All good.  Where am I?  Brighton and the interweb.  Grown lazy in my medium age.  Filled with nostalgia when Kato got mentioned.  Always have a bit of a check on blonde.

kato
and his school uniform

chopped a comp with him about 4 years ago... he was wearing schoolboy shorts too...

He was a frequenter of my N London homegame about 8 years ago; uniform standard, also very generous with the takeaway he brought  - one of our more regular and benificent attendees.  In addition very knowledgeable about Go tournaments and clubs in London which was a pretty niche thing back in the day - my dad very appreciative.  Wherever he is (hello if lurker), very appreciative!

I can confirm that a) Patrick Clarke has won the Irish Open and the Sole Survivor thingy for a total of €250k, to the whoops of his very excited rail (recap now up) and b) that I have had legs this entire time.  These days are long, if satisfying to report on, so too much craic makes it all rather difficult.

Thank you for providing evidence of previous leglessness, I look back fondly to the days when I didn't have to write 10k words a day and could get down to the serious business of whiskey.



Here's Dana, after some serious business.

In due deference to prior request, that wasn't me or any of my associates posting that.  But we're hand-for-handing the final in advance of the livestream like one giant spoiler all day. Similarly previous three days.  Craic is, as ever, holding everyone here despite mostly being busted all the way through.  Jon Lundy busted in 8th and doesn't seem to be going anywhere, for example.

Highlights off the tables include: €10k high roller event that went ahead as a heads up between Mark Buckley and Calvin Anderson (Buckley won).  The high rollers then decided to do a €1k arm-wrestle side event (Anderson won).  Later, people were allegedly putting €100 pots up for the masseuses to arm wrestle each other.

The final table is taking place in a boxing ring, with an actual tuxedoed ring announcer; the finalists made their way to the ring in shiny robes with boxing gloves to the theme song from Rocky.  Whenever the level goes up a lady in shorts holds up the new level on a big piece of card.  It's a well-realised vision all round.  We're actually in the ring with them, so can smell the tension as the money jumps increase.  €200k for first!

Hi NN,

I too am interested in who'll be in Dublin this year as I'm getting a weekend pass from the Shady Grove Updaters' Retirement Home and, along with Danafish, taking on the blog. 

Rumours of technical innovation drift on the breeze, as do those of interesting attendants.  But if anyone from blonde's going, the old-fashioned notebook-and-sympathy-for-bad-beat-stories combo of the live update is yours for the asking, so come say Hi.

I don't remember writing everything that seems to be attributed to my Paddy Power log-in over the last few years (blaming the craic), but I do remember enjoying it immensely.  I also remember Ian Simpson proposing to his girlfriend when he won last year, to a rail that doesn't ever disappear leaving an atmosphere-bereft final (as so disappointingly happens more often than not elsewhere), and I don't know what will top that.  Maybe the winner will announce he/she is the Messiah.

Whatever, it's going to be fun.  Good luck to those playing!

Hi, Long-time Lurker, first time Poster:*

Have to say watching Tikay ladder to heads up in the PLO final was one of the highlights of the trip for me overall.  Staring with a slight frown into the middle distance in alternating directions between hands wasn't enough to fool anyone that he wasn't utterly enjoying himself every hand.  Well played to them all (Ben, champion Alex and Ian among them) and the core 4am railgroup.

Anyone I know whom I saw for the first time in months/years over the weekend - it was a pleasure; occasionally an event seems to trap everyone like honey on that Micro Machines on-the-kitchen-table level and this was definitely one of them.  Best of luck to anyone heading to the deep end of the Main and 6-Max.  Also a big thank-you directed to the dealers and floor staff many of whose faces I saw so often I wondered if they actually went home at all - these things run smoothly because people are on their feet and on the ball for long hours.

Here are my clearest-remembered aspects of my days there (+ stand-out features):

Everyone was there (multiplicity & camaraderie)
DTD staff (hospitality in adversity)
Day 1a buffet (viscosity & salinity)
Jeremy Nock winning the hi roller at 6am (tenacity not alacrity)
Nando's (proximity and periperi)
..and especially TightEnd (indefatigability).

Hope everyone still out there has a great time until end of the UKPC!

*This year

Enjoy sun-dodging - best of luck DEMPSEY, JAMES VINCENT T and all!

Just want to add congratulations to the Thew/Trigg pile.  Thanks for making the final watchable in real time. 

Hello!  I rather miss posting on blonde, actually, but I am in the lurking stage of one of those lurker-keyboardwarrior-lurker cycles at the moment.  Thanks for your interaction during the Sky Poker thing* - it was shambolic fun and I never really thought they'd let me hold up handwritten signs.  Kudos to Tikay et al. for keeping up the chat for four hours at a go regularly - I don't know how you do it. 

Supernova - good times.  Always great to meet people properly out and about.  Red Dog - if you had been any smoother to Anna and myself at the time you could have been used as a sandpaper advert.

And actually I've already bought several wham bars with dividends from blondepoker.

Regards to all,

Jen


*apart from Snoopy who is now banned from asking questions

Ah Stu, you should have been a politician.

I just want to add my agreement when you all note the sheer hours put in here by Tighty and Supernova - I was sub-ing for Peter Leeper and haven't covered a GUKPT in ages - now that there's a double flight groundhog Day 1 it's pretty intense. 

Also DMorgan is a gent, probably the only player who's said they're going to help all day, and actually did. 

PS He's still in the £100 Bounty Tournament at time of posting, with 5 left.  Let's just say there's reason to be hopeful.

Congrats all finalists I spoke to today, a pleasure meeting you all.

A jot of bloggers is the accepted collective.  Probably.

Hi - thanks Tighty and Chili for keeping my mum enthralled, I am sure she'll be on again today!  Been an awesome one and just wanted to leave a message for Stu Rutter (whose army of loud fanboys were amusing our table last night): nice short stackage, and hope you do well! 

Gl everyone else, and ty for updating!

Pab
Snooops

Snoops and I are coming up in the Ford Fiesta Encore.  Look out DTD parking lot; shade your eyes from its majesty.  Been like a year since playing live - it looks like a great event!  Just have to remember to act in turn, not pick up cards too high, not shout what I have like at home etc. etc.  Gl everyone else going.

UL Stu - briefly popped into the Vic this afternoon and gave him a hopefully supportive-looking grin from behind James Roberts (who's covering the final table on his birthday, no less!).  Nice pink hat there.