Valve Corporation, the developer of first-person shooter video game Counter-Strike, has issued a strong warning to any professional player that match fixing, or gambling of any kind while playing the video game should be put to a stop.

“Professional players, teams, and anyone involved in the production of CS:GO events, should under no circumstances gamble on CS:GO matches, associate with high volume CS:GO gamblers, or deliver information to others that might influence their CS:GO bets,” the company said in a statement.

As such, Valve has imposed a new set of rules that forbids professional players from placing bets on matches, even those that they’re not directly partaking in. The new rule will now be imposed on all tournaments sponsored by the company.

While it’s hard to actually police betting on Counter-Strike: Global Offensive matches, the company is pleading to its players to follow the new rule to “protect the integrity of these matches” because match fixing episodes could have a substantial impact on the heat and stability of the sport.”

“Betting using inside information, or even the perception or suspicion thereof, carries a significant risk of damaging your personal brand, your team, your community, and may lead to exclusion from future Valve-sponsored events,” the company added.

The announcement came after a recent of high-profile betting controversies, including match fixing claims, came to light. Valve even took the unprecedented step of banning some players for participating in throwing away games for the sake of winning bets.

This includes 19 players from Epsilon eSports, ex-ESC Gaming and WinneR, all of whom were banned from participating in an upcoming tournament in Poland after evidence of match fixing came to light. Five players from ex-ESC Gaming ultimately saw their bans overturned, but 14 players from the other two teams remained.

Pala Interactive CEO Jim Ryan, who was also the CEO of PartyGaming and co-CEO of bwin.party, has expressed his concerns over the likelihood of the Restoration of America’s Wire Act (RAWA) becoming law.

Last week saw Rep. Jason Chaffetz reintroduce RAWA, the anti-online gambling legislation supported by Las Vegas Sands Chairman Sheldon Adelson. The three-page bill would create a federal ban on almost all online gambling, seeking to undo the late-2011 Department of Justice opinion that the 1961 Wire Act only applies to sports betting.

RAWA would force Nevada, New Jersey and Delaware—the only states where online gambling is regulated—to close their intrastate online gambling markets and would also restrict state lotteries from offering online services.

“It’s a most interesting time in that we have a Republican-controlled Congress and a well-financed political effort to amend the Wire Act. This is the most significant threat we’ve had post-Black Friday,” Ryan told PocketFives.”I think Adelson’s legislation has a good shot of passing.”

Ryan also said that if Adelson’s group was successful in amending the Wire Act, it would push online gambling into the black market instead of regulating it.

Regulated igaming in California: “…Low Odds of Bill Passing in 2015.”

With the Washington and Mississippi online poker bills now dead, any hopes of another state joining the country’s three regulated markets in 2015 now rest pretty much with California. However, with the Golden State’s gambling interests continuing to find little common ground, the chances of California’s AB 9 and AB 167 bills progressing in 2015 remains a long shot.

In what has been one of the most enduring relationships in the online gaming world Winmedia are sad to report their relationship with leading Irish bookmaker Paddy Power has come to an end.

What began in January 2002 with the filming of the world’s first commercially sponsored poker tournament – made into a seven part TV series broadcast on SKY Sports – developed into a 13 year affiliation which reached dizzy heights.

Ian Langstaff, director of Winmedia which has specialised in the filming and broadcast of poker for over a decade, explained:  “Paddy Power unquestionably helped put our company on the map with their boldness of vision to sponsor a televised poker tournament long before online poker was on most people’s radar.  True to the company’s legendary sense of humour that event was actually filmed at the Divine School of Worship Studio, Maynooth, Ireland!

“In the subsequent years we have enjoyed some great times broadcasting and webcasting both the Paddy Power Irish Open and Winter Festivals.  The highlight was probably the 2006 Irish Open when we broadcast the final table of the tournament live on both SKY Sports and national broadcaster RTE.  In 2007-2009 we recorded the day’s action, edited it during the early evening, and broadcasted it as part of a live presentation from the venue that night.   I believe this is the only way to broadcast poker on television.

“Whilst in later years our joint activities have amounted to simply webcasting a single feature table, it is still with a heavy heart that our relationship has come to an end.  We take away some great memories which include working with Liam ‘The Gentleman’ Flood, Doyle Brunson, Kara Scott – amongst other great presenters – and some very deserved winners.”

