Insert the Karate Kid Theme Song, "...history repeats itself!"

It all started back in mid-October when the man who ignited the idea of the Camel Cup Poker Tour, Adam, hosted Event #1 at his home in Fremont. That night, Ben won the inaugural game, taking out Chris to claim a full five points and set him on his way to qualification for the Tourney of Champions.

Fast forward five months and change the scene to a downtown suite. The tourney of champs is on and it's down to Chris and Ben again. Chris is dealt pocket cowboys and lets Ben hang around long enough to catch the flush on the river and it's all over. Ben stands alone as the champion of champions.

You can't say he didn't earn it, getting one satellite championship and placing in another en route to a tie for first overall heading into the big game. He was a force to be reckoned with on the poker table and we all (well most of us) congratulate him.

Nearly as impressive as Ben's play was that of Brett who had to earn the right to even qualify for the big game in a three-man "poke-off." He started slow, but finished strong as Jon was knocked out first, followed by Adam. Brett then went on to take a very respectable third which means he netted out okay on the night.

The rest of the evening was a bit of a blur, so I can't recount all the hands from the big game and the way things went down though I do recall Brett pulling quad 4s once (or was it twice?) and pulling a full house on the flop after holding on to 8-4 unsuited.

There was much yelling and arguing about clocks and blinds, and even more drinks downed. In the end, we didn't get kicked out, so that was positive.

I've posted final point standings from the season (points going into the TOC) and final places at the big game below. Next season is set to start April 16 but nobody has signed up for hosting yet. We should probably talk about that soon...

Poke-Off Results:
1) Brett
2) Adam
3) Jon

Tournament of Champions Results:
1) Ben
2) Chris
3) Brett
4) Steve
5) MattG
6) Dave
7) Beast
8) MattM

Final 08-09 Poker Tour Standings:
1) Ben - 11
-- MattM - 11
3) MattG - 10
4) Steve - 9
5) Beast - 7
-- Chris - 7
-- Dave - 7
8) Brett - 6 (poke winner)
9) Adam - 6
-- Jon - 6
11) Aran - 4
12) Andy - 2
13) Amool - 1
-- Doug - 1
-- Tim - 1
-- Tyler - 1