On Friday, July 24th, 33 players dove headfirst into the deep end for our Shark Week Poker Tournament. 🦈 The waters were warm, the chip stacks were deep, and somewhere at every table, a card shark was sizing up their next meal. Discovery Channel spends a whole week reminding you that the ocean is a brutal and unforgiving place. Consider this your reminder that our poker tournament is no different.

For hours, the feeding frenzy raged — stacks were devoured, bad beats were delivered, and one by one, the fish were picked off until only the apex predators remained. Let’s dive in.🤿

Watch the full recap video below or continue reading to learn how this epic shark tale unfolded.  

Nancy Sexton vs. Mike Schaub vs. Stephen Belden – Three-Way Feeding Frenzy
The first blood of the final table was drawn in spectacular fashion. At blinds of 15k-30k, Mike “Boston Mike” Schaub shoved all-in from the lojack with 7♠️️7♣️️. Nancy Sexton re-shoved for less from the button with A♦️️8♦️️ and then Stephen “Stevie” Belden — apparently unbothered by the chaos unfolding around him — moved all-in from the big blind with K♥️️9♣️️. Three sharks in the water. Who will survive?

The flop: J♣️️4♣️️6♦️️. Nothing dramatic yet. The turn: K♣️️. Stevie paired his king and surged into the lead. The river: K♦️️. Trip kings for Stevie, who had been quietly lurking below the surface while everyone else was busy splashing around. Stevie scooped the pot, took a massive bite out of Mike’s stack, and sent Nancy Sexton to Davy Jones’ locker in 9th place. The ocean just got a little smaller. WATCH🎦

Chip Chinery vs. Mike Schaub – The Best Hand in the Sea
Still at blinds of 15k-30k, Mike open-shoved all-in from under the gun. Chip Chinery looked down at A♣️️Q♣️️ on the button and made the call. A strong hand. A reasonable call. Unfortunately for Chip, Mike tabled A♥️️A♦️️ — the great white shark of starting hands. 🦈

The board ran 3♦️️7♦️️6♣️️5♦️️7♠️️ — a dramatic runout that gave Chip chop outs on the turn, but ultimately delivered nothing. Alas, Chip Chinery was eliminated in 8th place, the victim of a sea monster of a hand at the worst possible moment. Sometimes you sink. Sometimes you swim. This time it was the former. 🫧 WATCH🎦

Brett Maier vs. Stephen Belden – Calling Blind into the Abyss
At blinds of 20k-40k, Stevie moved all-in from under the gun with 7♦️️7♠️️. Brett Maier, already pot-committed in the small blind with the majority of his chips in the middle, called all-in without looking at his cards. Miller folded in the big blind and Brett finally peeked at his hand: 7♥️️9♣️️.

The bad news: Brett was drawing to a nine as his only live card. The worse news: Stevie flopped trip sevens when the board came A♦️️8♦️️7♣️️. The turn and river of 3♦️️2♦️️ completed a backdoor flush for Stevie — turning an already dominant hand into an absolute monster, leaving Brett Maier to fade into the dark abyss in 7th place. Respect for the courage, Brett. Unfortunately, the ocean respects nothing. WATCH🎦

Dave Malkoff vs. Jay Moriarty – A Quick and Painless Execution
At blinds of 30k-60k, Dave Malkoff found himself automatically all-in in the big blind, his stack no match for the rising tide of the blinds. The table folded around to Jay “Moose” Moriarty in the small blind, who auto-called and tabled A♥️️2♦️️ against Dave’s 7♥️️3♣️️.

The board ran 6♠️️8♠️️2♠️️K♣️️Q♦️️, sweeping Dave away by the current in 6th place before he ever had a chance to swim. 🌊 WATCH🎦

Mike Schaub vs. Brandon Delany – A Birthday Bite
At blinds of 30k-60k, Mike shoved his last 46k from the small blind with K♦️️2♦️️ — a desperate lunge for survival after treading water since that initial three-way skirmish. In the big blind sat Brandon Delany, who called with A♥️️2♥️️ and the easy confidence of someone celebrating his birthday at the poker table. Because he was! 🎂

The board ran 5♠️️J♣️️8♠️️J♠️️5♦️️ — a complete blank that changed nothing and helped no one, leaving Brandon’s ace kicker to do the work it was born to do. Once the shark, Mike Schaub was officially hunted down in 5th place as Brandon stacked up his chips. Looks like some birthday wishes do come true…🎁🎈 WATCH🎦

Miller Tai vs. Jay Moriarty – So Close to Shore
At blinds of 30k-60k, Jay shoved from first position with A♣️️Q♠️️ and Miller Tai — short-stacked in the big blind with T♥️️9♠️️ — had no choice but to call off his remaining chips. Drawing live but behind, Miller needed some help from the board.

