SPRING SEASON AWARDS CEREMONY will be held this coming Tuesday, September 5th. Jillian's will be hosting the event.

In addition to giving out the awards to those players that earned them, we will be holding a night of Sit N' Go's as well. Starting at 6 p.m. we'll get the games going, and periodically we'll announce winners throughout the night.

Also that night we'll let you know about some of the eagerly anticipated changes and additions to the league for the upcoming Fall Season.

Sit N Go games are open to anyone, new or returning, and will not be awarding any points. This is just a night of fun!

Details |here|

The Sping Championship kicked off in style on August 6, 2006, held at Tulalip Casino. Several SPO players made the trip north a little early to participate in Tulalip's Bounty Tournament. Jordan Brower was one of those players that got all the way to the Final Table as we were setting up for the SPO Championship. Congrats Jordan!

The Championship started up at 4 p.m. sharp and things just took off. Playing the Extended Format, we expected some nice, easy poker, with not much action for a little while. It was a shock to hear that not even 10 minutes into the blinds a big hand developed where Per Widlund's made straight get's beat by a Full House on the turn. Per, one of the clear favorites to make it deep into the event, is knocked out first.

That set the tone for the rest of the day, as players busted out quicker than previous Championships. By dinner break we had lost a full table, and the event was down to 22 players.

At just shy of 3 hours into the tournament, both Erika Jenkins and Drew Hall get knocked out in one hand to bring the event down to 8 players and the Final Table. Here were the chips stacks:

Tyler Chott - 45,900
Geoff Simons - 19,400
Dan Gestaut - 13,000
Teague Ashburn - 10,100
Kevin Baker - 6,900
Roberda Warner - 4,500
Joshua Herring - 4,000
Mark Consuegra - 3,600

With the blinds at 600/1200, Kevin raises to 2400. Josh is on the Big Blind and re-raises all in for his 4,000. Kevin thinks for not very long and makes the call with AQ, against Josh's AK. With a Q on the flop, Josh is out in 8th place.

Roberda and Mark then start taking turns stealing blinds and doubling up. All the while the others are slowly being drained by the blinds. The blinds go up to 800/1500 and Kevin limps into a pot on Tyler's Big Blind. Tyler raises enough to put Kevin all in and he makes the call with A8, only to find that Tyler has AK. No 8's or anything to help Kevin and he's out in 7th place.

After some selective stealing and aggressive play, Mark Consugra's stack is partially consumed by the increasing blinds. With 1000/2000 level, he's forced to make his moment with AQ. Unfortunately Tyler wakes up in the Big Blind with AA and Mark is out in 6th Place.

With the blinds up again to 1500/3000 Geoff Simons doubles Tyler's Small Blind and Tyler makes the call. A raggedy flop makes Geoff push all in, and Tyler quickly calls, revealing a set of 3's. Geoff is out in 5th place.

Roberda Warner, who had started on the short stack at the final table, then built her stack up to decent proportions, has seen it now eaten away by the blinds. She finds something worthy of pushing her last few chips in and all 3 remaining players call and check it all the way down, for fear of her surviving another triple up! When the cards are revealed she catches a pair, but misses by a mere kicker: K9 vs. J9. Roberda is out in 4th palce, on the bubble.

Three handed play did not last too long, but it saw some severe swings. Teague battled up to second in chips and was ready to start contending with Tyler's monster stack, but decided to make a move that didn't quite work out. Tyler limps in on Teagues Big Blind, and Teague just checks it for a flop. When it comes K62 Teague makes a play and pushes all in. Tyler goes into the tank for a bit, but ultimately makes the call with QQ. Teague reveals the 64 and is out in 3rd.

Head's Up play began with Tyler in a dominating position having Dan 71,000 to 27,000. But a major hand developed between the two that would switch that ratio. With an unraised flop of 322, Dan pushes out a bet from first position. Tyler announces "I have the best hand. I'm all in." Dan makes the call in record time with a deuce in his hand, and Tyler's jaw hits the floor. Dan doubles up to have the chips lead.

The final hand saw Dan pushing all in with pocket Jacks against Tyler's A2. And when the board came KQJ27, Dan claimed the victory and the title of Season Champion. Good job Dan on a Tournament well played, and a Season well played!