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Week 9: Rodriguez Breaks Through with First Final Table, Chops Victory with Red-Hot McKinnon

taxxgirl

10 months ago

Last season Team Juan Rodriguez and Aaron Thivyanathan topped the leaderboard by season end, but after eight weeks of grinding, Team Juan Rodriguez and Aaron Thivyanathan had a glaring omission from their Fall season resume: a final table appearance. For the competitive Juan Rodriguez, that zero in the final table column was becoming more than just a statistical footnote—it was eating at him. Week 9 would prove to be the breakthrough night that silenced any doubters and reminded the league why this team earned their spot at the top last season. With Ryan Harfouch and Ray Mancini locked in an intense battle for season supremacy, and hungry competitors looking to make their move up the standings, the stage was set for a memorable night of poker action!

Following are some of the more notable hands of the evening.

Level 4 and Muscles and Ryan Harfouch were all in! Ryan’s been crushing the league this season and has been battling with Ray Mancini to hold the top spot.

Right before break Dan Goonin opened. Andra Zachow, with about 11k had just mentioned that she was a short stack specialist. She said she was going to be patient and not jam & rebuy. She then declared “I changed my mind!” and went all in. Dan called & Andra turned over KK vs his AJ and held for a double!

Final Table! Juan’s 1st!!

Now we were into final table zone where every point makes a difference!

First- Mark Winchell’s 66<James McKinnon’s KK

Mark Winchell 9th

Juan Rodriguez’ 88>O’s AK

Oran Haynes 8th

Juan TT> AQ Sam

Sam Browning 7th

James 88> T9 Mo

Mohamed Lahlou 6th

Juan 99> A4hh David S

David Smith 5th

James McKinnon K8> 78 Dan J

Dan Johnson 4th

Juan 88> Q4ss Ray M

Ray Mancini 3rd

In a fitting end to his breakthrough night, Juan Rodriguez secured his first final table finish of the season—and shared the victory with James McKinnon, who continues his impressive run through the Elite Tampa Bay league. Despite Juan’s well-known aversion to deal-making, chopping with McKinnon made perfect sense. James has been one of the season’s most consistent performers, and his dominant final table play—eliminating Mohamed Lahlou and Dan Johnson with his own pocket pairs before heads-up—proved he was every bit Juan’s equal on this night. With pocket pairs serving as Juan’s calling card throughout the final table (88, TT, 99, and 88 again), both champions played aggressively and decisively when it mattered most. The monkey is officially off Team Juan Rodriguez and Aaron Thivyanathan’s back. With their first final table now in the books, valuable points added to their season total, and McKinnon continuing to rack up cashes, the race for those coveted $10K main event entries is heating up. As we head deeper into the season, one thing is clear: the battle at the top just got a lot more interesting.

The final table in order of finish was:

1.James McKinnon/ Juan Rodriguez

2.Chop

3.Ray Mancini

4.Dan Johnson

5.David Smith

6.Mohamed Lahlou

7.Sam Browning

8.Oran Haynes

9.Mark Winchell

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