Winmedia maintain its logistic and streaming contact with the World Poker Tour.  It is also developing the World Series of Baccarat, the opening rounds of which were recently filmed in Macau – the footage is now in post-production.

Controversial celebrity steals reality show spotlight while EastEnders smashes The X Factor in markets as the search for exclusive regional betting partner begins.

Last September amid her 2014-winning streak, FlashBitch accurately predicted the winners of Big Brother, Celebrity Big Brother and The X Factor, scoring her first hat trick.

FlashBitch tipped Katie Hopkins as winner but latecomer Katie Price, survived the final eviction despite the bookies comments on this being a two horse race. Coral’s Nicola McGeady noted: “Calum Best’s odds were slashed over the days preceding the final eviction… it’s a two horse race between Calum Best and Katie Hopkins.”

Despite failing to score her second hat-trick to re-establish the position of UK’s leading celebrity tipster, sources close to the mystery TV tipster confirmed today that FlashBitch is delighted with her score-card.

Eastenders Smashes Novelty-Betting Box Office

The mystery ‘whodunit’ storyline “Who Killed Lucy Beale?” has smashed UK novelty betting records, overtaking even the most established markets including The X Factor and Big Brother.

“EastEnders is about to reach its conclusion and we’re expecting BBC TV to crank up the hype machine as we move into the last two weeks before the killer’s identity is revealed. BBC EastEnders’ Facebook page has 3,565,831 likes, it’s a part of the UK’s psyche, most of the nation are sat on the edge of their seats.” – Paul Reilly – Media Skunk Works

Coingaming.io, the leading platform provider which specialises in the provisioning of Bitcoin cryptocurrency solutions for the iGaming sector, today announced that it is the first ever licensed Bitcoin only gaming platform to offer Microgaming Quickfire games.

Integration with Quickfire, powered by Microgaming, provides operators that use the Coingaming Bitcoin only casino platform with access to over 400 games, which include games like Avalon II, Thunderstruck II, and branded content titles such as, The Dark Knight™, The Dark Knight Rises™ and Playboy™.

Mark McGuinness, Communications Director of Coingaming, explains: “Microgaming are leaders in providing first-class software and their comprehensive and innovative portfolio of casino games is available in over 20 languages. Coingaming is focused on providing the best gaming experience to the rapidly growing Bitcoin casino player community. Our agreement with Quickfire, powered by Microgaming, shall see Bitcasino.io our biggest B2B partner going live first, shortly followed be our full network of online operators allowing player’s access to the finest and most exhilarating games possible. ”

Neill Whyte, Head of Product Channels, at Microgaming comments: “Coingaming is well-respected when it comes to Bitcoin gaming platforms and white label services. We are delighted that they have chosen Quickfire, powered by Microgaming, to amplify their casino games offering. By joining the Quickfire platform, they are demonstrating their passion to providing their customers with the highest level of gaming entertainment.”

For further information, please contact:

Coingaming.io

Dan Bilzerian will not be spending time behind bars, for blowing up a tractor in a Nevada desert, after the judge allowed him to plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge of failing to put out the fire Bilzerian’s home made bomb created.

Dan Bilzerian – the self proclaimed most successful poker player of 2014 – has just proven that although money can’t buy you happiness, it does come in handy when you want to avoid a 12-year prison sentence.

You may remember that Bilzerian, and his buddy Jeremy Guymon, were arrested at Los Angeles International Airport, on 11 Dec 2014, after the fuzz used every ounce of their Sherlock Holmes detection prowess to link the pair with the explosion of a tractor in a stretch of Nevada desert.

Bilzerian had boasted about it through his social media channels; not exactly a smart move when a million airheads follow his every move.

The pair were said to have bought an old tractor, rigged it with explosives, and then blew it up by shooting the detonation device with a high-powered rifle. Nearby hikers had to duck as pieces of the tractor flew into the air. The incident happened on 4 Nov 2014.

Friday was judgment day for Bilzerian and Guymon, but they were so confident they didn’t even turn up to face the Nevadan beak. Instead it was left to Bilzerian’s lawyer, David Chesnoff, to tell the judge that his clients would plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge of negligently failing to extinguish a fire in the open, and also make a public service announcement, on behalf of the Bureau of Land Management, urging people not to buy tractors, rig them with explosives, and then shoot the detonator with a high powered rifle, when not on your land.

