Midlands Meltdown Day 2 - Interactive

[danafish]

On a  flop, Ash checks and Alan bets 40k; Ash calls.

Turn -  and again Ash checks. Alan bets 80k, and, after some hesitation, Ash calls.

River -  - they both check, and Alan shows  - Ash mucks.

[NoflopsHomer]

And after that chunkyish pot. Alan Mclean has really blitzed into top gear, anytime Ash has bet, Alan has either shown him a better hand or re-raised him off the pot. The end is near, Ash is down to his last few chips...

[danafish]

...And then it's over.

Ash moves in almost immediately, and Alan calls just as fast.

Ash - 

Alan - 

Board - 

So Ash Hussain is OUT in 2nd place officially winning £20,580 but actually winning £12,500...

which leads me to the obvious conclusion that the WINNER of the 2007 Midlands Meltdown Main Event is ALAN MCLEAN, officially winning £39,200 but actually winning £29,600. Many congratulations, that man.

Floppy should have some giant-cheque-and-handshake photos shortly.

[NEVES]

   Fantasic updates as usual, i used to play tourneys with alan a
few years back the man is real gent great to see him in the top spot.

         Neves.

[NoflopsHomer]

A deal has been done - the remaining £22k after everyone's had their £10k is being split £9k to Ash Hussain and £13.6k to Alan Mclean, who had roughly a 2:1 chiplead over Ash last I checked. The pointy glass trophy has been put on the table now, and the comedy giant cheque is waiting by the coffee machine.

To clarify, this deal was discussed but wasn't actually done. In the end, Alan when chipped up and Ash down to just 60k offered the latter £2.5k and took the remaining £19.6k.

[NoflopsHomer]

Here's some of the last photos.

The trophy.

Heads Up battle.

The Presentation

Hurrah! It's Novelty Cheque Time!!!


That's everything then. Dana and I are off to the bar. Congratulation to Alan and Ash, and thanks to all to super helpful and friendly Walsall staff who made the update so easy to do.

 

[danafish]

Yes yes, congrats to the winners, big old thank-yous to the fine Walsall staff for their kindness and nice buffets, and I have a beer now! 

 

[tikay]

Well done Floppy & Dana, lovely & sometimes quite beautifully eccentric prose by both of you.

And well done all the Finalists, a great Comp, well played.

Special "well done's" to Lord Wernick, Ash - a well overdue big draw - Jim Moult, (kind enough to give the blonde Updaters a nice "drink" from his winnings, only Lord Wernick & Thewy does that usually), and a very special "well done" to the great Alan McLean.

And thanks to Grosvenor, & all the Walsall Team, for a wonderful Fessie. Long live Grosvenor Fessies.

[JaffaCake]

well done floopy and dana, great updates. chuffed for mickey, he was greta support last week in barcelona, good to see him where he belongs, nursing a short stack at a final table

[MANTIS01]

Just like to say what a thoroughly enjoyable festival of poker I participated in this weekend at Walsall.

I for one look forward to the bigger monthly tournaments and regional festivals because it offers me the chance to test my game against some of the better players in the country. As a thinking-player it is a real joy to play against quality opponents, and these games offer me that chance.

A starting stack of 15,000 chips and 1hr levels mean bags of play and this suits my game far more than the 1,000 chip £20 re-buy comps that populate the weekly schedule.

The best thing about events like this though is that you get scores of poker enthusiasts converging under one roof so you feel sure a challenging game awaits. The cranking up of the standard together with more attractive than usual prize money and the attendance of Blonde make this a real event rather than just another game.

Some people have said that the standard wasn't great this time. One of the first things I learnt was never to bemoan your opponent's bad play and so I wont. I will say however, that in these big events bad players are always welcome at my table.

There was no doubting the quality on display as we reached Day 2 though. I was in seat 1 with RED-DOG to my left followed by Ash Hussain, the phenomenally stacked Andy Johnson and local boy Ben Callinan. As the day progressed I was looking to trap either the ultra-loose Andy Johnson or a player called Rasid who was in seat 10. In the blink of an eye McCready had done Rasid up like a kipper trapping him with a well-played top set of Jacks and that plan bit the dust just as quickly. The quality on display was evident throughout.

It was really nice to share the table with a couple of fellow regular Walsall players. Ben Callinan is a quality opponent. He has a similar style to me, being tight-aggressive and a good reader of the game. If you are all-in with Ben you know you are facing a hand. Andy Johnson could not be more different. Andy is one of those players that can be impossible to read and could literally show atc's. But it was thoroughly entertaining to watch him put on a near master-class of loose-aggressive poker. In some spells he just refused to concede defeat and took down pot after pot with pure aggression....It was good to see all three of us make the final.

Quality players to battle, a range of styles to combat , high-drama, good fun and 2 days of action-packed poker was mine for just a £25 outlay in a Satellite. So I for one love the festivals and look forward to the next one.

The staff from Walsall were terrific as always and the Blonde team gave us fantastic coverage of the event. So thanks to them and of course the messages of support from fellow members.

Long live the Fessies!!!!

[tikay]

Thank you Mantis, we were aching for you to go deep in this.

[tikay]

Please see....

http://blondepoker.com/forum/index.php?topic=24536.new#new

[boldie]

top stuff Mantis, very well played!

[bobAlike]

Hey Snoops, Dana,

Does this mean I can complain about the comment that I look like Bob Hoskins? lol

Joking aside I thoroughly enjoyed the thoroughly enjoyed the tournie and thanks for the excellent coverage.

Andrew 'Bob' Psaras

[tikay]

Hey Snoops, Dana,

Does this mean I can complain about the comment that I look like Bob Hoskins? lol

Joking aside I thoroughly enjoyed the thoroughly enjoyed the tournie and thanks for the excellent coverage.

Andrew 'Bob' Psaras

Don't YOU start, too!

Seriously Andrew, welcome to blonde, & very well played in Walsall.

As you can see, we have a little fun with everyone, but, as Kenny Everett used to say, it's all in the best possible taste.