Morris Dances into Samurai

We were joined by two fat ladies earlier this week as 88 hopefuls invested $5+0.50 into the eighth and final leg of the Black Belt Poker League.

Their ultimate goal was varied: a handful were still in contention for a star prize; some were looking to sneak into the top 10; whilst others were merely playing for the craic, or ensuring they secured the 200 Belt Points in loyalty bonus for competing in all eight legs - whatever the motive, the field was hungrier than a Hasbro hippo, and everyone wanted to garnish their eight-week venture with a win.

In what has become a rare occurrence, the League XIV crown was wide open as we entered the final battle, and when League leader David liquidpoker101 Manders slipped on a banana peel early doors, eyes lit up like Christmas lights with second place Sean 10Royals Lassman the new favourite to capture gold.

It was all change on the final table with a completely different lineup to the week prior, but one key name shone out like a beacon: Craig ChipRead77 McKelvie. McKelvie had commenced proceedings in a modest seventh place, but his fourth place finish in the home straight was enough for him to top the table at the death and turn off his monitor as the latest Black Belt Poker League Champion.

1st  TheSimian -- $121.00
2nd  yuoravinalaf -- $81.40
3rd  browndog0 -- $61.60
4th  ChipRead77 -- $41.80
5th  Berajo -- $30.80
6th  griffiyid7777 -- $23.10
7th  sceaga2 -- $18.70
8th  CareybearBBP -- $15.40
9th  G3OFF -- $13.20
10th  gnomeeee -- $11.00
11th  brigal19 -- $11.00
12th  JosseWales -- $11.00

First and second prize offered a free seat into the inaugural Samurai, a $250+25 online freezeout with a $10,000 guaranteed prize pool. Whilst ChipRead77 undoubtedly snapped up one spot, the second was somewhat more contentious as 10Royals and Simon ourkidsid Herrick finished on the exact same tally.

In the end, the two runner-ups opted to split the prize points 75/25 and also any potential Samurai winnings, with ourkidsid chosen as the soldier to enter the Samurai battlefield - and as you'll read later this week, it proved to be a lucrative decision.

1st  ChipRead77 (540 points) -- Samurai Seat & Personalised Hoodie
=2nd  ourkidsid (533 points) -- Samurai Seat
=2nd  10Royals (533 points) -- 1,000 Belt Points
4th  BoatDrink (526 points) -- 750 Belt Points
5th  liquidpoker101 (518 points) -- 600 Belt Points
6th  PhilDee64 (495 points) -- 500 Belt Points
7th  gnomeeee (489 points) -- 400 Belt Points
8th  myteamouse (488 points) -- 300 Belt Points
9th  sandy1611 (478 points) -- 200 Belt Points
10th  7onyB (476 points) -- 100 Belt Points

11th  JosseWales (469 points)
12th  sprinterz (456 points)
13th  bagpussrocks (456 points)
14th  TeeDeeEye1 (455 points)
15th  Touagorimou (455 points)
16th  S0lution (454 points)
17th  Stewboi (450 points)
18th  thehingster (443 points)
19th  russellhansen (435 points)
20th  adygolf (431 points)

Despite the conclusion of the League, the excitement was far from over as the lineup of esteemed leg winners still had a shot of playing the Samurai via the Second Chance SNG, an eight-handed encounter that including Leg 8 winner Simon TheSimian Morris.

Completing what was a fantastic story, he defeated Matthew The8ofSpades Cox heads-up to tie up his seat, and prove that even if you've come last in Legs 1-7 (admittedly, a tough feat), you can still taste glory by taking down the final leg.

1st  TheSimian -- Samurai seat ($250+25)
2nd  The8ofSpades
3rd  mikeymixitup
4th  russellhansen
5th  lionrampant27
6th  PhilNe2Q
7th  DConTour1
8th  DSchauzerSoze04

Of course, the League wasn't your only path into the Samurai as on Wednesday we hosted a $30+3 Super Satellite with four seats guaranteed into the following night's Main Event.

The lucky winners were an eclectic bunch, and included 2008 Irish Open Champion Neil Channing who - along with eixip50 - would be playing Samurai for a mere five bucks after qualifying through one of seven feeders.

1st  NeilChanning -- Samurai seat ($250+25)
2nd  deadlydaveLDN -- Samurai seat ($250+25)
3rd  99Ranny -- Samurai seat ($250+25)
4th  eixip50 -- Samurai seat ($250+25)
5th  Elysiumjay
6th  Werrrrd
7th  sprinterz
8th  UsainZeus88
9th  losbert40
10th  NPStars1

In other news, our latest Orange Belt Freeroll was the usual hotly contested affair, with former Blue Belt Gavin TFMonty007 Hall and Northern Poker Stars head honcho Ken NPStars1 Johnston the feasting on the two sumptuous rewards: a free seat into Sunday's iPOPS Main Event.

1st  TFMonty007 -- iPOPS Main Event seat ($125+15)
2nd  NPStars1 -- iPOPS Main Event seat ($125+15)
3rd  stokelad112
4th  BoraBoraBoy
5th  ourkidsid

And, finally… this week's Mulligan, graced by 25 of Black Belt Poker's finest, and won by Chris losbert40 Osborne.

1st  losbert40 -- $150.00 (50 Belt Points)
2nd  JHobbit1 -- $101.25 (30 Belt Points)
3rd  G3OFF -- $56.25 (10 Belt Points)
4th  nickhem1 -- $37.50 (5 Belt Points)
5th  Ourkid888 -- $30 (5 Belt Points)

Our congratulations go out to all of this week's winners, and in particular League XIV Champion Craig ChipRead77 McKelvie whose last-gasp triumph means he's now joined a very illustrious list indeed.

If you're already feeling those withdrawal symptoms, then don't fear, as League XV is right around the corner with kick-off scheduled for Tuesday, May 22.
Even if you don't have an account with Black Belt Poker, then it's not too late to join in the fun and partake in our many tournaments. Opening one is easy: simply click here download the poker client and follow the step-by-step provided.

Previous League Reports:
League XIV: Super Samurai TuesdayWeek 1 - Reaching for the BrassWeek 2 - Leg 2: The Unusual SuspectsWeek 3 - League XIV - Mix-Up in Leg 4Week 4 - 'PhilNe2Q' Takes Two on Tuesday
Week 5 - Cartwright Gets It Right in Leg 5Week 6 - Cox Rocks Leg 6Week 7 - Sievwright Is the Mane Man in Leg 7