"Can anybody catch Sean Perry?"
That was the question on commentator Jeff Platt's mind during the opening credits of the Season 5 finale of No Gamble, No Future, which aired Wednesday evening. Up to that point, Sean Perry had been on fire, and all signs pointed to a total sweep.
After starting Day 3 with a runaway lead, Perry's dominant display in No Gamble, No Future's Cash of the Titans II was at risk of collapsing just before the finish line. Despite being the only player in the black on the win/loss balance sheet, Perry's stack took a few hits in the early goings of the final frame while others at the table – including defending Cash of the Titans I Champion Andrew Robl – caught a late surge to move into striking distance of the top spot.
With $200,000 on the line for the player to show the highest profit across the three days of play, there was no holding back.
Young done, Robl rises
The first hand of the episode brought immediate fireworks as Justin Young clashed with Robl in a pair-versus-pair confrontation that saw the former head for the exit. As the shortest stack in play, Young was in desperate need of a spin-up.
After looking down at 
, Young put in a raise to $2,500 and picked up calls from Kristen Foxen and Mike Volfson before Robl three-bet to $15,000 with 
. With only $69,500 in his stack, Young sent all his chips into the middle. Foxen and Volfson fled the scene, but Robl wasn't going anywhere. Young was in need of a miracle two-outer to stay in the game, but the board ran out 
to send him on his way as the first elimination.
Robl takes the shot but Foxen scores
After dragging in the rest of Young's stack, Robl found himself just $100,000 shy of Perry in the win/loss column. It would only take a single big pot for the defending champion to surge into the top spot and steal the $200,000 bonus prize out from under Perry. Knowing this, Robl took his chances at winning a big one in the final hand of the competition.
With the $2,000 straddle on, Robl raised to $6,000 with 
. Foxen, next to act, looked down at 
and three-bet to $18,000. When the action folded around to him, Robl began to do the math, trying to figure out the best way to both win the pot and finish the competition as the most profitable player. After making his calculations, Robl settled on an all-in.
With a smile on her face, Foxen picked up her cards and laid them out in front of her, declaring a call in the process. With $497,500 in the middle, Perry could kiss his $200,000 bonus goodbye as the player who won the pot would finish as the biggest winner.
In the commentary booth, Brent Hanks and Platt could hardly contain their excitement as the Cash of the Titans II title came down to one final hand. Hanks called the situation "unreal" as Platt said it was one of the wildest hands on NGNF. As for Perry, all he could do was watch on and pray to the poker gods for a chopped pot.
"For the record, I wanted to gamble," Robl told the table. "I've never played poker with Kristen before today."
With the ballgame on the line, the dealer spread the 
flop to keep Foxen well ahead. The turn was as clean as could be and, just like that, Perry's hopes of a chop vaporized. Robl needed to connect with his three outs to secure back-to-back Cash of the Titans wins. Any other card and the win would go to Foxen.
The river 
changed absolutely nothing, and, in dramatic fashion, at the eleventh hour, Foxen emerged as the victor. As she beamed with happiness, Foxen took the time to shake her competitors hands. With that pot, Foxen secured the $200,000 bonus prize to add to her nearly $300,000 in profit.
You can watch every episode of No Gamble No Future, along with High Stakes Poker and other premium content on PokerGO.
