Had this many Twitch streamers ever been in the same place at the same time?
I’ll even take it one further. Had this many Twitch streamers ever all been awake at 11am before?
Doubtful. It can only mean one thing, then.
Today was the £40 FU Flip at Lex Live 2.
Here’s how it works.
Players start with 5,000 in chips, and blinds at 100/100, with 20-minute levels. At the beginning of each level, all players at the table must put three big blinds into the middle, and a hand is then dealt out with cards-up. Whoever wins the hand scoops the pot.
As you can imagine, those flips become pretty expensive and rather valuable as the tournament progresses.
Having fun in the £40 FU Flip with my new card protector on courtesy of @Wellsie_ 😍 #lexlive pic.twitter.com/9nIJR4MBbE
— Flix (@xflixx) October 3, 2019
LEX LIVE 2: FULL SCHEDULE | ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW | GUIDE TO LONDON | ALL COVERAGE
‘DAMMO_23’ INTERVIEW | WELCOME PARTY PHOTO GALLERY | POKER IN THE EARS PODCAST | HIGH ROLLERS IN TOWN | LEX LIVE ADVENTURE | MEET THE QUALIFIERS
As we strolled through the tables (after we busted, of course), it was a who’s who, like a Twitch poker waxwork museum come to life.
Nicholas “OP-Poker Nick” Walsh was sat right next to Tom “pleb_method” Hayward.
Hayward (left) and Walsh
Mason “pyefacepoker” Pye was also in the mix, alongside Fintan “easywithaces” Hand, Felix “xflixx” Schneiders, and Georgina “GJReggie” James.
Mason “pyefacepoker” Pye
Just take a look through the many faces of Arlie Shaban as he wins a flip:
Shaban flipping well
Out of all of them, though, it was your boy, Benjamin “Spraggy” Spragg, who went deepest.
Spraggy reached the final table, where he was joined by Twitch community members Sanne “Antim00n” Bombeek (who yesterday featured on the Poker in the Ears podcast) and Lex’s YouTube editor and long-time sub, Dwight ‘Extempore’ van der Wal.
Flipping heck, Spraggy
But there was another Spraggy at the final table too.
Spraggy’s brother, Dan Spragg, not only reached the finale, he got down to three-handed and was felted by his own sibling. Dan shoved into Spraggy with the Q♥J♥, only to be snap-called by pocket kings, which held up.
Dan Spragg: sibling rivalry
A big rail gathered to watch what was surely the peak of Spraggy’s career to date, and he didn’t disappoint.
On a Q♥2♥K♥ flop, Spraggy checked and Michael Perks led for 12,000. Spraggy raised it to 27,000, only for Perks to jam. Spraggy snap-called with 10♥6♥ for a flopped flush, while Perks had outs with his Q♠J♥.
You know the rest. The turn and river bricked, and Spraggy — Benjamin Spragg, that is — took it down.
“This is the best thing that’s ever happened to me in poker,” Spraggy admitted after his win. “In fact, this is the best thing that’s happened to me in years, honestly.”
Spraggy wins. Lex hates to see it.
As everyone will no doubt be looking forward to the next Lex Live, and particularly the next FU Flip tournament, we wondered: is there a secret to winning them? Spraggy kept it simple and remained humble.
“Win flips. It’s all in the flips. Although having said that, I didn’t win that many. I just won all the other pots by playing near-perfect poker.”
Prior to this event, Spraggy admits that the poker hadn’t been going so well for him here at Lex Live 2. However, he’s still a huge fan of the festival.
“It’s been amazing. You can’t not have a good time here. I could lose here every single day and still be over the moon.”
Finally, we wondered where he plans to keep his shiny new trophy.
“I haven’t decided yet. It might go behind the stream, or I might make a dedicated secondary cam–a Lex Live trophy cam.”
Lex joins in for the infamous Spraggy squat
LEX LIVE 2: FU FLIP
Buy-in: £40
Entries: 49
Prize pool: £1,666
Places paid: 6
Date: 02/10/2019
1. Benjamin “Spraggy” Spragg – £601
2. Michael Perks – £370
3. Daniel Spragg – £240
4. Dwight Van Der Wal – £195
5. Sanne “Antim00n” Bombeek – £145
6. Nigel Berg – £115
All in all, it was a wonderfully weird way to start a Thursday morning.
Why can’t we have Lex Live every week?
(front row) Lex and Spraggy, (back row) Michael Parks (centre)