In what was to be a thrilling end to a gripping four-day comp, Londoner John Kabbaj last night became the 2006 European Poker Classic Champion when he defeated a host of famous names to reign victorious in the £1,500 Main Event. The Grosvenor Victoria Casino was to open its gates to many a familiar face, including the likes of Dave ‘Devilfish’ Ulliot, Ram ‘Crazy Horse’ Vaswani, and Keith ‘The Camel’ Hawkins, all of whom were battling away like madmen to get their paws on the coveted title, not to mention the rather appealing six figure cheque.
Whilst blondeites tikay, RED-DOG, actionjack, and robyong suffered from early baths, our figurehead 
Dave ‘El Blondie’ Colclough managed to fight his way through to the final table, eventually eliminated in third place at the hands of German dangerman Jan Heitmann (pictured above). The 44k Monty Burns earned for his efforts should soften the blow though, and reward a man who has suffered his fair share of bad beats in recent outings.
With Colclough gone, the path looked set for Heitmann to take the trophy abroad, but the Birmingham born Kabbaj had other ideas. The final hand saw Kabbaj’s ace jack see off his opponent’s pocket sevens when a bullet hit the flop. The crowd swarmed around he table, and it was over, we had a champion, one who was now 117k richer!
In what was described by many as a controversial competition with debatable levels and an odd clock, few can argue against the entertainment value that the comp brought to the table. Although jam-packed with excitement, it will be of scant consolation to those who challenged the tournament structure. The debate continues…
Keep your eyes peeled for a forthcoming tourney report.
For listed results of this event, please click here