| Level: | 22 (15000/30000, 30000/60000, 7000/10000/30000) |
| Entries: | 1/32 |
| Prizes: | $10,772 |
It was a pretty spirited heads-up battle between Martin Butler and Thomas Taylor tonight, and Butler even had the mixed-game specialist on the ropes at one point with a big lead. They traded the lead a couple of times, and one of Butler’s surges came after a solid call in hold’em. Taylor put him to the test with a big bet on the river of 2♠4♣7♥3♥A♠ after Taylor had been firing the whole way through the previous streets.
Butler found the tank-call with J♠7♠ for second pair on a board where any five hit the wheel. Taylor was playing the busted heart draw, though, and the call vaulted Butler to the lead.
It didn’t last, though. Taylor clawed his way back into it forcing Butler to fold turns and rivers several times, then found a straight scoop in O8 when Butler bricked a low draw and couldn’t beat the king-high run for Taylor. That left Butler on fumes, and it was only a matter of time at that point.
When they moved into the razz round, he was bring for the majority of hands, barely managing to stay alive with a couple of pots that he was all in half way through the streets, but still managed to run it out for the lowest hand.
It finally came to an end for him in stud when he was all in again on 5th street, with Taylor holding the better pair of queens over his sevens. He couldn’t find any more help on the runout and had to settle for second tonight. It might be cold comfort, but given that his opponent heads up has multiple deep final table runs in big WSOP mixed games on his resume, Butler was always going to be in tough on this one.
