Well, here we are!
One sleep away from Stoke, 2 sleeps away from representing our country, again for 3 of us, and for the first time for 2 of us
Over the last few days this is all I have been able to think/talk about to anyone who will listen! Tactics for heads up orders have been going through my head, imagining senarios that can crop up, visualising wining (yes i actually
do this, it worked once a while ago :p )
I just want to take this time to say again how delighted I am with my team, each and everyone of them deserve their place, and I know that they are going to do fantastically well as they are all very good players at each variant of poker that they need to be, and I also know that they are all incredibly proud to representing their countries, be it again, or in Paulie and Matty"s case for the first time.
Now if you will let me, i would like to go over the reasons why I picked each player again at the risk of repeating myself!
Paulie DavisI have played against Paulie a fair bit recently and was really very impressed with his game. As you know, I like to put pressure on people when playing and then to see how they react. Paulie was a nightmare! No matter what I did, he refused to be flustered or pressured by me in any way, this stuck in my mind from that moment on, and when he applied I knew straight away I wanted him in my team.
He is a rock, and I really do feel that he will be able to go deep in the MTT, and score points in the SnG"s, particularly the Omahahaha which he is very very very good at.
Matthew Ward
As I said before I obviously know his game very very well, as we have been playing together from the start of our "careers". He is another person who is so calm and collected at the table it is scary (unlike his brother) He has an unnerving ability to know just where he is in a hand and to act accordingly. He is difficult to bully and has a great respect for his chips, and I genuinely believe that he will be one of the top points scorers in the event as a whole.
Phil TompkinsonPhil is an APAT legend by now. Known by everyone as the nicest guy around, and someone who will be fantastic to have in and around the team, not only for his ability at poker, but also from a morale point of view.
Phil is experienced at both Holdem AND Omaha, having made very deep runs at both in APAT's, and was again one of the first people I picked when the applications were in.
James BarberAnother APAT legend, "Bigtime" is a player I have huge respect for and who is ideally suited to this kind of team game. He played in the same team as me in the World Championships (shameless brag) and did well there, going deep in his SnG"s, so I am expecting big big things of the big big man this time round.
Again wouldnt be surprised to see him near the top of the points charts by the end of the matter.
I really looked at the team dynamic when I picked this lot. I wanted a group of people who know each other well, get on and will help to carry each other through what is bound to be a day of trials and tribulations. We win as a team, we fail as a team.
We will be doing the winning part of that, I am sure of it.
Either way, we are all proud to be representing this great country, and will do our very best for you all.
One of the Welsh captain seems to like posting Nursery rhymes about his country.
Here you go fella, have a proper song!
[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoJqhoBUT14[/youtube]
