The APAT Poker Association & Tour held the World Championship of Amateur Poker at the Grosvenor Victoria Casino in London from August 27th to 31st. The week consisted of four championships in Pot Limit Omaha, Seven Card Stud and Razz before the No Limit World Amateur Poker Championship main event.
The three side events were won as follows:
Pot Limit Omaha: David Howard
Razz: Michael Bodman
Seven Card Stud: Owen Rankin
The main event had 206 entries, each paying £75 to enter for a prize pool of £15,450 and once again receiving 10,000 starting chips and a 40 minute clock. The individual winner once again received significant added value from tour sponsors BlueSquare.com via the form of an entry package into the GUKPT Grand Final event worth $8,000, in addition to their cash prize of £3,500.
Early chip leaders were APAT Razz champion Mike Bodman, who found a number of big pocket pairs in the early levels and Steve Bayliff, who flopped two full houses. Hoa Quan found Aces three hands in succession but sadly no one had hands to go against him with and he won a net total of 300 chips!
Through the middle levels of the first day Terry Aylward from London was the chip leader and experienced players like Paul Garnham, Nick Jenkins and Paul Turnstill. APAT Veterans Nigel Johnson and Robert Ingoldby were chip leaders after the dinner break.
Suzanne Hayward from Bath doubled up two hands in succession, Aces against Kings and then pocket tens against Ace King to comfortably move into day two. Towards the end of the day Nigel Johnson eliminated Paul Garnham, finding Aces in the big blind to Paul"s button raise with Ace-Queen and then Steve Stringer found Aces with two players pushed in front of him, to more than double up in the final level of the day.
The chip leaders at the end of day one were as follows:
Steve Stringer 288,000
Robert Ingoldby 172,000
Nigel Johnson 158,000
Josh Hall 110,000
Paul Cox 102,000
Day Two began with 28 players remaining and money starting at 20th place. With blinds 4,000-8,000 and the average stack less than ten big blinds early action was brisk as short-stacks manoeuvred with usual mixed results.
Robert Ingoldby made the most progress in the run down to the final table, both eliminating players and emerging the better from constant tangles with his neighbour Nigel Johnson. Rob Swindells sadly was on the wrong end of several confrontations with two tables left and was eliminated with 14 left. At this point Nick Jenkins found a series of hands to leave him comfortably placed. Josh Hall was down to 2x the big blind at one stage but doubled up then trebled up, the latter time with Aces to make the final. Steve Stringer eliminated Chris McKendry with Aces against Kings and Suzanne Hayward bubbled the final table when her AQ suited fell to Ingoldby"s KJ off-suit.
Final table chip counts
1 Briony Stone - 72,000
2 James Edwards - 140,000
3 Steve Stringer - 261,000
4 Stuart Osborne - 116,000
5 Nigel Johnson - 267,000
6 Nick Jenkins - 262,000
7 Robert Ingoldby - 597,000
8 Tony Ross - 95,000
9 Josh Hall - 251,000
Nigel Johnson was the first out in the final. First he lost a large all-in confrontation pre-flop with Josh Hall, AQ v KK and then pushed K9 into Ingoldby"s K10 which held. Short-stacked Briony Stone was next followed by Stuart Osbourne who ran sevens into Tony Ross"s Jacks.
Tony had a remarkable final table doubling up with Aces in the blinds, then again to take half the chips in play midway through the final.
Steve Stringer fell in sixth, Jacks out-drawn by Josh Hall"s Ace Jack and then Robert Ingoldby, who had lost chips repeatedly challenging short-stacks departed in fifth.
James Edwards, who had been the most aggressive "pusher" at the final then went to the well one time too many, called by Nick Jenkins with A9 in the blinds, James had moved with 10 2 and missed to leave the tournament in 4th. Tony Ross then won a key pot with Ace-Queen against Josh Hall"s pocket tens to leave Josh short-stacked. He found an Ace on the button but Nick Jenkins held Aces in the blinds. Josh Hall was knocked out in 3rd for the Championship Bronze.
Tony Ross began heads-up play with a 2:1 chip advantage, reversed when Nick found Jacks against Tony"s Nines. A short while later Nick"s Ace Eight held on against Tony"s Queen-Jack, flopping two pair, to give Nick Jenkins the World Amateur Championship title and tournament win.