I guess doing it in your own backyard is fine then.

The Brazilian Series of Poker has inked a deal with the Global Poker Index that will see their ranking system used to determine the Season 2015 Player of the Year.

When 2,446 players entered the 2013 Brazilian Series of Poker (BSOP) Millions in Sao Paolo, an understanding was reached. Poker is huge in Brazil. Although that number has not been breached since, Ronaldo’s dazzling run at the 2015 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) Main Event, would have added to the clamor to be a true Brazilian poker star.

The BSOP is one of the most exciting tours in Latin America, and this week, they have strengthened their brand by agreeing a deal to use the unique ranking formula of the Global Poker Index (GPI), to help identify the winner of the 2015 BSOP Player of the Year.

The GPI has an estimated 370,000 players on its books, and analyses results from over 300,000 tournaments worldwide. In 2014, Rodrigo Garrido Portaleoni won the BSOP Player of the Year award after cashing an incredible 15-times.

GPI CEO Alex Dreyfus is delighted with the news:

“I am very happy to put the mark of GPI in Brazil, the most active poker market at the moment. Poker in Brazil is booming thanks to BSOP’s efforts and its partners. We share the vision of ‘esportificar’ poker (#SportifyPoker), which has been the BSOP precursor and, I believe the GPI can definitely support this vision. ”

BSOP Tournament Director Devanir Campos shares that enthusiasm:

Phil Hellmuth will be joined by the likes of Chris Harrison, Kim Coates and Dean Norris as he hosts a pre-Oscars charity poker tournament to aid the One Heart Source and Wounded Warriors foundations.

Poker has had its moments under the spotlight. Beads of sweat have fallen. The red carpet stained with hard work. But it never outstays its welcome. It’s a flitter. In, out, shaking it all about. But when it’s there, it looks mighty fine. Not a hair out of place.

The problem with poker is it can’t keep still. It doesn’t like the heat. Headlines are for some other hog. This baby prefers life in the shadows. It retreats into the murky mist. It never really gets a good run. If it were a show, it would be cut after the first season.

Kim Coates and Dean Norris know a thing or two about staying IN the limelight. Coates entered the fucked up mind of Tig Trager and played it to perfection. Sons of Anarchy lost more members than the Harlem branch of the Ku Klux Klan; Coates made it through all seven seasons.

“I’m gonna dunk my balls in your mouth. You’re gonna gag, I’m gonna laugh. We’ll be best friends forever.” Tig Trager.

If Sons of Anarchy was the Rolling Stones of TV shows, then Breaking Bad has to be The Beatles. Many people believe it’s the best TV series ever to air, and the role of Hank Schrader was one of the reasons why. Dean Norris was amazing. Unfortunately, he didn’t have Tig Trager’s longevity. He dies. Sorry for the spoiler, but if you haven’t seen Breaking Bad you deserve it.

“My name is ASAC Hank Schrader and you can go fuck yourself.” Hank Schrader.

Virtual sports, mobile games and video lottery provider Inspired Gaming has partnered with High 5 Games (H5G), a US casino games supplier.

Under the agreement, Inspired will distribute a number of High 5 titles across video lottery terminals, online and mobile channels via its remote gaming server Virgo.

“Inspired is committed to supplying its customers with the best content on the market. We identified that High 5 Games had a number of games that complemented our current portfolio, so it made strategic sense to partner together,” said CEO of Inspired Gaming Luke Alvarez.

“It really is a win-win for both parties – it enhances our offering and enables H5G to expand its footprint,” Alvarez added.

“With this new partnership H5G’s content continues to penetrate new markets and territories.” Chief Operating Officer of H5G Med Nadooshan commented on the partnership. “As a leader in the convergence landscape we are wholly focused on giving players full access to our content portfolio in all gaming venues whenever or however they choose.”

NextGen Gaming, the Sydney-based slots development subsidiary of NYX Gaming Group, has also signed a deal to develop new online slot content with land-based games developer Lightning Box Games.

Lightning Box Games will help NextGen to develop a series of games on NextGen’s Game Deployment Module (GDM) platform, which will be launched across NYX’x distribution network, including clients using its Open Games System (OGS) remote games server.

