A cold winter's day, tinkering below freezing point on the temperature gauge. Brisk winds, icy roads, and more than a hint of snow lining the streets. Brrrrrr. It's times like these that I say my graces and thank John Duthie for making the EPT an indoor event. Yep, this was a very chilly Danish climate, but, fortunately, the lavish Copenhagen Casino was full of warmth, with the bitter cold outside remaining nothing more than a picturesque view from my hotel window.
Armed with an ever reliable Jen, we set-up station in the pressroom, a location that was soon to become a distant memory. Within minutes my wireless connection was throwing in the towel and I was later forced to relocate to a lobby-like area just outside the cardroom.
Whilst bracing ourselves for the first day of play, I was treated to an array of famous faces. Joe Hachem, Chris Moneymaker, and Pascal Perrault all trundled past our doors with the likes of Barny Boatman, Xuyem ‘Bad Girl' Pham, and Julian ‘Yoyo' Thew not too far behind.
A quick peek into the cardroom revealed a rather splendid arena for poker playing. Strings of bright golden lights, spacious layout, and a raised stage area braced for a feature table. Dealers took their seats, camera crew set up their gear, and then… I was star-struck. My jaw dropped as I released a slight gasp. There he stood before me, in all his glory, the big boss man…
… Big TK Thomas Kremser.
In the land of Tournament Director's, Big TK is King. With matching tie and hankie accompanying a creaseless suit, he was looking rather dapper. Like Austria's answer to Des Lynam, the man is cool with a capital ‘C'. I'd seen him so many times on TV that it felt somewhat surreal when he suddenly appeared lurking behind me.
As the players began to take their seats, I started to recognise a few more faces. Playing Day 1A were Joe Grech, Gus Hansen, and the aesthetically pleasing Isabeller Mercier, whilst former international footballers Jan Molby and Stig Tofting were also present.
In fact, one of the most familiar names in the whole competition was first to drop. Like a short gust of wind, Rob Hollink was in and out quicker than the hokey cokey and a brisk dash towards the door meant no hand details were obtained.
Although the day's play was to bid farewell to the likes of Hansen, Mercier, and Grech, the award for most eventful departure must go to the 2003 WSOP champ, Chris Moneymaker, whose top set over bottom set was busted when the river brought his opponent an undeserved four of a kind. Moneymaker's yelp was heard echoing around the room with his bright red face clearly expressing his frustration.
With the excellent structure and good clocks, plenty of poker was being played, but that didn't stop the stars from falling. Boatman was eliminated just before the end of play whilst Perrault was sent packing a few hours earlier. However, the opening session wasn't to swallow up all the fan favourites, as both Julian Thew and Xuyem Pham more than crawled into the final 50, the latter holding the chip lead with 89k.
Day 1B was similarly scintillating as the second batch of competitors hit the felt. This time we were treated to the likes of Marcel Luske, Juha Helppi, Joe Hachem, and Ram ‘Crazy Horse' Vaswani'. Also noted in their appearances were reigning champion Noah Boeken from the Netherlands and Sweden's footy superstar Thomas Brolin.
Whilst Ram built a tasty chip lead off the likes of early faller James Vogel, most of the famous names were going steady without ever threatening to amass chips. At one point I was under the misconception that Luske was more than treading water, but a second glance made me realise that his stack was made up of lower denomination chips only. It was then that I was informed that Marcel likes to obtain a psychological advantage over opponents by making his stack more difficult to count. To achieve this he often refuses to give change when asked, an action that would see him tarred and feathered at a local casino game. Unfortunately for Marcel, his tactic wasn't enough to see him through to Day 2, and, along with Martin Wendt, Roland De Wolfe, and ‘Smokin' Steve Vladar, was forced to wave goodbye to the potential 234k 1 st prize.
At the end of Day 1B, it was Dutchman Marc Naalden who held the chip lead with a massive 120k, over 30k more than 2 nd placed Xuyen Pham.
As Day 2 lingered, Jen and I had become more accustomed to our new base, which was far from official. However, the couches were comfy and the connection was good, features that seemed to attract a flurry of other press members who gradually joined our new found home.
Moving headfirst into Day 2, careful deliberation resulted in our spotting of a couple of Blondeite participants. Although eventually eliminated by Boeken whilst illuminated by the spotlight of the feature table, The Sun's Simon Young (Suffolk Punch) was pleased with his performance, and even more delighted when he was interviewed by the PokerStars' eye candy.
Also battling away was Blondeite David McGeachie (doubleup), but, after showing plenty of promise, was eventually forced to miss out on the final day festivities.
