England & Wales National Final Sunday 30th May 2010

NEARLY 300 Nuts Poker League players battled it out at the Main Event for England and Wales - and it was Kevin Hughes from Cardiff who emerged victorious from the packed field to be crowned champion.

The Circus Casino in Stoke-on-Trent was the venue for England and Wales' latest National Final on May 30th and 284 competitors, who had already demonstrated their poker prowess by qualifying for the prestigious event, were hoping to go one step further and go down in the Nuts Poker League Hall of Fame.

Not only were the poker buffs hoping to be crowned National champion but there was a massive £2,400 first prize up for the grabs, and the winner would also walk away with an APAT World Amateur Poker Championship package worth £400.

The welcome speeches, led by the Nuts Poker League's very own Steve "The Badger" Bellis who was in attendance, were conducted from the main lobby because of a faulty PA system at the casino, to the amusement of some players. Stuart Murray, from Scotland, a member of The Tournament Directors Association who was assisting with the event structure, was introduced to the players. And when Stuart announced to the Dealers to "shuffle up and deal" it was game on - the main event was finally under way.

While the qualifiers were all competing for a fantastic total prize fund of £10,000 provided by the Nuts Poker League, there was also a reward for the player making the best hand of the day.

It didn't take long for Tracey Pember to to make the first shout for the best hand with Quad 10’s,  soon followed by Nicola Scott Quad Jacks, and that held up for a few hours until Matt Lincoln hit Quad Aces.
That gave Matt an excellent chance of picking up the £200 sponsored by Dream Hand. However, the Aces were not good enough as James Locke from Stoke-on-Trent hit a Royal Flush, earning him the cash. Well done James.

The new structure for the main event, providing enough starting chips coupled with a gentle blind timing of 30 minutes, and running antes after 2 ½ hours of action, went down well with the players.

The Nuts players were complemented by the Casino for the good natured way the tournament was conducted and finally, there were 20 hopefuls left battling it out.
This is how the last 20 remaining players shaped up.

Table 1
Seat
1. Simon McCarthy 69,000
2. Tony Chapman 119,500
3. Jonathan Monks 32,000
4. Nick France 161,500
5. Nathan Brearley 102,000
6. Liz Williams 34,000
7. Tom O’Shea 37,000
8. Morten Blindheim 36,500
9. Robert Baker 192,000
10. Martin Roberts 49,000
Table 2
Seat
1. Nigel Soni 18,000
2. Paul Jones 116,000
3. John O’Hara 139,500
4. Lee Morgan 28,500
5. Kevin Hughes 117,500
6. Phil Gordon 31,000
7. James Locke 19,500
8. John Power 64,500
9. Ste Moss 47,500
10. Matt Lincoln 15,500

Although the remaining 20 players were guaranteed a cash prize, the competition remained fierce as everyone had their heart set on reaching the final table.
It was 12.00am when the final table was finally reached, with the unfortunate Morten Blindheim going out on the bubble, and each of the ten players were introduced to the waiting spectators who were well behaved if a little noisy at times.

Final Table
Seat
1. Martin Roberts 180,500
2. John O’Hara 81,500
3. John Power 205,500
4. Nick France 213,500
5. Nathan Brearley 135,000
6. Kevin Hughes 127,000
7. Paul Jones 100,000
8. Tony Chapman 91,000
9. Robert Baker 222,500
10. Liz Williams 72,500

TD for the day Stuart made it even more exciting for the spectators by commenting on the action when it got to an all in situation, something that was very much appreciated.

Inevitably, the players soon began to fall with Tony Chapman finishing in 10th position, he was quickly followed by Martin Roberts who was out in 9th, while next to go was Paul Jones in 8th place.

Robert Baker left the table in 7th position but he deserves special praise because this was his third final table in the main event in five attempts. That is an exceptional record and something he can be extremely proud of.

John O’Hara and Liz Williams found it a struggle with the now increasing blinds and antes, and they finished 6th and 5th respectively. Liz was especially unlucky pushing all in with A A and being called by Kevin who held J 10. Kevin hit a straight to send Liz out in 5th place.

With just four players remaining, the battle was hotting up and they each made risky moves and attempts to steal the blinds.
Nick France left the event in 4th place and he was quickly followed by Nathan Brearley, out in 3rd, leaving just two players.

Heads up play was a cat and mouse affair to start with but it ended quickly when Kevin Hughes pushed all in with Qh 6s. That led to an instant call by John Power, holding Kd 6h. The flop came down as 5, 7 10 (all hearts), giving each player a flush draw, but John was still ahead at this point, and 5d on the turn was no help to either player. But the river came down 3h giving Kevin a Queen high flush, and we had our new England / Wales Champion, with John finishing the event as a worthy runner-up.

Kevin was delighted to win the Main Event, but he heaped praise on heads-up opponent John. "What an incredible day!," said Kevin. "I am on cloud 9. I'd like to pay tribute to all the players who played on making it a fantastic tournament, especially John Power who is a tremendous player. I'd also like to thank Steve Fowkes who kept my confidence up all day. Finally I'd like to thank my fiancée Donna and her parents for bringing me up from Wales that day, they were a great support."

Finishing Positions
1st Kevin Hughes – Old White Hart, Cardiff. £2,400 plus a seat at the APAT World Amateur Poker Championship
2nd John Power – McLean’s, Pentre. £1,700
3rd Nathan Brearley – White Lion, Buckley. £1,000
4th Nick France – Grace Arms, Ellesmere Port. £800
5th Liz Williams – Hop Fryer, Shrewsbury. £700
6th John O’Hara – Rigger, Cheshire. £600
7th Robert Baker – Union Exchange, Colne. £500
8th Paul Jones – Boars Head, Leigh. £400
9th Martin Roberts – Penyonen, Caernarfon. £ 300
10th Tony Chapman – Winnall Social Club, Winchester. £ 225
11th Morten Blindheim
12th James Locke
13th Phil Gordon
14th Jonathan Monks
15th Simon McCarthy
16th Ste Moss
17th Matt Lincoln
18th Lee Morgan
19th Tom O’Shea
20th Nigel Soni