| Game Type: | Limit |
| Buy-in: | £1,000 |
The climax of the Grosvenor Grand Challenge on Saturday saw 129 runners stumping up £1,000 each for the Main Event. And a decent field it was too, with the Hendon Mob making what is these days a rare but very welcome UK appearance. Dave Colclough, John Shipley, Julian Thew, John Duthie, Keith The Camel Hawkins, Bad Girl Pham, Steve Vladar, Jon Shoreman, Liam Flood, & others too numerous to mention were there to vie for the £48,000 first prize.
10,000 starting chips & a 1 hour clock were plenty if not a little too much, & 2 long days were in prospect for those that survived. Amazingly 62 players on 67 tables (not 52 on 6 tables as I reported yesterday - sorry!) returned at 3.00pm on Sunday to continue the battle.
It took 6 hours to reduce the field from 62 to 21, & another 2 hours before we had the Final 18, all of whom would get at least £1,000. Positions 18th to 10th were as follows:
18th George McKeever
17th D Wahl
16th N Gold
15th M Rodio
14th Ian Bradley
13th M Bader
12th tikay
11th Kevin O'Leary
10th Paul Alterman
So at around 1am on Monday, our Final Table line up looked like this:
Seat 1, Ian Woodley, 185k
Seat 2, J P Rogers, 212k
Seat 3, Eric Barker, 218k
Seat 4, Robert Binelli, 110k
Seat 5, Denis O'Mahoney, 65k
Seat 6, Keith "The Camel" Hawkins, 175k
Seat 7, Teddykins, 202k
Seat 8, Julian "Yo-Yo" Thew, 95k
Seat 9, Alan McLean, 41k
It was expected that Eric Barker, teddykins, & The Camel would dominate the early action. Sure enough, when Alan McLean's went all-in for 41k on teddykins BB, & the latter was to give the genial Alan a long hard stare before slamming his chips on the table defiantly & saying "call". Teddykins then proudly turned over T-T, & the rail birds were craning their necks to see what Alan had moved with - amazingly he also had TT, so that was that.
Then the Camel & Eric Barker clashed for the first of many times, as Keith's all-in bet on the flop was declined by Eric.
Alan Mclean then went all-in with Q-9, but he was in pretty awful shape against Ian Woodley's A-Q, until, that was, a 9 dropped on the river & Alan had got his desperately needed double-up.
Teddykins, in the SB with Thew in the BB, then moved all-in & looked none too happy to see Julian call with JJ which held up, & the Nottingham man had doubled up.
Julian took out Denis O'Mahoney the next hand, when the card-dead Denis moved with A-6 & got called by Julian with 99, Denis caught his six but not his A, so Denis was out in 9th for £3,000. Denis had battled all afternoon to get a major double-up, but luck was against him today. Suddenly Thewy was looking dangerous, up to 200k plus.
Now things were warming up. Jeff Rogers made it 30k (8-8), Eric Barker moved all-in for 220k, (JJ), & Robert Binelli called all-in with AK, Jeff Rogers wisely decided to step out of the firing line. The flop of T-A-4 was just what the bohemian looking Binelli needed, but a cruel J hit the turn to give Eric a set, & that was that for Robert, out 8th for £3,600. Jeff had dodged a bullet, & Eric was suddenly in command with 400k & raising. And raising. And then raising some more.
Next he took on Jeff Rogers who had moved all-in for 130k with a massively over bet A-9, & Eric had him in awful shape with AK. A board of A-Q-Q-7-7 initially looked like a split pot, two pairs with an A, but it did not fool Eric who quickly pointed out to the crestfallen Jeff that it was two pairs, Aces & Queens with an K Kicker, & Jeff was on his way with £3,200 for 7th. Jeff had been Billy Low-Stack all afternoon & had battled his heart out to make his most valuable Final ever. He had rocketed from 30k to 212k just before the Final, & it was clear he was bitterly disappointed to exit. A great effort though.
Camel now entered the fray & made a huge all-in bet with AA, trapping Julian Thew a treat with T-T, & it looked all over for Yoyo Thew. The flop of 8-9-T bought gasps from the onlookers, Julian had cracked the Aces - or so it seemed. But, bizarrely, the turn & river came J-Q for a straight on the board - split pot!
