Week 15 brought 28 players to the felt with 7 rebuys in the mix, plus five subs stepping in to keep seats full: Chrissy Holubeck for Craig Rice, Jacob Naumann for James McKinnon, Tony Pellegrini for Mitch Smith, Viera Vorasarn for Robert “Bobby” Thomas, and Ned Wright for Tammy Leonard — and Ned didn’t just fill a seat, he played Tammy all the way to an 8th-place finish. It all built to a final table that went the distance, ending in a well-earned chop at the top between Ray Mancini and Evan Pantano.

Juan tried to make Andra scared on the button when she reached for chips. She shook while betting 2200. Juan raised to 25Kish and Andra was all in for less.

Andra flopped the King, Juan rivered the J for a set.

Mark Winchell was 9th before they combined.

Jason Palacios A2cc>KK Ned (playing for Tammy)

Ned Wright 8th

Clive KJ> A5 Juan

Juan Rodriguez 7th

Jason P AK>66 Jay Capitano

Jay Capitano 6th

Stuart P K9> 64 Jason P

Jason Palacios 5th

Stuart T9hh> K7 Clive

Clive Gavin 4th

Evan P A8>77 Stuart

Stuart Phillips 3rd

In the end Evan Pantano and Ray Mancini chopped 1st place!

The final table in order of finish was:

11/5 League 

1.Ray Mancini / Evan Pantano

2.chop

3.Stuart Phillips

4.Clive Gavin

5.Jason Palacios

6.Jay Capitano 

7.Juan Rodriguez 

8.Tammy Leonard (Ned Wright-Sub)

9.Mark Winchell 

Odds of a Seat — big moves, hot streaks, and who’s fading:

With three weeks left in the regular season (Weeks 16, 17, and 18 on Dec 3), the seat race got a shake-up this week. Here’s who moved:

Climbing: Jason Palacios/Cy Frederick Team is the week’s biggest riser, jumping five spots (12th to 7th) on the strength of a 5th-place final table — now sitting right on the edge of the money. Juan Rodriguez climbed three spots (14th to 11th) off his 7th-place finish. Evan Pantano moved up two (5th to a tie for 3rd) and Ray Mancini moved up one (6th to 5th) — both riding the chop. Tammy Leonard also gained two spots even finishing 8th, a reminder that just showing up and banking attendance points still matters.

Sliding: Larry Legend dropped two spots (4th to 6th) on a week off. Lee Tran/Don Brown Team and Mitch Smith each fell two spots (both now sitting at 12th), and Robert Thomas also dropped two (now 14th) after a week where his sub, Viera Vorasarn, held his seat. Aaron Thivyanathan/Maribeth Hilliard Team, Bobby Cornette/Jim Collins Team, and Jason Barnett each slid one spot (now a logjam at 8th and 10th).

Running hot: Evan Pantano — 3 wins and 5 final tables in 15 weeks, and he just chopped another one. Jason Palacios/Cy Frederick Team is the team to watch after this week’s five-spot jump.

Bubble watch: Dugg Hadden, Gregory Crisafulli, and William McMillan are all sitting at zero margin — they need to attend every single remaining week to keep their qualification alive. Miss one, and they’re out of the running for good (that’s also now true of several longtime members, including Vlad Stinga, who fell out of range for both a seat and the Last Chance tournament this week).

The rules, as a reminder:

To be eligible for one of the funded seats, a member has to fully qualify under the attendance rule (15 of 18 weeks played, including at least 4 of the last 5) and then rank inside the number of seats the season’s pot has funded. As of Week 15, the pot sits at $78,750, which funds 7 seats — it’ll take the pot crossing $80,000 for an 8th seat to unlock.

If you fully qualify under the attendance rule but don’t land one of the funded seats, you’re not out in the cold: you still share in the winnings, and you get a shot at a seat through the Last Chance tournament. (To be clear — you have to fully qualify to play Last Chance too, not just to be in the regular-season mix.) Your total season points also set your starting stack in that tournament, so every point between now and December 3rd matters, even if a top seat isn’t realistically in reach.

The Last Chance tournament will be held Friday, December 4th — the night after the regular season wraps on December 3rd. No subs allowed that night, so if you want a shot, you need to be in the room yourself. Remember: We are off Thanksgiving week.

Three weeks to go, and the top of the board is tightening by the week. Whether you’re locking up a seat, clawing into the top 7, or just trying to keep your qualification alive, every hand from here on out counts. Thanks to everyone who showed up, subbed in, and kept the league running — see you at the table on the 13th.

Evan Pantano Jason Palacios poker league Ray Mancini Tampa Bay Elite Poker League tampa bay poker wsop league

taxxgirl

I’m a taxgirl by day but poker is my passion. Played the WSOP Main Event in Fall 2021 thanks to the League!