A Virtue Unto ItselfWith a new major player on the pub poker circuit, GOM’s Duncan Wilkie headed to Luton to soak up all the action from the Courage Best Poker League’s debut National Finals.
Jonathon Large of the Rushden Windmill Club in Northamptonshire became the first ever Courage Best Poker League Champion as the burgeoning pub poker operation hosted the National Finals of its debut season at Luton’s G casino in mid April.
He emerged victorious from an epic heads-up clash with the Little Harrowden Club’s Arron Dargue to take down the inaugural league title and respectable £2,010 first prize, both of which were presented to him by David Patmore-Hill of Wells and Youngs Brewing Company.
However, Jonathon was certainly made to work for his prize by his well-supported opponent. Spurred on by the fervent cheering of several intoxicated railbirds, Arron made all the early running during heads-up play and took control of the match when his slow-played trip sixes managed to crack Jonathan’s pocket aces.
Then, just as it looked as though the title was slipping away from him, Jonathan surged back into the contest with a huge double-up to leave his opponent completely crippled. With all the money going in, Arron’s A-4 held a decent lead over Jonathan’s Qc 3d, but when the board turned up four clubs, an unlikely flush was enough to hand the latter the pot and put him on course to victory.
Despite rallying briefly, Arron never fully recovered from the huge blow to his chip stack and several hands later he was eliminated as runner-up, pocketing £1,000 for his stellar efforts.
The battle between the two provided a fittingly grandiose finale to what had been a hotly-contested end-of-season showpiece from start to finish in which 73 runners from Courage Best pubs across the UK took their seats in a bid to be crowned National Champion.
However, despite huge prizes at stake and reputations on the line, one of the most notable things about the CBPL finals was the great sense of camaraderie between the players, and the terrific spirit in which the tournament was played.
The banter fizzed from the word go as inter-pub rivalries were resumed, and one man who came in for more than his fair share of stick was Paul Lipscombe, who managed to burn through his 10,000 starting stack within the first two levels, crashing out in some style to another player’s quads.
Thankfully for the rest of the CBPL players, the day was somewhat longer and the deep starting stack and gentle blind structure ensured there was plenty of play in the early stages. Nevertheless, as the tournament wore on, the field slowly began to take shape and it wasn’t long before nine chip leaders emerged as the most likely candidates to make the final table.
With just two tables left, Charlotte Elliot of the Abbeydore golf club was still in the hunt for the CBPL title, but her perilously short stack was soon swallowed up by the rising blinds and she became the unlucky 10th-place finisher, just missing out on the money. Charlotte, who celebrated her 21st birthday the night before, was presented with a bottle of champagne in commiseration of her bubble finish—a gesture that truly encapsulated the good nature of CBPL’s debut season.
Final Table Pay-Outs:
1. Jonathon Large (Rushden Windmill Club, Northants) - £2,010
2. Arron Dargue - £1,000
3. Mark Folwell - £620
4. Richard Buck - £420
5. Damian Monaghan - £300
6. David Dickinson - £200
7. Daniel Sharp - £180
8. Duncan Knight - £150
9. Leedon Elwood - £120 |