Eric, by now up to 500k+, made it 22k to go, but the unusually quiet teddykins now moved in on Eric for 105k. But Eric was in the mood for dancing, not passing, & quickly called with K-J. First card K, goodnight teddykins, 6th £4,800.
Now the Camel was back in the action, calling the all-in Alan McLean (T-8) with KQ, and the Q fell on the turn, & Alan was heading back to the north west with £7,200 by way of consolation.
Four left, getting to the serious money now, & Eric the Screw was determined to R at every opportunity & made it 40k to go with J-T suited. The Camel was not about to be pushed around though, & moved all-in with A-Q suited, quickly called by Eric. Neither hand improved,& Eric had taken his first beat.
Now came the most extraordinary play of the Final. Eric was raising every hand, but Thewy was not going to yield his BB, & called Erics 40k bet. A flop of 2-6-5 saw Julian check, Eric bet 60k, Julian quickly called. Turn was a Q, so 2-6-5-Q now, again Julian checked, again Eric bet, another 60k, Julian again calls without delay. What could Thewy have to keep calling? He's never been a calling station, it's raise or pass with Julian, this was starting to suggest "monster" & "milking". Turn was 4, so 2-6-5-Q-4, three hearts, and a possible straight. Eric now fired the third shell, 80k, & again Julian wasted no time in calling. On their backs, Eric had A-7 for A high, & had been bluffing every street. And what was this monster Julian had called for all his stack with? Over pair? Set? Straight? Flush? None of them. A-2 - yup, A-2 for bottom pair - he was not beating anything but a bluff, & had called for his entire stack. Wow! Eric looked visibly shaken, how could Julian have called that??!! An unbelievable play by the Nottingham boy, showing what heart & courage he has.
Camel was back in action now, taking on Ian Woodley's A-T with A-Q, & with no help for Ian from the board, he was out in 4th spot for £10,200.
OK, time to talk deals, three left with £87k to play for. Eric had been reduced to low-stack by Julian's A-2 coup, but the suggestion of £27k each for The Camel & Julian, £25k for Eric, & play for the odd £8k was met with short shrift by the straight talking Eric. "I want an equal share or we play on & I will give it some stick". Give it some stick? Wassat mean? "It means I shall R every hand". Like he had not already been doing just that.....? What a character this man is. OK, it's agreed, £25k each & play for the £12k.
And Eric was true to his word, making it 60k next hand with 4-4, called by The Camel, but a flop of A-Q-6 aint exactly ideal for 4-4, & when the big man bet out, Eric passed for almost the first time.
Now Eric raised it up to 40k with KQ, & Julian made another remarkable call with 4-7, caught the 4, & took another pot off Mr Barker, who was by now looking punch drunk. And it was all over for Eric next hand when his A-9 could not beat The Camels T-T, even before Keith hit his set.
So Eric departed with £25k, but he had given of his best, made life uncomfortable for everyone, & gone down with all guns blazing. And he was gracious in defeat, shaking the hands of the two survivors & warmly congratulating them, when he must have felt like wringing their necks. Eric won the Stud comp earlier in the week, so not a bad week for the charismatic fella when all is said & done.
More deal talk now, & Camel & Julian agreed to £30k for the Camel, £28k for Julian, & play for the last £4k. The heads-up battle ebbed & flowed for over an hour, before Julian eventually got the upper hand, & on the stroke of 4am - so they had played some 20 hours poker - it was all over, Julian had won a titanic struggle.
It's hard not to feel some sympathy for Keith. Ever popular, ever smiling, the man had a tough time in 2004, & was cruelly denied a huge payday in Amsterdam in November. And he looked shattered by the time the Final ended, & no wonder. He played in Friday's £200 comp, made the Final on Saturday, & only finished it (3rd, £12k) an hour before the Main Event started, so Keith had played almost non-stop for 3 days. I had the misfortune to sit to his right for 6 hours on Saturday in the Main Event & he demolished the table - and most especially me - with his aggressive but controlled play. Congratulations Keith, you are a top bloke, may there be many more big paydays for you in 2005.
And so to our winner, young Mr Thew. What a coup for William Hill Poker to sign up Julian last last year, they must be delighted with him & proud of him & his demeanor. Julian had top 10 finishes in 2 successive EPT events in the Autumn, and has been harvesting the comps week after week at the Gala Casino in Notts. No attitude or arrogance with this guy, he was truly humbled by his victory today, & was near to tears. He rang me an hour later & said "I still cant believe it, I have won a major comp". There will be plenty more, you can bet on that.
