05/06/2026
Kia ora all,
Apologies for the late post-up. We’ve been catching up on some much-needed rest.
TONIGHT
Please make sure to comment if you’re in for tonight. It helps us organise Fridays. Only book a seat and chip draws if you are absolutely sure you’ll be playing.
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LAST WEEKEND’S EVENTS
THE BIG KAHUNA - SATURDAY
Event 2 of the TA TOA Series, is officially in the books after a hard day’s battle on the felt, right through to the finish.
With a waiting list of 16 players, The Big Kahuna proved to be one of the most sought-after events on the TA TOA calendar. It was a reminder that the early bird catches the worm 🤨 while also giving the TA Crew plenty to consider as we look ahead to next year’s event.
Action was full-on right from the get-go!
It didn’t take long for things to heat up! A few players took some time to adjust to the longer blind structure, with several stacks hitting the middle before the first break.
After lunch, it was back to business as the players returned to the felt and the battle continued.
By late afternoon, only two tables remained. From there, it was a steady march towards the money.
As the hours rolled on, we finally reached the final table at around 5:30pm, by which stage the tournament had become a true test of patience, endurance, and survival.
At the start of the final table, things were pretty quiet. Players kept it tight—and who could blame them with $2K up top 🤷🏽♀️.
Chips moved back and forth, stacks shuffled around, and after a while, the final table started to thin out.
To ease the pain of just missing out on a cash, a bubble prize was awarded as a little parting gift.
The final five settled in for the grind and battled on for quite some time, but eventually it was David whose run came to an end on the bubble.
With the bubble out of the way, the chips started moving around the table. Pegs was the next player eliminated, collecting a well-earned 4th-place finish.
That left Steve O, Jay Gilbert, and Donghia as the final three standing.
A familiar face from last year’s Big Kahuna cash list, Donghia staged one of the comebacks of the tournament after being reduced to just three big blinds. He fought his way back into the mix, but ultimately his deep run ended with a 3rd-place finish, leaving Steve and Jay as the last men standing.
Steve and Jay agreed to a split of the prize money but continued to play for the trophy. After a good half-hour of heads-up action, it was Jay who got the job done, claiming the title of The Big Kahuna 2026. Well done to both champs!
A massive thank you to everyone who came and to those who worked behind the scenes to make the day such a success.
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SUPER SUNDAY CLASSIC - SUNDAY
Our series spun to a close with our NL Hold’em Teams Event.
A few players weren’t quite sure what to expect with the new format, but it turned out that most enjoyed the day and liked that the event made for a relaxing, fun, and social way to finish off the weekend.
Our final TA TOA Trophy for the series was awarded to Jason Ching.
As the sole paid TA member remaining at heads-up, Jason secured the title of Super Sunday Classic Top Individual Winner and claimed the final TA TOA Trophy of the series.
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It was a busy weekend for the TA Poker Crew, but a great way to mark 23 years of TA Poker with our TA TOA King’s Birthday Series!
Thank you to everyone who came out and supported us over the weekend. Congratulations to all our trophy winners and to everyone who cashed!
A big mihi going out to everyone who helped out over the weekend. Whether it was dealing tables, ‘fill-in’ TD’s, helping with chip-ups, packing tables away, or clearing up afterwards, your mahi did not go unnoticed.
Heoi ano, e te iti, e te rahi, tēnei te tuku i nga mihi nunui ki a koutou katoa na matou o TA.
