In this No Limit dominated game, one tournament fights the good fight for the Pot Limit enthusiasts, the Grosvenor Casino in Walsall once again rearing its pot-raising head to hold what is easily Europe’s biggest Pot Limit Hold’Em event – the Bluesquare.com Grosvenor Grand Prix.Spread across two starting Days, over 200 competitors made their way to Junction 10 for this year’s latest Black Country outing with all eyes firmly hooked on that meatalicious £90k first prize, not to mention the prestigious title of Britain’s Pot Limit Champ.
With the modern game threatening an outbreak of elitism, it was refreshing to see an unquestionably worthy field of poker warriors, all of whom having worked their socks off to qualify either online or via one of the many live satellites held across the nation. Among them were the usual pool of pro players, Bambos Xanthos, Ash Hussain, Michael Greco, Paul Jackson, Nick Gibson, Karl Mahrenholz, Stuart Fox and Lucy Rokach all proving they’re more than capable of earning their entry rather than throwing their monetary weight around.
However, although there were familiar faces galore, the final 9 would prove familiar faces to the local onlookers only as regulars Ashfag Ahmed, Marcus Bebb-Jones, Vince Maden, Antony Kennedy and Amrad Patel made this a near all Midland final table. Even unfortunate bubbleboy Javed ‘Chief’ Iqbal is instantly recognisable on these shores!
Amrat Patel – 366,500
Jeff Burke – 333,500
Paul Rogers – 2975,000
Richard Simmonds – 293,000
Antony Kennedy – 278,000
Ashfag Ahmed – 200,000
Ved Madan – 142,000
Marcus Bebb-Jones – 137,000
Paul Vicary – 114,000
Before the tournament director’s whistle had even been blown, a deal of sorts was struck, the remaining nine players opting to reshuffle the top-heavy structure by taking 10k off 1st and 5k off both 2nd and 3rd and redistributing the spoils among the remaining 6 spots.
If this annual flattening was to reward anyone, then it would be Vince Madan (left), his K-Q vs. K-T on a K-T-x Flop clash with Paul Rodgers resulting in a swift visit to the bar for a celebratory come consolatory beverage.Next to drop and be thankful for the proposed deal was young hotshot Antony Kennedy. All-in with A-J on an Ace high Flop, Antony failed to improve against Simmond’s Big Slick, and he was gone in 8th.
Whilst Marcus Bebb-Jones gradually climbed not only multiple money rungs, but also the chipstack ladder, Paul Vicary (7th – A-T vs. A-9) and Amrat Patel (6th - A-7 vs. K-K on a K-6-7-7-Q board) were soon followed to the rail by former debt-collector Jeff Burke, whose Jacks versus Queens clash against the now seemingly unstoppable Bebb-Jones was enough to see him crash out in 5th.
After cool cucumber Ashfag Ahmed departed in 4th (A-J vs. 9-7 on a 4-Q-7 Flop), we were left with our final three poker Trojans, and chip counts that suggested it was still anyone’s game.
Richard Simmonds -- 500k
Paul Rodgers-- 500k
Marcus Bebb-Jones -- 1.2 million
With Rodgers removing Simmonds in 3rd with A-Q versus A-9, we were treated to a Rodgers/Bebb-Jones clash and 30 minutes later, it was all over, the Bebb-Jones stack too much for Rodgers to handle as the shiny-headed Brummie took Grand Prix gold with A-Q versus A-7 on an A-Q-9 Flop.With Marcus Bebb-Jones, Blue Square and Grosvenor certainly had a worthy winner, the Broadway and Walsall regular having grinded his way onto the final table with all the focussed prowess of ten Mickey Wernick’s before comfortably dominating a tough final table line-up.
Much fun was had from all throughout the four days, and Blue Square once again proved that even with the GUKPT dominating the current the scene, there was life in the old Pot Limit dog yet.