Sweep, sweep, sweep! The brooms were out during another heat of the Global Poker League (GPL) Summer Series. Heat V played out last week in Las Vegas with more cross-conference, heads-up action. The penultimate set of matches for the Summer Series left only a couple more chances for teams to make a push for the playoffs before the final leg of the season. The week featured big wins for Rome, Moscow, and the top-ranked Montreal Nationals.
Match #1: San Francisco Rush VS Berlin Bears
Both teams entered the week on the outside of the playoff-picture looking in. Sitting last in the Eurasia conference; the Berlin Bears sent Canadian Sorel Mizzi into the cube to face Jonathan Jaffe. Mizzi took the first three points winning Game #1 in 38 hands. Jaffe then evened things up in just seven hands to win Game #2. The deciding game would last much longer with Mizzi scoring the victory in 57 hands.
Bears remain in last place but now just one point from fifth and only 12 points from a playoff spot. The Rush climbed a bit closer to a playoff spot in the Americas conference with their three points earned, just six back of fourth place.
Match #2: New York Rounders VS London Royals
With such a good start to the year; the pre-season favorites, New York Rounders have since seen a steady decline in the Americas conference. Their opponent this week was also fighting to get back to the top of table in the Eurasia conference. Rounders’ Team Manager Bryn Kenney entered the cube facing Igor Kurganov. After splitting the first two games; Igor shipping game #1 in 45 hands and Bryn taking game #2 in 17 hands, Kurganov emerged victorious claiming the rubber match and the extra three points.
London pulled within 10 points of first in the Eurasia conference while New York remains in fourth, holding a tight grip on the final playoff spot.
Match #3: Rome Emperors VS Las Vegas Moneymakers
As Rome’s first-overall draft pick Mustapha Kanit patiently awaited the late arrival of Jake Cody, the GPL fans were entertained by stories from commentators Joe Stapleton and Eric Danis. Cody eventually made it into the cube and would have been better off staying in bed.
Kanit steam-rolled the Team Pokerstars pro in all three games winning the match easily and denying the Moneymakers any chance of gaining ground in the Americas. The sweep earned the Emperors nine points bringing them out of last place in the Eurasia and within striking distance of a playoff spot.
Match #4: Paris Aviators VS Pascal Lefrancois
The top-seeded Nationals entered play in Heat V as the hottest team in the league and sent Pascal Lefrancois to take on Davidi Kitai. Coming off a loss, Lefrancois was seeking redemption and went in as the favorite. Although Kitai is seen as one of the top-live tournament players, he has yet to score a single point in heads-up play.
Seemingly inspired by Mustapha Kanit’s sweep just earlier in the day, Lefrancois came out with a broom of his own and brushed off Kitai in three straight games. The full nine points boosted the Nationals to 139 points while the Paris Aviators are hanging on the final playoff spot in the Eurasia conference.
Match #5: Sao Paulo Mets VS Moscow Wolverines
The top team in the Eurasia conference was not going to let Montreal steal all the spotlight and since the only way to match the feats of Montreal and Rome was to get a sweep of their own, that’s exactly what Sergey Lebedev did. Mets’ Joao Bauer was no match for the Russian this week losing all three games as the Mets stay in third place. With the nine points Moscow moves 10 points clear of London at the top of the table.
Match #6: LA Sunset VS Hong Kong Stars
Arguably one of the best heads-up players in poker, Olivier Busquet checked in to the cube this week squaring off against Weiyi Zhang. Busquet was hoping to draw closer to the first place Nationals who the Sunset have been chasing since the season started.
With the last three matches ending in 3-0 sweeps, Busquet aimed at a sweep of his own. After winning the first two games in 20 and 73 hands, Zhang battled back in the third to squash the donut and earn his team three points. Hong Kong stayed level securing third-place for the week while LA remains in second.
The GPL Summer Series will host one more week of heads-up, cross-conference matches. Stay tuned to Canada Poker for weekly updates and follow the Montreal Nationals as they make a push for the playoffs. Be sure to follow us on Twitter and Facebook for live updates over the series.
