Slams the Door on Some Possibilities
It’s a wrap – the first day of PKR Heads Up Grand Slam has finally come to its conclusion and we finally get to see who goes home first and who goes ahead to the next round.
How Day 1 Rolled Along
The action was intense, with many pros battling it up for the chance to move on to the next round. But you know how it is with these tournaments, some of them win, and some of them lose. There always has to be someone going home empty handed while somebody else takes home the bacon. And in the PKR Heads up Grand Slam, several big names have already been sent home packing. Among them are Annette Obrestad, JC Tran, Tom Dwan, Peter Eastgate, John Tabatabai, Yevgeniy Timoshenko, and Ilari “Ziigmund” Sahamies.
Many were disappointed when Tom Dwan lost to John Duthie, mainly because it bumped the possibility of a heads up match between Dwan and Schwartz off – a highly anticipated match up, much speculated on even before the tournament began. Schwartz, on the other hand, was able to fare moderately well against his opponent. I say moderately, because it was a lucky strike more than anything. Schwartz was in hot water with his pocket jacks and with Timoshenko’s pocket kings, but on the turn, another jack was revealed, giving Schwartz the better hand.
But enough about the losers, let’s hear about the winners, those who will be moving on to the next round.
Day 2 and what to Expect from It
Vicky Coren, James Sudworth, and John Duthie, among others, will be going onto the next round. And since the Dwan-Schwartz heads up battle is no longer possible in this tournament, then people looked to other avenues of excitement. And, undoubtedly, the most interesting matchup was that of Dave Ulliott and Ian Frazer. Other match ups for the second day include Tony G and Sandra Naujoks, John Duthie and David Steicke, Vicky Coren and Juha Helppi, Lex Veldhuis and Luke Schwartz, Ian Frazier and Dave Ulliot, Massimo Mele and James Sudworth, Alec Torelli and Antonio esfandiari, Brahim Hajji and Vladmir Geshkenbein, among others.
It truly was disappointing that the drama was over before it even started, although poker purists who hate all those rivalry and controversies will certainly be pleased. One thing’s for sure, though, the drama might have dissipated but the action will not. PKR Heads Up Grand Slam will still be an extremely exciting affair, not because of stolen sandwiches and insulting remarks, but because of the sheer amount of skill and talent at play in the tables.
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