Time has beaten me today - the Final never finished until 4am - but tomorrow we will carry a special "Tales from the Tables" reviewing the week at Luton, and a "My Comp" for those that enjoy that sort of thing.
10,000 starting chips & a 1 hour clock were plenty if not a little too much, & 2 long days were in prospect for those that survived. Amazingly 62 players on 67 tables (not 52 on 6 tables as I reported yesterday - sorry!) returned at 3.00pm on Sunday to continue the battle.
It took 6 hours to reduce the field from 62 to 21, & another 2 hours before we had the Final 18, all of whom would get at least £1,000. Positions 18th to 10th were as follows:
18th George McKeever
17th D Wahl
16th N Gold
15th M Rodio
14th Ian Bradley
13th M Bader
12th tikay
11th Kevin O'Leary
10th Paul Alterman
So at around 1am on Monday, our Final Table line up looked like this:
Seat 1, Ian Woodley, 185k
Seat 2, J P Rogers, 212k
Seat 3, Eric Barker, 218k
Seat 4, Robert Binelli, 110k
Seat 5, Denis O'Mahoney, 65k
Seat 6, Keith "The Camel" Hawkins, 175k
Seat 7, Teddykins, 202k
Seat 8, Julian "Yo-Yo" Thew, 95k
Seat 9, Alan McLean, 41k
It was expected that Eric Barker, teddykins, & The Camel would dominate the early action. Sure enough, when Alan McLean's went all-in for 41k on teddykins BB, & the latter was to give the genial Alan a long hard stare before slamming his chips on the table defiantly & saying "call". Teddykins then proudly turned over T-T, & the rail birds were craning their necks to see what Alan had moved with - amazingly he also had TT, so that was that.
Then the Camel & Eric Barker clashed for the first of many times, as Keith's all-in bet on the flop was declined by Eric.
Alan Mclean then went all-in with Q-9, but he was in pretty awful shape against Ian Woodley's A-Q, until, that was, a 9 dropped on the river & Alan had got his desperately needed double-up.
Teddykins, in the SB with Thew in the BB, then moved all-in & looked none too happy to see Julian call with JJ which held up, & the Nottingham man had doubled up.
Julian took out Denis O'Mahoney the next hand, when the card-dead Denis moved with A-6 & got called by Julian with 99, Denis caught his six but not his A, so Denis was out in 9th for £3,000. Denis had battled all afternoon to get a major double-up, but luck was against him today. Suddenly Thewy was looking dangerous, up to 200k plus.
Now things were warming up. Jeff Rogers made it 30k (8-8), Eric Barker moved all-in for 220k, (JJ), & Robert Binelli called all-in with AK, Jeff Rogers wisely decided to step out of the firing line. The flop of T-A-4 was just what the bohemian looking Binelli needed, but a cruel J hit the turn to give Eric a set, & that was that for Robert, out 8th for £3,600. Jeff had dodged a bullet, & Eric was suddenly in command with 400k & raising. And raising. And then raising some more.
Next he took on Jeff Rogers who had moved all-in for 130k with a massively over bet A-9, & Eric had him in awful shape with AK. A board of A-Q-Q-7-7 initially looked like a split pot, two pairs with an A, but it did not fool Eric who quickly pointed out to the crestfallen Jeff that it was two pairs, Aces & Queens with an K Kicker, & Jeff was on his way with £3,200 for 7th. Jeff had been Billy Low-Stack all afternoon & had battled his heart out to make his most valuable Final ever. He had rocketed from 30k to 212k just before the Final, & it was clear he was bitterly disappointed to exit. A great effort though.
Camel now entered the fray & made a huge all-in bet with AA, trapping Julian Thew a treat with T-T, & it looked all over for Yoyo Thew. The flop of 8-9-T bought gasps from the onlookers, Julian had cracked the Aces - or so it seemed. But, bizarrely, the turn & river came J-Q for a straight on the board - split pot!
Eric, by now up to 500k+, made it 22k to go, but the unusually quiet teddykins now moved in on Eric for 105k. But Eric was in the mood for dancing, not passing, & quickly called with K-J. First card K, goodnight teddykins, 6th £4,800.
Now the Camel was back in the action, calling the all-in Alan McLean (T-8) with KQ, and the Q fell on the turn, & Alan was heading back to the north west with £7,200 by way of consolation.