Stanley Ho SJM Holdings Ltd. announced on Friday that it expects Lisboa Palace’s construction to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2017.

SJM Holdings has mentioned the date of completion during its filing, which the company also announced that it is spending about MOP557 million (HK$541 million, US$71.4 million) on a new construction contract with one of its existing contractors Macau-incorporated Iao Lek Engineering Company Ltd.

Iao lek would undertake certain basement excavation, reinforced concrete structure and general builder’s work for the Lisboa Palace project.

Macau casino operator SJM Holdings broke ground on its first property on Cotai in February. The Versailles-themed Lisboa Palace has an estimated cost of approximately $3.9b.

The Lisboa Palace complex will have three hotels—Karl Lagerfeld’s first hotel in Macau as well as the Lisboa Palace Hotel and the Palazzo Versace Macau—with a total of 2,000 hotel rooms, a number of Michelin-starred restaurants, a themed retail mall, a wedding pavilion and a multi-purpose theater for large-scale events. The resort will also provide up to 700 gaming tables and over 1,200 slot machines, which are subject to “obtaining of applicable licenses.”

Construction of the Lisboa Palace remains on schedule but market rivals such the $4 billion construction Wynn Palace announced that the project will most likely not make its planned opening for the Chinese New Year 2016, same with MGM Cotai, which also modify its opening date to fall of 2016 rather than rather than “early 2016” as stated previously.

Meanwhile, Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd. also made an announcement on Friday, during its filing, that one the company’s independent non-executive director James Ross Ancell will not face further action after an investigation held by the UK Environment Agency.

PETER DAVIS TO FACE RAJINDER SINGH MEENA AND ANN OSMAN MEETS ANGELA LEE IN MALAYSIAN WARRIOR SUPERFIGHTS

THANH VU TO FACE GIANNI SUBBA WHILE ANATPONG BUNRAD MEETS SAIFUL MERICAN IN FLYWEIGHT CONTESTS

EV TING CHALLENGES CARY BULLOS AND CHAN ROTHANA BATTLES RAMON GONZALEZ

5 February 2015– Singapore: ONE Championship™, Asia’s largest mixed martial arts organization with a 90% market share, presented by Tune Talk, has added six additional bouts to ONE FC: AGE OF CHAMPIONS. The Malaysian Warrior Superfights will feature Malaysian lightweight Peter Davis as he takes on Indian MMA veteran Rajinder Singh Meena and Malaysian fan favorite Ann Osman as she takes on teen sensation Angela Lee. These bouts will air live on Malaysian free-to-air broadcast station, TV9. Two flyweight bouts will also be on the card. After three bouts as a bantamweight in ONE FC, Thanh Vu will move down to flyweight to take on Malaysia’s Gianni Subba. Saiful Merican will also return to action to take on Thailand’s Anatpong Bunrad. Malaysia’s Ev Ting will also return to take on Cary Bullos and Chan Rothana from Cambodia will face Ramon Gonzalez.

The Malaysian Warrior Superfights will be broadcast live on Malaysia’s free-to-air television station, TV9 which is the second most watched television channel in Malaysia after TV3. Besides, TV9 recently signed a deal to continue its partnership with ONE FC as its official media partner in Malaysia. TV9 is one of the four Free-To-Air (FTA) television stations under Malaysia’s leading media conglomerate, Media Prima Berhad. This will mark the first time that mixed martial arts will be broadcast live across the country.

Tickets for ONE FC: AGE OF CHAMPIONS, presented by Tune Talk, are on sale now at www.AirAsiaRedTix.com. Ticket categories begin with the full Red Carpet and cageside experience for VVIPs at RM388 followed by VIP RM278, Gold RM168, Silver RM108 and Bronze RM58. Early bird promotions for Gold, Silver and Bronze categories are available until 31 January. Prices include ticketing fee.

CEO OF ONE Championship, Victor Cui, stated, “ONE FC: AGE OF CHAMPIONS is set to kick off 2015 with a bang! The ONE FC Flyweight World Championship will be on the line when Adriano Moraes defends his title for the first time against Riku Shibuya. It will also be the first time that Malaysian fans can watch ONE FC live on primetime with two Malaysian Warrior Superfights. Peter Davis is one of the most recognizable sportsmen in the country and he will take on Rajinder Singh Meena on one of these fights while Malaysian fan favorite Ann Osman will take on Hawaiian teenage sensation Angela Lee.”

