Been following various pokernews updates with interest this summer. Very pleased to see so many UK players doing really well in this years W.S.O.P.
Some of the players I’ve never even met, but like most people I’ve been thrilled to see them do well.
Praz Bansi, James Dempsey, Richard Ashby, are 3 I’ve never met. From interviews I’ve seen with many top US players it’s clear that Praz has earned their respect and is clearly now one of the best tournament players in the world right now. James “Flushy” Dempsey post’s on the Blonde Poker Forum but I won’t hold that against him.
Of this years successful UK players the ones I have met/know include, Steve Jelinek who grinds the £1/2 cash game at one of my local casinos (Broadway B’ham). I’ve shared a table with Steve a fair few times and have interviewed him (and his better half) for PokerTourRadio.com a few times.
Also Mike Ellis who I interviewed for PokerTourRadio at the Broadway £1,000 ME in Feb 2009. He struck me as a really nice guy.
Probably the player who was viewed as one of the biggest successes didn’t actually win a bracelet but Sam Trickett has (at time of writing this ) 6 cash’s including a 2nd and 7th in 2 of the toughest events at this years WSOP. Winning a shed full of money in the process.
I’ve interviewed Sam a few times for PokerTourRadio at DTD and chatted to him several times without the microphone at DTD and the G Coventry during the Summer Festival in 2009. Like Mike Ellis he always seems a really nice guy. I’ve watched him play very closely whilst commentating on the £300 deepstack at DTD in April 2009.
It had some really great players there that day including Toby Lewis, Aaron Fisher, Ali Malu, Colin Young, etc but when it got to the last 2 tables I was convinced he would win it. Although he won countless small pots without showdown he just couldn’t win a race and finished 8th. It seems that this year he’s getting the results he deserves though!
Last but definitely not least, online pro, Jon(Bas)Spinks deserves a special mention as I actually had 1% of his action in event 49, $1,500 NLHE. With over 2,300 runners Jon did brilliantly to fight his way to the last day, but sadly missed out on final table glory when AQ lost to 55.
Even so he should be proud of fighting his way through that vast field to finish 11th for $35,000. Sick game tournament poker, you beat 2,300 for $35k and just another 10 spots gets you $600,000+. Ah well, there is always next year!
