The poker world was rocked once again as two giants of the Maple Valley poker world met in what many are describing as the match of the century.

The night began with Santa himself kicking off the battle for Maple Valley poker dominance. It soon turned into an all out brawl, a war between friend and foe, cops and robbers, a battle the will be talked about for years.

As some of Maple Valley’s greatest players were suckered, punched and kicked, men like the ever-dominant Bill “too tuff” Van Ruff and the always strong Eric “don’t call me little” Van Ruff were brought to their knees by a strong field of poker players.

September winner Kelly “its for the kids” Snodgrass was not to be seen at this final table, while Clark “heartbeat” Davis left with his second ninth place bottle of booze.

Eric “is it my blind” Larson was short-stacked, but still walked away with a strong fourth place finish. Next to feel the felt was last year’s winner Mike “want a loan” Ross.

But in the end, it was the matchup everybody wanted to see, a match that was made for TV ratings; Sean “Handy Hendy” Henderson and Bill “Boom Boom” Woodcock were the last two men standing after a long, hard night of war on the green felt.

The smack talk was flying as hand after hand these two men went toe-to-toe in a battle that can only be described as brutal. After hours of play, Henderson shoved all-in on a tired, short-stacked, pink-drink Woodcock. Faced with huge blinds and an early morning sparing match, Woodcock pushed back and just could not get lucky. Henderson showed the world why he is called “Handy Hendy” and why he truly is a champion among champions.

In the end the kids won, as these two great men shook hands and provided Christmas for 22 more kids.

Woodcock, with his signature wave, promised to take no prisoners the next time. Santa could be heard ho, ho, hoing outside in the frost.

Until next time – Merry Christmas.