Tim Waisner won the first SPT event of 2006 on Friday night, beating a field of 17 players. Shortly after the money presentation of the 2005 top 2 players of the year (Tim Waisner and Jim McDaniel), play got underway at McDaniel's house. The 17 players was the largest ever for a non-major event on the SPT.

 

Play moved fairly quickly early, with Waisner winning many pots to build up a sizable chip lead heading into the final table. Chip counts:

 

Bill Killian 2,050

Ron Fukui 4,150

Duncan O'Friel 5,650

Steve Harbaugh 5,550

Greg Buhler 1,700

Joaquin McPeek 3,300

Dave Gutierrez 7,650

Tim Waisner 16,100

Matt Moore 4,850

 

Shortly after the final table got going, a major hand developed. Matt Moore had pocket 10's, Dave had pocket kings, but Waisner had pocket Aces. Everyone was all-in, and Waisner's hand held up to win a massive pot.

 

His run continued, as he knocked out 8 players in this event. After Bill and Joaquin were knocked out, the final 5 was set. Duncan was out in fifth, earning $19 and 94 points. Greg was next, out in fourth with $38 and 116 points.

 

The final 3 played back and forth for a while, but Waisner's chip lead was too much. Ron Fukui went out in third, earning $76 and 148 points in his first career cash.

 

Harbaugh didn't have many chips, and kept pushing all-in. Eventually, he moved in with bottom pair, and Waisner called with middle pair, and it held up. Harbaugh won $95 and 202 points for second place, his best finish on the SPT. Waisner won $153 and 322 points in his second career victory. The win also moves him into third place all time from a points standpoint.

 

The next event will be the Super Bowl major, which will also have the Tournament of Champions held prior to that event. The Super Bowl major will be held at Barry Bonillo's house. It's rumored that a few prior SPT members will be in town for the event, and the projected player count could break the all-time SPT record. Make sure you're there for what could be the biggest SPT event ever!