Sorel Mizzi and Randy Lew played 15 hands, and there neither of them could gain any traction until hand 16.
Lew got pocket aces and three-bet Mizzi preflop making it 14,870. Mizzi called in position and the flop came . Lew bet 6,880 and Mizzi called. The turn was the and both players checked. The river was the and Lew bet 17,890. Mizzi talked his way through his decision, making what appeared to be a joke about the chances the two players had the same hand.
Sorel Mizzi enters the cube for game #2 and will face the GPL's top scorer, Randy "Nanonoko" Lew. This could end up being the most entertaining single match of the entire GPL season if you believe the highlights of both of these guys throughout the year.
Guo Dong and Brian Rast kicked off things in the second matchup of the GPL Playoff Eurasia conference Playoff. Rast came out on top after he got all in preflop with pocket queens against the ace-ten of Guo Dong.
Rast lost a big pot early, but managed to move forward, giving his team a win in the first match of this best-of-seven series.
Guo Dong took an early lead, then Brian Rast was pulling away. Dong then doubled up and the two players are basically even with 32 hands played so far.
Guo Dong made trip fours on the turn against a pair of sevens for Brian Rast. Dong check-raised the turn when he hit the trips, making it 22,460 on a board.
The river was the and Dong made a small bet. Rast folded.
The GPL Playoffs continue with game #1 of the Eurasia Conference Playoff match between Hong Kong and Berlin. Guo Dong got the nod to take on Brian Rast and the game will start momentarily.
The top seeded Moscow Wolverines defeated the London Royals in five games to be the first team through to the Eurasia Conference Championship. They will face the winner of the next match: Hong Kong Stars v. Berlin Bears.
This matchup has a good chance to be very entertaining of the Playoffs with Randy "Nanonoko" Lew and Bill Perkins on their way to the GPL Arena to play for their respective teams. Lew is the heads up gun for the Hong Kong Stars and team manager Celina Lin and fellow Star Guo Dong will join him to face Brian Rast, Sorel Mizzi, Perkins, and Bears alternate Daniel "Jungleman" Cates.
The Stars went from the expected last place finisher in the Eurasia division, to the second seed with a good chance to move through to face the Wolverines in the Conference final.
Yesterday's Americas Conference final featured the top two seeds from that conference, so perhaps the extra 10,000 chips the Stars will get can make the difference to put them through.
The Bears are no easy target. They finished third in the Eurasia division and feature a roster ranging from some of the best and most well know players in the poker world, to an amateur MMA fighter and a billionaire (both of whom are excellent poker players as well). It should be a blast when the GPL Playoffs continue.