Quarter Finals Time Already

Those who've climbed to the dizzy heights of a round with the word 'Finals' in the title after one gruelling match are back and ready to take on their new opponents. This time they get 15,000 chips, with the blinds starting at the same level as they did when they only had 10k - the only difference is that they'll eventually be capped at 300/600 instead of 200/400. Pretty good amount of play, eh?

I was chatting to Dena, overlord of the tournament and fixture of all Grosvenor flavoured tournaments and Televised Things everywhere, about how popular a heads-up with a buy-in slightly less than £2,500 would undoubtedly be. While it was tough to fit more than 16 around this already sprawling festival, halve the buy-in and hold it at Luton... Anyway, Dena seems to think this is a good idea for the future, and I am sure loads of players who want to test their card-related egos against one player at a time would put their money where their mouth is if it only cost a little less.

Anyway, cards are finally in the air, so I'm off to watch the early stages where a couple of thousand chips' advantage becomes a psychological one rather than anything else, setting the stage for the later battle. Will Ketul Nathwani best Bentham? Will Kellster or Flushy speak first? Whose Glasses are cooler, Jeff Duvall's or opponent Vach Nankoosing's?