Four left, getting to the serious money now, & Eric the Screw was determined to R at every opportunity & made it 40k to go with J-T suited. The Camel was not about to be pushed around though, & moved all-in with A-Q suited, quickly called by Eric. Neither hand improved,& Eric had taken his first beat.
Now came the most extraordinary play of the Final. Eric was raising every hand, but Thewy was not going to yield his BB, & called Erics 40k bet. A flop of 2-6-5 saw Julian check, Eric bet 60k, Julian quickly called. Turn was a Q, so 2-6-5-Q now, again Julian checked, again Eric bet, another 60k, Julian again calls without delay. What could Thewy have to keep calling? He's never been a calling station, it's raise or pass with Julian, this was starting to suggest "monster" & "milking". Turn was 4, so 2-6-5-Q-4, three hearts, and a possible straight. Eric now fired the third shell, 80k, & again Julian wasted no time in calling. On their backs, Eric had A-7 for A high, & had been bluffing every street. And what was this monster Julian had called for all his stack with? Over pair? Set? Straight? Flush? None of them. A-2 - yup, A-2 for bottom pair - he was not beating anything but a bluff, & had called for his entire stack. Wow! Eric looked visibly shaken, how could Julian have called that??!! An unbelievable play by the Nottingham boy, showing what heart & courage he has.
Camel was back in action now, taking on Ian Woodley's A-T with A-Q, & with no help for Ian from the board, he was out in 4th spot for £10,200.
OK, time to talk deals, three left with £87k to play for. Eric had been reduced to low-stack by Julian's A-2 coup, but the suggestion of £27k each for The Camel & Julian, £25k for Eric, & play for the odd £8k was met with short shrift by the straight talking Eric. "I want an equal share or we play on & I will give it some stick". Give it some stick? Wassat mean? "It means I shall R every hand". Like he had not already been doing just that.....? What a character this man is. OK, it's agreed, £25k each & play for the £12k.
And Eric was true to his word, making it 60k next hand with 4-4, called by The Camel, but a flop of A-Q-6 aint exactly ideal for 4-4, & when the big man bet out, Eric passed for almost the first time.
Now Eric raised it up to 40k with KQ, & Julian made another remarkable call with 4-7, caught the 4, & took another pot off Mr Barker, who was by now looking punch drunk. And it was all over for Eric next hand when his A-9 could not beat The Camels T-T, even before Keith hit his set.
So Eric departed with £25k, but he had given of his best, made life uncomfortable for everyone, & gone down with all guns blazing. And he was gracious in defeat, shaking the hands of the two survivors & warmly congratulating them, when he must have felt like wringing their necks. Eric won the Stud comp earlier in the week, so not a bad week for the charismatic fella when all is said & done.
More deal talk now, & Camel & Julian agreed to £30k for the Camel, £28k for Julian, & play for the last £4k. The heads-up battle ebbed & flowed for over an hour, before Julian eventually got the upper hand, & on the stroke of 4am - so they had played some 20 hours poker - it was all over, Julian had won a titanic struggle.
It's hard not to feel some sympathy for Keith. Ever popular, ever smiling, the man had a tough time in 2004, & was cruelly denied a huge payday in Amsterdam in November. And he looked shattered by the time the Final ended, & no wonder. He played in Friday's £200 comp, made the Final on Saturday, & only finished it (3rd, £12k) an hour before the Main Event started, so Keith had played almost non-stop for 3 days. I had the misfortune to sit to his right for 6 hours on Saturday in the Main Event & he demolished the table - and most especially me - with his aggressive but controlled play. Congratulations Keith, you are a top bloke, may there be many more big paydays for you in 2005.
And so to our winner, young Mr Thew. What a coup for William Hill Poker to sign up Julian last last year, they must be delighted with him & proud of him & his demeanor. Julian had top 10 finishes in 2 successive EPT events in the Autumn, and has been harvesting the comps week after week at the Gala Casino in Notts. No attitude or arrogance with this guy, he was truly humbled by his victory today, & was near to tears. He rang me an hour later & said "I still cant believe it, I have won a major comp". There will be plenty more, you can bet on that.
Time has beaten me today - the Final never finished until 4am - but tomorrow we will carry a special "Tales from the Tables" reviewing the week at Luton, and a "My Comp" for those that enjoy that sort of thing.