90 Digital CEO Nick Garner talks about one of the core ideas in Google Quality Rater Guidelines which  is E A T – Expertise / Authoritativeness / Trustworthiness in this edition of CalvinAyre.com’s SEO Tip of the Week.

Short intro to Trust Optimization.

Along with on site optimization and link acquisition, there seems to be a third element to ranking well on Google, it’s called Trust Optimization. Trust Optimization is based on the information we have got from anecdotal evidence on click through rates and rankings along with explicit guidelines from Google stating what they are looking for in a trusted website.

Check out the 1st post in this series so you are orientated on Trust Optimisation.

Foundation ideas for Trust Optimization.

One of the core ideas in Google Quality Rater Guidelines 2014 is E A T –   Expertise / Authoritativeness / Trustworthiness

Google say:

The pending sale of Revel Hotel and Casino to real estate developer Glenn Straub has been put on hold after a federal appeals court ruled in favor of appeals filed by tenants of the establishment who are seeking to block the sale unless their property rights are protected.

U.S. District Court Judge Jerome B. Simandle issued an 11th hour ruling, ordering that claims from the business owners must be heard before a sale can go through, setting up a Monday showdown to determine the fate of the Straub’s pending purchase.  A three-judge panel of the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia reversed a lower court’s decision that allowed a $95.4 million sale to developer Glenn Straub to continue despite an appeal from the former operator of Revel’s nightclub.

The Florida-based developer is in the final stages of purchasing the downtrodden property, but one of the conditions of the sale was him being “free and clear” of any obligations to leases held by tenants, which includes bars, clubs, and restaurants that operated inside Revel.

The emergency hearing on Monday isn’t the only thing that’s threatening the long, drawn out sale. Straub is also under a deadline by the end of the day to close the deal or risk losing his $10 million deposit on the property. It hasn’t been made clear whether the deadline would extend as a result of this latest ruling.

Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, Straub was quoted saying “If they can’t close, so be it. It’s business; we’ve done it for 52 years.”

Straub’s attorney Stuart J. Moskovitz even hinted that his client is serious about walking away from the planned purchase, even if it means losing out on the $10 million deposit.

“Everything’s up in the air right now,” Moskovitz said. “There’s these court rulings hanging over everyone’s heads.”

Sportradar Head of Communications Alex Inglot expressed its concerns in tennis, especially at the lower levels, being prone as any sport to threats of match fixing.

Sportradar is known for its meticulous approach to ensuring the integrity of sports betting across a wide number of sports. In its time, the company has learned a great deal about the intricacies of keeping these sports secure from match fixing. But recently, the sports security services company identified one sport it says it has serious concerns over match fixing: tennis.

“There are serious concerns about tennis at various levels,” Inglot said, as quoted by Inside the Games. “I know a number of professional tennis players who say there are certain countries where you go to play tournaments and every single player will be approached to fix a match.

Ingot did parse his comments by saying that not everyone is doing it, but if all players are being approached to throw away a specific match, it wouldn’t be impossible for a few bad apples to take up the fixer’s offer in exchange for compensation.

Recently, eyebrows were raised during a Challenger Tour match between Denys Molchanov and Agustin Velotti when the betting volume for the match turned out to be suspiciously higher than matches of that quality. According to Sportradar, the match between the unranked Velotti and world number 174 Molcharov generated almost $1 million in handle.

Sport radar Managing Director of Strategy and Integrity Andreas Kannich believes that there should be more cooperation between bookmakers, sports federations, and law enforcement authorities to keep the strains of match fixing away from sports.

A few years ago, I wrote a piece here telling everyone to have faith in Tiger Woods, believing that at some point, he’s going to get his game and his mind right and return to that dominant force that laid waste to golf in the last decade.

While I’m not yet prepared to eat my words, I will admit that it’s becoming increasingly lonely in this island. Am I the only left here? Maybe there are others on the other side of the island that still cling to the hope and validation of staying here when everyone else has paddled away, never to return again and regretting spending time here in the first place.

