Clinton Blanchard surged his way to the top during his Concept debut at Midweek Game #31 in Goodwood on Wednesday night.
The Concept Bring-A-Buddy campaign has brought many new faces to the league in recent weeks, but it’s been the first time a debutant has been able to conquer a tournament on his or her first go. Even more impressively on a star-studded final table, which featured six players from the log’s Top 9, as well as the defending Quartley Game champion and the defending Midweek champion.
Clinton hit hot form all night, especially during the final two tables as he made most of the eliminations as the tournament reached its business end. This included straight flush with 89 ♠️ suited (his favourite hand) to crack Denver Vieira’s Aces.
Entering the Final 9 with a major chip lead, Clinton maintained his momentum and delivered a solid game to seal the title in the field of 33 players.
And he was involved in the first knockout on final table as defending Midweek Week champ Alain Govender hit the rail in 9th place. With the short stack, Alain shoved with K8 ♠️ suited, and he got called by Clinton, tabling pocket 10s. The board didn’t bring a King, which saw the pocket pair hold up.
Barry Stemmet was making his first Concept final table of the season, but his ride came to an end in 8th place. He went all in with pocket Jacks, and was called by Gareth Duncan, who woke up with Queens on the button. The ladies went on to hit quads to send Barry home in style.
Robin Kayalsum was out in 7th when he made a move in late position. He shoved his stack with A2, and got called by Vicky Moodley on the big blind, tabling AQ. The Queen flopped to seal the deal.
Franklin Jodamus exited in 6th place when he was trapped by Clinton. The chip leader limped under the gun with Aces, which opened the door for the rest of the players to make a move with plenty of “easy chips” on the table. Franky obliged, moving all in with Q10. Everyone folded before Clinton snap called with the Bullets. Franklin managed to hit a Queen on the turn, but the River bricked to see Clinton rake in a sizeable pot.
Jeremy Jodamus, still fresh off his recent Concept Quarterly Game triumph, was knocked out in 5th place in bad beat fashion. He moved all in on the button with pocket Kings, and was matched by a loose call from Clinton on the big blind with A7 ♥️ suited. The Flop bricked, but runner-runner hearts saw Clinton River the nut flush.
After losing most of his chips with KQ against Vicky’s QJ in a previous hand, Gareth was all in with less than a blind holding 102 ♣️ suited. He got two callers in Imraan Khan (A6) and Vicky (J9). The board saw Vicky take the pot with a pair of 9s, eliminating Gareth in 4th place.
And his decision paid off as Imraan Khan was knocked out in 3rd place soon thereafter. Vicky raised under the gun, which received an all-in re-raise from Clinton in small blind. Imraan called before Vicky folded. Clinton tabled pocket Kings against Immie’s AK – it was cooler city as the board ran dry to earn the big pocket pair a massive pot.
Clinton and Vicky dueled in a patient heads-up battle, and Vicky drew first blood when he won an all-in hand with AK versus K5 ♦️ suited, hitting trip Aces on the flop.
But Clinton still managed to hold on to a minor chip lead, and this was vital in the decisive hand. On a QJ8 flop, all the chips went into the middle. Vicky tabled J9, which was dominated by Clinton’s J10 – both players hitting middle pair and on a gut-shot straight draw. The Turn and River brought low cards, which saw Clinton take down top spot with the better kicker.
Concept Midweek Game #31 results:
1 Clinton Blanchard
2 Vicky Moodley
3 Imraan Khan
4 Gareth Duncan
5 Jeremy Jodamus
6 Franklin Jodamus
7 Robin Kayalsum
8 Barry Stemmet
9 Alain Govender