Last night, Black Belt Poker sponsored pro Kevin Williams finished in 77th place in the 2013 World Series of Poker Main Event, collecting $84,786.
Kevin - playing in his fifth Main Event - joined 6,351 others across three starting days as players battled it out for survival and the prospect of a return visit in November.
After edging to 45,800 by the end of the day and then 125,100 on Day 2, Kevin rocketed up to 808,500 on Day 3 despite a table that included Liv Boeree, Matt Stout, and Mark Flowers.
At the tail end of the day, Kevin spoke to the Parkinson of poker, Tony 'tikay' Kendall, to discuss his progress:
Kevin Williams Interview - Click Here
A chilling 666 returned with just 648 hoping to tie up the minimum payout. After a brief squeaky-bum time, it was three-time bracelet winner Farzad Bonyadi who felt the full splash of the bubble when his A-J came unstuck against A-Q.
If Kevin was in fifth gear throughout the previous day, then he was like Lewis Hamilton on Day 4 as his stack sped to a mouth-watering 2,007,000, leaving him seventh in chips with just 239 remaining.
Day 5, however, - and despite the remarkable achievement of reaching the shuffle machines - would prove his swan song, as Kevin finally succumbed to the ladies of the Fat and Luck variety.
Although he boasted 2.25 million at the halfway mark, a post-dinner decline meant he dipped to 24 big blinds heading into the final level, all of which crossed the line when he squeezed all in with pocket nines.
The initial raiser revealed queens, and an uneventful board later and the dream was over. "Big thanks for all support," he later Tweeted. "It's been a helluva ride."
A Blue Belt on Black Belt Poker, Kevin is a 27-year old poker pro who combines playing and teaching with directing theatre in the London area. Despite a recent fourth place finish in the WPT National, this was his biggest live score to date.
Kevin was the third highest placing Brit with fellow flag-bearing cashers including Ashley Mason (119th), Luke Schwartz (249th), Jake Cody (400th) and Rupert Elder (478th).
A plethora of big names also made the money, most notably Annette Obrestad (89th), Bertrand 'ElkY' Grospellier (295th), Doyle Brunson (409th) and defending Champion Greg Merson (167th).
Just 68 will start day 6 with an average stack of 2.8 million and guaranteed six-figure payday. The current chip leader is America's Sami Rustom on 7,005,000, while Canadian Mac McLaughlin is breathing down his neck with 6,695,000.
Steven Watts (1,705,000) and Phillip Long (1,200,000) are the sole Brits, although most eyes will be fixed on the likes of Yevgeniy Tomoshenko (4,065,000), JC Tran (3,280,000), and 2001 Champion Carlos Mortensen (2,665,000).
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