Well, what a great four days of poker.
Where do I start ?
Firstly congratulations to Stuart for an excellent win. You played a great game on the final table and it was an excellent call at the end there. To everyone that made the final table, or cashed, or made day two, or made the dinner break on day one, well done to you all.
For those that couldn"t make it to Luton on the Thursday and Friday for the European Team event, well you missed a quite extraordinary two days of poker. The atmosphere was incredible and it was a joy to be involved with an event with so many competitive, yet friendly teams and players. This event goes from strength to strength and the German substitution was a moment that will live long in my memory, i looked over to see the place erupt with a wave of colour all round that table. The rail must have been five deep, and I thought both players handled the pressure superbly well.
Congratulations to Poland for their excellent win. I thought they played the last session extremely well. We couldn"t have scripted the finish any better if we tried. I hope the updates did it credit as it was a rollercoaster last hour of play. Very well done to the French and English teams for winning medals also, and to the English captain for staying reasonably sober on the Friday.
All of the above could not have been possible without our sponsors, Blue Square, who offered fantastic value for both events, but even more of a thank you must go to all of the staff at the G Casino in Luton. To Niall and the dealers, you are simply the best imo. Thanks to all the valets, restaurant staff and chefs, food was excellent, and I can recommend the toast if you happen to miss out on breakfast four days in a row.
A quick congratulations to Steve Redfern on finishing top of the rankings this season, thoroughly deserved. I thought both Andrew and Brian ran you close and I know you were very nervous about it, so I hope your anti-railing is forgiven and taken in the right way. I know how much it means to you to be top at the end of the season.
And finally, thanks to Des and Rich. It"s always great fun working these weekends, they do an amazing job. And Tighty, I"ll try my best not to go that deep in an event again.
Big thanks to Steve Redfern, James Barber, Claire MacGregor, George Dickson and anyone else I didn"t spot doing chipcounts and feeding info through, it all makes for a great update thread.
Right, now for the real work, just got to pick an APAT team for the UK Team event in January. I might be a while........
Leigh