Tiger Woods is a broken golfer. He can’t stay healthy anymore and in those times where he seems to be physically right, his mental and psychological approach to golf appears to be all over the place. How can I still root for somebody who looks like he doesn’t want it anymore?

The short answer I have is the same one I had a few years ago: faith.

Granted, that faith I have is being tested like never before. A missed cut in a tournament called the Waste Management Phoenix Open? A withdrawal at the Farmers Insurance Open after only 11 holes because of back injury? The list of setbacks and botched comebacks have become as long as his list of tournament titles and I’m afraid that the former will run longer when all is said and done.

Some of Woods’ skeptics will point to a number of things to highlight his demise. His golf game is in “shambles” was what Paul Azinger told ESPN. Golf channel analyst Brandel Chamblee voiced similar concerns, saying that Woods is “incapable of doing the most pedestrian requirements at the highest level.”

While I do agree with some of what Chamblee said, I still think that Woods’ game can be salvaged. For one, driving has never been Woods’ problem. He’s still one of the most powerful drivers in the field, routinely going over 300 yards without so much of a problem to his ailing back. It’s everything after the drive that falls apart. His approach shots have been awkward. His putting has been abominable. And worst of all, he doesn’t seem to be there psychologically. It’s like having this wall in front of you that you just can’t seem to break down, no matter how hard you swing at it.

The on-going saga surrounding Japan’s “will-it-or-won’t-it” stance on casino gambling has taken another turn after the Cabinet Secretariat of Japan has tapped the Innovation Group to conduct a comprehensive research study on the proposed legalization of casinos in the country.

The team will be led by Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu with the eventual report expected to be used as an important touching point by Japanese legislators as it continues to deliberate and discuss the Integrated Resorts (IR) bill.

The study will be a comprehensive report that will involve a host of different topics and fact-finding items that are expected to be discussed by lawmakers once the bill returns to the table in the next Diet session. Chief among these issues include expert research and advice regarding the implementation of gaming regulations; information about integrated resort development protocol; best practices from similar and competing jurisdictions;  background on successful problem gaming programs; detailed approaches to address anti-money laundering; and a summary of economic and fiscal impacts from similar and competing jurisdictions, most notably Macau, South Korea, Singapore, and the Philippines.

The Innovation Group now has the responsibility to cover all of these important issues before presenting its report to the Japanese government. Innovation International Executive Vice President David Rittvo welcomed the challenge and the chance to work with Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, which he describes as being “in the forefront of providing research for both Tokyo Metropolitan Government and Japanese Diet.”

“The outcome of this research report will help to shape the proposed legislation that we hope will be passed this year,” Innovation Group President Michael Soll added.

Chairman Steven Rittvo also chimed in, saying that the government’s decision to commission this report is a positive sign that the Diet plans to discuss the bill more earnestly than it has before.

“The Japanese government has been considering the implementation of integrated casino resorts for a number of years, and much more intensely over the last year,” Rittvo said. “This present project, however, is a milestone since it is the last major effort sponsored by the cabinet.”

Ognyan Dimov is the Deauville European Poker Tour Main Event champion after defeating the Romanian Dany Parlafes in heads-up action.

[Image Credit: PokerNews and DannyMaxwell]

Ognyan Dimov becomes only the second player from Bulgaria to win a European Poker Tour (EPT) Main Event title, with victory in the €5,300 curtain closer in Deauville.

He defeated Romanian Dany Parlafes, in heads-up action, and his €543,700 first prize catapults him to fifth place in the Bulgarian all-time live tournament earners. The top two – Dimitar Danchev, and Simeon Naydenov – were both on hand to rail their countryman to victory.

The Deauville event is always considered one of the weaker events on the EPT. 592 players took advantage of that assumption, and a €2.8m prize pool was the net outcome of that.

Prior to his win Dimov’s previous best performance, in an EPT Main Event, was an 11th place finish at EPT London earlier in the season. Kevin MacPhee finished that one as runner-up to Sebastian Pauli, and the American would have another great run finishing 11th in this one. It won’t be too long before we see MacPhee adding another major title to his already impressive CV.

MacPhee wasn’t the only bit of quality enjoying a deep run at the Casino Barriere de Deauville. It was great to see Guillaume Darcourt back at the right end of things. The pink hair was gone; his loose-aggressive style remained. Darcourt ending in 19th place.