Last week, my time was predominantly engulfed by the penultimate Bluesquare.com GUKPT event at the Grosvenor Victoria in London, three days of which were spent grinding it out with the likes of Bambos Xanthos, Priyan de Mel, Nik Persaud and Adam Wilkinson before stumbling into my untimely elimination in 19th.One man, however, who went that one step further was Leo Kam (left), one of many young North American hotshots (think Will Ma, Jeff Williams, etc) who have become demoralising reminders of how talented this new batch of third-generation players are.
On paper, this shouldn’t have been a stroll in the park for the uber-aggressive Canadian as over 400 players spread across an extended 3 day starting schedule stumped up the £1,000 fee, and among them were plenty of big names: Surinder Sunar, Stuart Nash, Barny Boatman, Mickey Wernick, Dave Colclough, Julian Thew, Praz Bansi and Willie Tann among those eager to snap up the £119k first prize.
However, once the dust had settled and the smoke had cleared, the final line-up was an eclectic batch most notable in its appearance of the seemingly invincible Ian Cox who was enjoying yet another final after the Ladbrokes Poker Million, Plymouth GUKPT and, most recently, London EPT in the very same room.
Kam, Leo -- 1,085,500
Gibson, Nick -- 998,500
Buskirk, Carl -- 512,500
Cox, Ian -- 465,500
Kabbaj, John -- 296,500
Selin, Patrik -- 266,500
Boon, Robert -- 257,500
Gilbert, Brian -- 211,500
Bale, Michael -- 129,000
After we had lost NPL finalist Patrik Selin (K-J vs. Q-Q) in 8th, European Poker Classic Champ John Kabbaj (A-T vs. K-K) in 7th and early pacesetter and tournament terminator Carl Buskirk (7-8 vs. J-T on a 2-J-Q-9 board) in 4th, we were left with the inevitable pairing of Leo Kam and Nick Gibson (right) alongside Robert Boon who had started the day 3rd lowest in chips.Although thoroughly supported from both the live and virtual rails, A-K twice scuppered Gwibbo’s chances making him the shock exit in 3rd after looking so dominant throughout.
This left the path clear for Kam who clawed back a mountainous 4-1 chip deficit to snatch GUKPT gold when the youngster’s Q-6 outdrew the Norfolker’s Pocket Sixes for the title and all the spondoolies – not to mention Blue Square watch and Grand Final seat.
In London on a 1-year work visa, Canada’s Leo Kam was jubilant in victory and commented, “I reckon I’ll be playing more poker in the UK” which doesn’t bode well for the rest of us.
Meanwhile, the Grosvenor Victoria showed their recent emergence as a poker giant with their new lavish cardroom once again shining as a top-notch venue to prise out all you poker thrills. They shone at the recent EPT, and showed no signs of faltering here. Kudos to all involved.