On the third hand of heads-up play, Andrew Oataway raised to 120,000 from the button, Janar Kiivramees moved all in and Oataway insta-called, slamming on the table. Kiivramees turned up .
As the dealer turned up the flop, the was in the door. Oataway leaped out of his seat, cheering, until he saw the other two cards-- the and the , giving Kiivramees a spade draw.
"PAIR THE BOARD!" bellowed Oataway as half the rail cheered for a spade, and the other half prayed for another ace, ten or three. The turn was the making Kiivramees' flush.
"COME ON! PAIR THE BOARD!" Oataway called again.
Alas, Oataway's luck had finally run out-- the fell on the river and this time it was the normally stoic Kiivramees who leaped out of his chair cheering, having won Event #3 of the Poker News Cup and $20,036. Oataway will take home $15,030 for his finish.
Congratulations to Janar Kiivramees, who came back after being crippled to only three big blinds to win the whole tournament. Well done!
Things were looking up for John Williams. He doubled up on two consecutive hands-- first, his holding against Andrew Oataway's , then his besting Oataway's .
The third time was not the charm for Williams, however, when his K-8 ran into the of Janar Kiivramees. The flop was , the turn was the , the river was the , and Williams was eliminated in 3rd place. He earned $11,022 for his performance.
With the blinds sky-high at 30,000-60,000, it's pretty much all in or fold for our remaining three players.
John Williams decided to try his luck, pushing in with . Andrew Oataway called from the big blind with . The flop was pairing Williams' eight, but lightning struck again for Oataway when the spiked on the turn. The river was the and Oataway doubled up to 620,000 while Williams was left with 88,000.
"I'm the biggest luckbox in the casino!" he cried as the pot was shipped his way.