"Photo above courtesy of PokerListings.com"
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With Phil "The Unabomber" Laak dominating 3 of the 4 heats and David Benyamine winning the
other one, everyone was waiting to see who would take the honor of winning Heat 5.
Competition was certainly fierce, with only two more heats to go before the points are
tallied and the competitors at the final table. But even so, Ian Frazer managed to shove
off the competition and make his way into the top spot.
A Grueling Battle
Everyone was on edge as they sat down for the 5th heat of the PartyPoker Premier League IV,
and for good reason. Only two more heats were left until the points were tallied and the
members of the final table announced. The buy–in into this tournament isn't exactly
cheap, so it was only prudent that all the competitors tried their best to get into the
top spot, still, it was Ian Frazer who would eventually take the top spot. First though,
the others had to be bumped from the table. First to go was Yevgeniy Timoshenko, who fell
against Safina. Then, it was Phil Hellmuth's turn to go, but he had the misfortune of
clashing into another Poker Drama Queen, Luke Schwartz. Schwartz left the bar and played
on the slots machines just before the flop was dealt, causing the whole production team
to stall the game and scour the premises for the errant player. Errant though he may be,
Schwartz still has quite a bit of talent in him and was successful in bumping J.C. Tran
off. Tony G was next to go after that. Then, it was Frazer's time to shine as he
eliminated Negreanu in fourth place. It didn't take long for Safina to follow, leaving
only Schwartz and Frazer as the last two players.
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An Exciting Heads–up Match
By the time Schwartz and Frazer entered into Heads–up, however, Frazer had a
considerable lead. He had a 2:1 chip lead against Schwartz, allowing him to have more
room to move as he battled his way into the top spot. At the final hand, Schwartz was
still confident enough to go all in with A–9. Frazer, however, had the fortune of
getting pocket kings. Thus, he did not hesitate at all before he went all in. The board
came up as 10–4–3–9–8, which effectively gave Schwartz pocket 9s.
However, Frazer's kings were still the better hand, easily giving him the victory for
the fifth heat of the Premier League.
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