A week or two ago, Stuart Fox announced on the blonde forum that he'd be taking a well overdue sabbatical from poker and wouldn't be hitting the felt again until the World Series. A few days later I noticed that he'd made it through to the Ongame Network Poker Classic live final in Barcelona, and when questioned about his appearance, he assured me that this would be THE last event he would be playing for a while.Of course, as Jimmy Greaves once wisely claimed, "It's a funny ol' game" and not too long after, Stuart Fox was the last man standing and receiving his cheque for $239,300 as the Ongame Network Poker Classic Champion.
blonde Hall of Famer and more commonly known as 'Foxy', Stuart has been playing the circuit for a few years now, proving to be a regular at all the big events. Although he's come close in events such as the Deauville EPT, the 2005 Grosvenor Grand Prix and the 2006 Irish Poker Open, he's never quite made the 'big time' over here, just missing out on that top spot by a whisker on each occasion. Even in America where he won 80k in a $1,500 WSOP freezeout, he couldn't quite get his paws on that bracelet, so that highly desired first place has always eluded him.
But of course, it was only a matter time, and this victory is more than deserved. In the aftermath, Stuart was clearly delighted commenting, "Hey, thanks very much to all the well done messages. I got $239.3k as we did a deal heads up and played for about 40k. I did get lucky once or twice, but at last, I won one!"
The final itself was an eventful one for Stuart who, arriving shortstacked with just 23k, must have been elated to learn that they were moving the blinds back to 400/800. Concerned that he would be obliged to push early doors, Stu was now given the gift of 'time', and his patience was rewarded as he doubled up within the first hour when his Pocket Kings hit a set.And from that point, 'Foxystrong', as was his moniker for this tournament, never looked back, sailing onto the final table in confident mood and with a decent stack to boot. Also making that final table was another blondeite, Mick 'headcase' McCloskey (left). Using the online alias of 'riverroe0', there was nothing fishy about the Irishman's performance as he eventually went on to win a highly commendable $70,760 for his 6th place finish.
Foxy, however, was still running strong, and after a double up with Kings versus the Big Slick of David 'Stuart531' Whalen, lady luck blessed the likable Brummie when he eliminated Jame 'JimDownUnder' Honeybone with A-9 vs A-J, and then Whalen with A-7 vs AJ.
Sitting pretty with his newly obtained stack, Stu then sat back as Ben 'KILL U' Blair took out Klaus 'samson49' Madsen in 3rd for what was possibly the most crucial pot of the tournament, a 50-50 (8-8 vs A-K) which would prove to be worth almost $100,000. A third snowman on the Flop and Klaus found himself on the wrong side of what was ultimately a coinflip situation.
And not too long after, Blair encountered an all-in with Foxy. Moving all-in with K-3, Foxy made the call with A-8 and after a harmless 4-2-4-6-Q board, Stuart Fox was announced the Ongame Network Poker Classic Champion and had won his first major tournament. A superb result for Foxy, who not only takes home $239.3k in spondoolies, but also a gold card protector said to be worth $10,000.Nice job Foxy, and also to Mick McCloskey who finished 6th - blonde salutes you both.