'K.K.'
in Strong Finish Wins First
Tournament Against 'Heist' Actor
Chad Brown is an actor whose next role
will be in a "heist" movie starring Joe
Montegna. When he got heads up in the
13th event of Grand Slam of Poker, $300
no-limit hold'em, he had a 2-1 chip lead.
But then he watched as his lead and the
tournament win was heisted by a business
analyst going only by his initials of
K.K.
K.K. came to the final table with the
least chips, quickly quadrupled and came
on strong at the end to win his first
tournament ever. He normally only plays
two events a year, but began playing a
lot more this year.
Brown listed his greatest poker accomplishment
as knocking out Phil Hellmuth in a tournament.
"Phil is the greatest player in the world
-- he told me so," Brown said.
Opening stakes at the final table were
$400-$800 blinds with $100 antes. In the
first four hands, K.K. doubled up twice,
once against Brown with jacks against
eights, then against Thor Hansen, eights
versus K-Q, and leaped from $6,900 to
about 30k.
Some 19 hands and five all-in survivals
went by before the first player went out.
Blinds were now $600-$1,200 with $200
antes. Ernie Sebastian moved in for 7k
with pocket fives, losing to Hansen, who
called with A-J and flopped a jack.
Kevin Armstrong had been pretty much card-dead
at the final table, so when he picked
up Ks-10s, it looked big to him and he
moved in for $11,400. Brown called with
pocket queens, proceeded to make quads
and disconnected the Pac Bell technician.
Engineering executive George Derischebourg
started as the chip leader with 35k. Not
content to sit on his chips, he got involved
several times with disastrous results.
By hand 33 he was down to $6,900 and somewhat
impatiently moved in with Kd-5d. Thor
Hansen called with 10-10, made a set on
the turn and seven were left.
On the next hand, T.J. Cloutier moved
in from the big blind with two limpers
in the pot. They folded and T.J. advertised
by showing 5-2 off.
To this point, Brown and Reza Bayvar were
the most active players, often heads-up.
Brown picked up a lot of chips by moving
all in and nicking Bayvar twice in a row.
The first time, Brown doubled up with
A-Q versus 9c-6c. The next hand Bayvar
raised to 10k and Brown moved all in again.
"How much this time?" Bayvar asked wearily
before folding. On the next hand, Bayvar
bet and this time Brown folded. "You're
not all in again?" T.J. asked in mock
astonishment.
On hand 49, Brown opened for 6k and T.J.
raised 12k. The flop came Qs-Js-6c and
T.J. pushed in his last $15,300. Brown
nodded, rubbed his chin, made calculations
in the air with his fingers and finally
called with A-Q. "You've got aces," he
said fatalistically. T.J. who earlier
swore he had played every Grand Slam tournament
without ever picking up aces (or kings
either) had two eights. He busted out
sixth as Brown took a monster lead of
about $80,000.
Cash game pro Andrew "A.J" Kelsall finished
sixth. With $1,500-$3,000 blinds and $500
antes, he lost his last 7k when his Ac-7c
couldn't catch Bayvar's A-J. Then Kevin
McBride, who finished 2nd to Scotty Nguyen
in the 1998 WSOP championship, was all
in holding only 6-5 suited and ran into
K.K.'s A-A.
Four-handed, Hansen was low-chipped with
about 20k, while his opponents were all
in the 50-k range. The man from Oslo,
Norway, moved in on hand 66 with K-Q.
This time Bayvar had the pocket rockets
to take him down and move into the lead.
But then Bayvar and Brown began mixing
it up again, with Bayvar usually getting
the short end. By hand 82 he was down
to about 21k. He raised 6k from the small
blind with J-10 and his old nemesis called
from the big blind with K-J. Bayvar took
the lead on a flop of 10-7-3. But then
a runner-runner queen and ace gave Brown
a straight, and the match was heads up,
with Brown leading, 127k to K.K.'s 66k.
With $500 antes and blinds of 2-4k, K.K.
began grinding away, and in five hands
had drawn up even. On hand 89, K.K. raised
8k pre-flop. With a flop of J-8-2, K.K.
bet $12,000, Brown kicked it up to 32k,
K.K. moved in and Brown folded with only
32k left.
It
ended on hand 103. With a Q-J-4 board,
K.K., who had flopped jacks and fours,
bet 8k. Brown raised 10k with Q-2, and
K.K. moved him in. The two pair held up,
and K.K. scored his final K.O. to win
his first tournament.
Max Shapiro
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