A quick perusal of our $300 + $30 Closer Day 1B player list shows that there are two competitors in this flight (Francois Tarrab and Jamie Baker) that did quite well last year in this very event. In fact, they both made the final table of the 2018 Closer, finishing in second and fourth place, respectively.

We discovered that not only are they both playing in this evening’s Day 1B flight, but as luck would have it, they’re also currently seated at the same table! As we walked over just now to see if there was any significant action to report, we were even more surprised to see that they were also all in – against each other. One was about to take the other’s chips.

As we arrived, the board was showing an and Francois had just shoved for his remaining chips, a little less than 7,000. Jamie was the only player to call, and when they flipped over their cards Jamie was in the lead with two pairs, aces and eights. Francois’ needed some help, but the river didn’t cooperate.

Jamie took down the hand and Francois was forced to head back to the Tournament Desk to re-enter.