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I love tournament directing. Some directors who also play the tournament circuit, like myself, often find it difficult to watch over events. They would simply rather be playing. However, I like watching players play out a structure I designed, waiting to see if it works the way it was planned. On top of that, when you're tournament directing, you get to watch events from start to finish from the closest perspective possible without actually playing. And this past Saturday, I had the pleasure of watching the Canadian finals of the Betfair Million Dollar Game. And the players didn't disappoint!

They came to the television studios where the final was being taped from every corner of the country. East coast, west coast, north, and south. It was a wonderful cross-section of players and skill levels. And, like most events such as this one, it would be a challenge for someone to find the style that would allow them to get through the field and go to England to compete in the final 18 of the MDG.

As the players filed into the studio, and faced the lights and cameras, I noticed more than a few shaking hands as they drew their seat cards. Nerves were going to be the first opponent that these players were going to have to overcome in order to play some good poker. Those nerves were even more evident through the first couple of levels of play. Virtually every one of the 17 runners played scared for the first hour. Re-raises were rare. Over-raises were NOT! It seemed like the players really didn't want to get into any confrontations, and were content to overbet their good hands and take pots down right away rather than risk exposing themselves.

It's not unusual for amateur players playing under the bright lights or in a big event for the first time to play with a fair amount of fear. Quite often, it's the first player who can shake those jitters and get back to playing their normal game that finds success. And that was true in these Canadian Finals.

Mike Phan of Toronto was one of the first players to turn up the heat, and his early aggression paid off as he amassed a fairly hefty chip stack during the first half a dozen levels. When the field was pared down to the final table, Phan was in a great position to throw some weight around. Perhaps having the largest contingent of fans in the gallery gave him some extra courage. Or, more likely, it was the lack of someone to stand up to the table bully that allowed him to run away with the title.

Early on at the final table, Phan pushed all his chips into the middle on a flush draw, and luckily hit it. Perhaps it was seeing the young player's willingness to push that caused the rest of the table to freeze. Whatever the cause was, the effect was obvious: players laid down hands in spots they should have called or shoved, and Phan's chip stack just kept getting bigger. Standing watching this action with a couple of the good people from Betfair, we often found ourselves shaking our heads in amazement as players folded hands in spots that were just screaming for calls or raises.

But in the end, the pressure brought on by Mike Phan was more than enough to run over the final table, and take down the title of Canadian champion in the Million Dollar Game. And now it's off to England for young Mike, where he will have a one in eighteen shot at winning a million dollars. It's hard to say what effect THAT pressure will have on the field, but it's safe to say that if Mike plays in London the way he played in Toronto, he might just walk away with the title, as the other players run scared. It will be fun to watch...