-in on the river against RowanB's three of a kind and busting before the tournament was twenty minutes old. The big hand gave RowanB a small chip lead going into the first break, 100 chips ahead of Bigfus, who won a race of preflop all-ins with AQ over pocket tens to knock off Amazon just before the break. TSS777 was close behind as well, with Harv29 and Sass lagging behind with roughly the same chip stacks as they started the tournament with.

After the break, there was little action until near the end of the second hour of the tournament, when Sass knocked out Bigfus for the second consecutive tournament, marking only the second time in her MPT career that she has recorded "kills" in back to back events. The bubble didn't last long, as Harv29 moved all-in with a dwindling stack and couldn't beat TSS777. That left TSS777 and RowanB in strong chip positions, but RowanB's run didn't last very long, as he shoved A-7o from the small blind with the blinds increasing and ran into the A-K of TSS777. That hand left TSS777 with a commanding chip lead. Sass hung in and gave TSS777 a run for his money, but fell short for the third time this season and for the second straight MPT event at Caesars, Atlantic City.

The win tied TSS777 with Betdponies for the all-time lead in tournament victories, with four.

The results:

• TSS777
• Sass
• RowanB
• Harv29
• Bigfus
• Amazon
  
• Betdponies