The playoffs of the Party Poker Premier League had to narrow down the four players to the two that would fill the final two spots at the final table. The playoffs would be decided by two best-of-5 heads-up matches, with Roland de Wolfe facing off against Eddy Scharf and Annie Duke facing off against Dave Ulliott.
Roland de Wolfe cruised to victory over Eddy Scharf, winning in three matches. The first match was decided when de Wolfe raised preflop with [3s][3h] and was reraised all-in by Scharf and his [Ks][Qh]. Roland de Wolfe reluctantly made the call with his pocket threes. The flop came down [9d][7d][3d], giving de Wolfe his set and giving no help to Scharf. The [Jd] fell on the turn. Scharf could double up with a ten for a straight or he could split the pot if a fifth diamond fell. Instead the river was the [7h] and de Wolfe won the first match.
The second match was almost a reverse of the first match, Scharf raising preflop with [8d][8c] and de Wolfe reraising all-in with [Ac][2s]. Sharf made the call and the two players saw a flop of [Kd][Qs][6c], no help for de Wolfe. Then the [Ad] fell on the turn to give de Wolfe the lead. The [Jd] on the river finished the hand and the match in de Wolfe’s favor, who now needed only one more victory to make the final table.
In the third match Eddy Scharf moved all-in with [Kd][8s] and was called by de Wolfe and his [Ks][4s]. The flop of [10c][10s][6s] did not help Scharf, but did give de Wolfe a flush draw. The [8h] fell on the turn, and de Wolfe now needed a spade on the river to eliminate Scharf. The river card was the [Qs] and de Wolfe had won the match and the series, catapulting him to the final table.
Annie Duke had a tougher time putting her opponent away, needing all five matches to subdue The Devilfish and blaze her way to the final table. The first match ended when Annie moved all-in with [8d][6s] and was called by Dave Ulliott’s [Jh][10h]. A six landed on the flop to give Annie a pair and no help arrived for Ulliott. Annie took the first match.
The second match also went Annie’s way. Dave pushed all-in with [8d][5s] only to find out that he was dominated by Annie’s pocket eights. Ulliott could not overcome the pocket eights and Annie took a 2-0 lead in the series, needing only one more win to end it.
Ulliott would not go quietly though, and won the third match after Annie moved all-in with [8c][5s] while he was holding [Kc][7d]. The board was no help to either player, falling [Qc][10h][6h][4s][10s] and Ulliott won the match, but still needing to win out to make it to the final table.
In the fourth match, Ulliott called from the small blind preflop and Annie checked to see the free flop. Annie moved all-in after a flop of [Ah][9s][4c]. Ulliott made the call and Annie showed her [9h][7s] only to see that Ulliott held the slightly better hand of [9c][8d]. Annie could still win with a seven, and the pot would be split if two cards higher than eight fell on the turn and river or the board paired the four. The turn was the [Jd], giving Annie more hope for a split pot, but the [6h] on the river dashed Annie’s hopes, giving the match to The Devilfish, and sending the two to a final match.
In the final match, Dave Ulliott raised with [Ad][Ks] and Annie Duke simply called with [Js][4s]. Ulliott pushed all-in with his overcards on a flop of [9c][9h][4h]. Annie made the call and had the lead with her two pair. The [5d] on the turn and the [Qh] on the river gave Annie the victory. Winning the series 3-2, Annie Duke had won her way into the final table.
Roland de Wolfe and Annie Duke would join Tony Guoga, Andy Black, Alex Kravchenko, and Marcel Lüske at the final table.