The flop: 8♠️️3♣️️4♦️️. No help, but still afloat. The turn: 7♥️️. Miller now had an open-ended straight draw. With 14 outs, we all wondered… is it Miller time or closing time? The river… 8♣️️! Ooh, so close. Just as Miller saw the shore, the sharks dragged him under in 4th place. WATCH🎦

Brandon Delany vs. Stephen Belden – A Turning of the Tides
At blinds of 50k-100k, Brandon shoved from the button with A♣️️2♣️️. Stephen looked down at 5♣️️5♥️️ in the big blind and made the call. With the odds against him, Brandon’s tournament life was on the fishing line.

Then the flop arrived: 5♦️️4♣️️3♥️️. Stephen flopped a set of fives! But wait, what’s this? Brandon had flopped a straight – the steel wheel! Incredible! Suddenly, it was Stephen who needed help.

The turn: 7♣️️. Now a six on the river would give both players a straight and chop the pot — one of the crueler ways the deck can twist the knife.

Now the river… T♥️️. Brandon’s straight held strong as he doubled up in dramatic fashion, escaping the JAWS of elimination. 🦈 WATCH🎦

Stephen Belden vs. Jay Moriarty – Hook, Line, and Sinker
Still at blinds of 50k-100k, Stevie shoved from the small blind with J♠️️5♥️️. Fearless as always, Jay called from the big blind with just 7♠️️8♣️️.

The flop: Q♥️️6♦️️7♣️️. Jay paired his seven and took the lead. The turn: 2♥️️. No help for Stevie. The river: 6♣️️. Stephen Belden, who had been one of the most dangerous sharks in these waters from the very first hand, was caught hook, line, and sinker in 3rd place. 🎣 WATCH🎦

Brandon Delany vs. Jay Moriarty – The Birthday Boy’s Big Splash
Down to two. Jay Moriarty had been relentless all night — patient, precise, and absolutely merciless when it counted. Brandon Delany, celebrating his birthday at the felt, had matched him hand for hand.

At blinds of 50k-100k, Jay shoved from the small blind with K♥️️5♥️️. Sensing blood in the water, Brandon called from the big blind with 6♥️️6♦️️. As the theme to “Jaws” played in all our heads, we watched the dealer unveil the board.

The flop: 2♥️️7♣️️4♦️️. Brandon remained firmly in the lead. The turn: 7♦️️. Jay was down to a king and king only to survive. The river… Q♦️️! Brandon’s pocket sixes held strong, earning him the title of our newest WGA Poker Group Champion! 🎉

Brandon didn’t just survive the feeding frenzy. He was the feeding frenzy. Happy birthday, champ. The mug is yours. 🎂🏆 WATCH🎦

Here is a summary of the tournament results. Congrats to all our finalists! 🎉

1st – Brandon DeLany 👑
2nd – Jay “Moose” Moriarty
3rd – Stephen “Stevie” Belden
4th – Miller Tai
5th – Mike “Boston Mike” Schaub
6th – Dave Malkoff
7th – Brett Maier
8th – Chip Chinery
9th – Nancy Sexton

Special thanks to Alasdair Thornton for all his help in running the tournament, as well as to Jay Moriarty and the Burbank Moose Lodge for their continued support and hospitality. As always, thank you to our incredible dedicated dealers for keeping the game moving – Randi Barnes, Miller Tai, Henry Harper, and Joe Boothe.

Please stay tuned for updates via Facebook and the e-newsletter, and don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel.

Our next tournament is set for Friday, September 11^th (Don’t worry, that won’t be the theme). Keep an eye out for the official invite. Until then, please enjoy these photos from the night and always remember… in a world of fish, be a shark! 🐟🦈🐟

P.S. In the survey, 65.5% of you identified as “left sharks” while the other 34.5% identified as “right sharks.” In other words… GTO poker means nothing here. Embrace the chaos.  

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