Whilst the small British contingent of Tony Chessa, Ram Vaswani, Thomas Grundy and co were still slugging it away, it was the Scandinavians who were starting to flourish with Mads Andersen, Philip Hilm, and Isaksen Rainer all running well.
The female representatives were also pulling their weight. Although small in numbers, Karin Lundgren and Anina Gundesen were both proving tough customers. At one point I recall promising to eat my hat if a woman made the final table. By the end of the day, my blondepoker cap was being served with chips, salad and a splash of ketchup.
As Day 2 drew to a close, and the final table was in sight, the Scandinavians continued to dominate. Julian and Ram both narrowly missed out, whilst locals Mads Andersen, Philip Hilm, and Shek Chi Chung grabbed the bull by the horns and took control of the game.
The eliminations of Adam Nilsson, Christer Johnannsen, Hans Eskilsson, and finally Bad Girl in 9 th meant that we were down to the last 8.
The final table looked like this, with a minimum of £21,941 going to each player.
Mads Andersen (Denmark) -- 1,023,000
Philip Hilm (Denmark) -- 600,500
Shek Chi Chung (Denmark) -- 307,000
Marc Naalden (Netherlands) -- 273,000
Anina Gundesen (Denmark) -- 223,500
Edgar Skjervold (Norway) -- 186,000
Markus Gonsalves (US) -- 156,000
Johan Berquist (Sweden) -- 47,500
With Day 3 about to commence, I recalled a bet I'd made with a Danish journalist. He'd offered me 2 to 1 on Skjervold placing higher than Andersen. Payment would be in the form of an alcoholic beverage and, with Mads on over 1 million, I was confident I'd be ending the night with a pint in my hand and a Cheshire cat grin on my face.
With cameramen covering each angle, Rhowena on stand-by with mike in hand, and with almost half a million left in the prize pool, the atmosphere was tense. Play was understandably cagey, and, with the blinds still relatively small, a long day was fully expected.
The first casualty was short stack Berquist, whose A-J off-suit ran straight into Gundesen's pocket Kings. Then, after living dangerously with multiple all-in reraises, Shek Chi Chung departed at the hands of Skjervold.
With each exit receiving life-changing amounts, every move became a crucial one. Unfortunately, Gundesen was unable to progress further as she was taken out by Hilm, who had flopped top pair with an open ended flush draw. This was a relief for me personally as I may have been obliged to eat my whole collection of headwear if she had somehow gone on to lift the trophy.
The role of short stack was now on the shoulders of American Markus Gonsalves, a player whose EPT ticket had been kindly swapped by PokerStars for the Sandinavian Open after the youngster was unable to attend his initial fixture in London. Although this proved to be a profitable move, it wasn't destined to lead him to victory as he took the 6 th prize of £43,882.
With 4 left, play was manic. Every time the short stack reached a showdown, he won. The lead swapped numerous times and there was some doubt that the final would ever reach a conclusion. The most remarkable of these moments was when Hilm's Q-5 all-in was called by Naarden's A-6. The 6-6-7-8-9 board inevitably resulted in a flurry of audience gasps and even a few ‘core blimeys' from the English on-lookers. Although luck initially appeared to be on Hilm's side, alas, it wasn't to be, and he took the long awaited 4 th place spot when his 9-4 holding was brushed aside by Andersen's A-7.
With only one departure required for heads up to commence, the chip lead continued to alternate, with all three having a taste at the top. First Dutchman Naalden, then Micky Mouse jumper wearing Andersen, before Skjervold was finally given a turn. Then, out of the blue, we were down to two. The excited, but exhausted crowd rose from their seats to watch Andersen's T-9 outdraw Naalden's A-Q.
If onlookers thought that this would lead to a brisk end to the comp, they were severely mistaken. Andersen and Skjervold played out one of the best heads up confrontations I've ever witnessed. Big moves, careful traps, and bluffs a plenty, both players were on top of their game and desperate to win.
Finally, after around sixty minutes of one-on-one action, Andersen's AQ held up against the Norwegian's A-T. The two combatants looked thoroughly exhausted, and understandably so. Mads Andersen accepted his cheque for £234,036 and was crowned Scandinavian Open Champion 2006. A worthy winner!
So, another EPT down and another top player discovered. The former Backgammon champion was well known in ring game circles, but has now firmly associated himself with tournament success. Runner-up Skjervold similarly impressed and is surely one of Europe's up and coming stars.
Although the press were sometimes given limited access, the event as a whole was very well run. John Duthie ran round like a headless chicken at times, but it was all worthwhile. The EPT comps are getting better and better with complaints of Barcelona quickly becoming a distant memory.
A cracking week! Roll on Deauville. I knew that French A-Level would come in handy one day…
