Football, cricket, rugby – there are many games that are renowned for being played in teams, but surely not a survivalist game like poker? Well, think again, because this weekend witnessed the climax of the blondepoker.com Team Event in the crystal making coastal town of Waterford.
After the success of last November’s blondepoker.com Waterford Autumn Festival, the boys from Big Slick Events were back once again to offer their version of poker with a twist. The rules were simple: four players to a team, points equating to finishing positions and the trophy going to the team with the highest number of points come final whistle. If you clashed with a teammate, the hand would be checked down and play would continue.
Thirty-one teams in all would take on the challenge, with various contingents boasting some of Ireland’s hottest talent. Of particular note was the presence of Irish Open finalist Nicky Power and 2006 Irish Poker Championships Champion Kieran ‘Flipper’ Walsh (both pictured).
With the Guinness flowing at a familiar rate, the banter was unsurprisingly rife and a good time was enjoyed by all. However, there was still some booty up for grabs, both individually and as a team, so the competition remained fierce.
Heading into the final table, it was still anyone’s game, with Noel Kelly’s team boasting two finalists in himself and silver panther Percy Kingston. Also making it into the final was Nicky ‘Stewey Griffin’ Power, but disappointing performances from his fellow teammates meant that his focus would be set on the individual rewards only.
Although Richie Lawlor fought valiantly to finish 3rd, the efforts of Percy Kingston would mean that his team, Fish With Chips, would eventually fall in third for €2,000. With John Roger’s team being catapulted into 2nd by the performance of 7th place finisher Patrick Dunphy, this left the cumulative efforts of Noel Kelly, Percy Kingston, Dave Fagan and Stevie Richards to be rewarded with the Team trophy and a juicy cheque for €6,000.
Meanwhile, there were still some spondoolies up for grabs in the tournament, but with John Kelly’s late surge, which included the elimination of Nicky Power in 4th, giving him a monster chip lead, Percy Kingston agreed upon a deal by which he would take €2,000 leaving John to bask in the glory of a €2,800 payday.
As always, this was a thoroughly exciting event to both watch and update, and in that respect I sincerely hope it returns for yet another outing this time next year. Thank you to both Big Slick Events and the Woodlands Hotel for their hospitality and a big congratulations to the winning team, especially finalists Percy and Noel, the latter of whom seemed reluctant to release the trophy from his grasp.
1st John Kelly -- €2,800
2nd Percy Kingston -- €2,000
3rd Richie Lawlor -- €1,000
4th Nicky Power -- €700
5th Eoin O’Neill -- €500
6th Colin Fardy -- €400
7th Patrick Dunphy -- €350
8th John Burke -- €300
9th Noel Kelly -- €250
Team Awards:
1st Noel Kelly’s team -- €6,500
2nd John Roger’s team -- €4,000
3rd Richie Lawlor’s team -- €2,000
Thirty-one teams in all would take on the challenge, with various contingents boasting some of Ireland’s hottest talent. Of particular note was the presence of Irish Open finalist Nicky Power and 2006 Irish Poker Championships Champion Kieran ‘Flipper’ Walsh (both pictured).
With the Guinness flowing at a familiar rate, the banter was unsurprisingly rife and a good time was enjoyed by all. However, there was still some booty up for grabs, both individually and as a team, so the competition remained fierce.
Heading into the final table, it was still anyone’s game, with Noel Kelly’s team boasting two finalists in himself and silver panther Percy Kingston. Also making it into the final was Nicky ‘Stewey Griffin’ Power, but disappointing performances from his fellow teammates meant that his focus would be set on the individual rewards only.
Although Richie Lawlor fought valiantly to finish 3rd, the efforts of Percy Kingston would mean that his team, Fish With Chips, would eventually fall in third for €2,000. With John Roger’s team being catapulted into 2nd by the performance of 7th place finisher Patrick Dunphy, this left the cumulative efforts of Noel Kelly, Percy Kingston, Dave Fagan and Stevie Richards to be rewarded with the Team trophy and a juicy cheque for €6,000.
As always, this was a thoroughly exciting event to both watch and update, and in that respect I sincerely hope it returns for yet another outing this time next year. Thank you to both Big Slick Events and the Woodlands Hotel for their hospitality and a big congratulations to the winning team, especially finalists Percy and Noel, the latter of whom seemed reluctant to release the trophy from his grasp.
1st John Kelly -- €2,800
2nd Percy Kingston -- €2,000
3rd Richie Lawlor -- €1,000
4th Nicky Power -- €700
5th Eoin O’Neill -- €500
6th Colin Fardy -- €400
7th Patrick Dunphy -- €350
8th John Burke -- €300
9th Noel Kelly -- €250
Team Awards:
1st Noel Kelly’s team -- €6,500
2nd John Roger’s team -- €4,000
3rd Richie Lawlor’s team -- €2,000