120 players started the 2013 PPPC at the Gala Casino, Bristol Harbourside - with players from across the LPPL being joined for the first time by APAT members, although many already knew one another from previously held APAT events and online tournaments.
It certainly made for a great atmosphere though, and laughs were aplenty as the tournament got underway at 2:00pm - the tables throwing together a good mix as the rebuy session meant that a little more "creative" poker could be played! That said, many people had already topped up to the max 15k starting stack, so play could be creative enough already!
There were a couple of early eliminations, with players not fancying the rebuy option - Jo Rees was the first to stand, followed by LPPL"s Pete Berry, clearly in the market for a job as Santa Claus for the forthcoming Xmas season....! Not too many more departed the scene though before the rebuy session ended - and many players took up the double add on option also, meaning by the end of the first break, there were some already sizeable stacks in play - and the prize pot had swelled to not far short of £6,000 also!
As is usual, once the freezeout session started, and the levels increased, and the antes kicked in, the field started to thin out and tables got broken down steadily. It was good to see the structure hold up overall - never once did the average stack drop to anything like 10 BBs and eventually the tournament completed at a time pretty much targetted. Players adapted to the pre-advised blind structures and the mass amount of chips in play meant that play was always possible during the game - some times more than others - but that is pretty much standard for any tournament that completes in 1 day.
Some notable early exits included 2013 National Championship Runner Up and Midlands InterLeague 9 Team Captain Joe Awome, Defending PPPC Champion and Humber IL9 Team Captain Kath "Memo" Stevenson, and last years PPPC runner up and Lincolnshire IL9 Team Captain George Oliver.
Dai Roberts, representative for Team Wales at the recent APAT UKCOAP Home Internationals Team Championships and a final tablist in the 2012 PPPC was the chip leader early on - and Dai would once again enjoy a great tournament, confirming his status as a player very much to watch in these big events.
Numbers started to thin out as we passed the midway point - and then as we hit 36 players the tournament went 9 handed. Again, Dai Roberts was leading the way, but had been joined by APAT player Terry Farrow and LPPL Southern League stalwart Hazel Millsom, who had earlier accounted for John "MintTrav" Murray - much to the delight of fellow Southern league players!!
Also amongst the tournament chippies was Jimmy "Vegas" Scullion - helped by hitting Quads TWICE during the event - quad
not followed that long after by Quad
- and he got paid handsomely both times as well!
4 tables became 3 and then 2 and we approached the cash places - the increase in the pot meaning the top 12 places could be paid without affecting the top line payouts. Here BCPC/APAT players Brian Yates and Adam Phelan fell in quick succession, followed by LPPL Western player Caroline Findlay meaning we were on the bubble for the cash.....alas, it was Midlands LPPL player and APAT regular Dan Dennehy who suffered his usual bad beat to become our 13th place finisher at the hands of Mark Herbert.
Midlanders Kevin Morris, Haydon Shorthouse then went, but both cashing - and then Shaughan Taylor and Cecilia Sparke both went out almost simultaneously on tables 1 and 2 so the final table started 8 handed rather than 9 - Shaughan being placed 10th, with Cecilia 9th.
The chip counts at the Final Table were :
S1 - Hazel Millsom (LPPL Southern) 437,000
S2 - Stephen Blackburn (LPPL Western/APAT) 308,000
S3 - Alison Awome (LPPL Midlands/APAT) 117,000
S4 - Glenn Barratt (LPPL Humber) 974,000
S5 - James Scullion (LPPL Midlands) 127,000
S6 - Terry Farrow (APAT) - 665,000
S7 - Mark Herbert (LPPL Western) - 107,000
S8 - Dai Roberts (LPPL Western) - 491,000
Eliminations occurred quickly at the FT - Stephen Blackburn going first, something of a cooler that meant his decent stack going Hazel Millsom"s way, followed by Mark Herbert, Jimmy Scullion and Alison Awome. Dai Roberts then exited in 4th place, leaving Glenn, Terry and Hazel to fight the premier places out - all pretty equal in chips.
Glenn and Terry soon clashed though, and here Glenn prevailed, his AK seeing off the lesser Ace of Terry - and not long after that, Terry departed in 3rd place. A nice cash and the winner of an APAT "Last Longest" bet also!!
So heads up between Glenn and Hazel - Glenn having the chip lead but not by much - he was the aggressor for the initial hands but Hazel more than held her own, and the stacks wavered between the two.
Then came the hand - Hazel raising Glenn"s BB and Glenn announcing all in over the top. Hazel debated momentarily, and then said "ok, call" and tabled A5. Glenn in great shape with AK and the board brought Hazel no help. A quick count to confirm what was suspected and once confirmed, Glenn Barratt was proclaimed the Champion, with Hazel in 2nd place.
Much congratulations to them both and very well done to Glenn, who retains the title in Humber for the third consecutive year.
I would like to offer my thanks to all players who made for a great atmosphere and hugely enjoyable tournament - the day ran very smoothly and it was great seeing such a positive interaction between LPPL and APAT members, making both for a great game and a great social event. Thank you sincerely to all those guys who volunteered to deal tables through the day - especially Courtney Penn and Terry Evans who were brilliant as the tournament reached the FT.
Thank you to all APAT players who supported this event - ive had many APATers saying how much they enjoyed the tournament and the atmosphere, which was great to hear - can only mean good things for the future.
Special mention also of course to Kim who took some great and imaginative photos and to Woody, who assisted in all aspects of running the event also through the day - and to Matt Dale also, who was there in body if not in mind for a few hours - funniest thing i ever did see - Matt complaining to Graham Duff from EOS about his poorly ear and how he had perforated his eardrum whilst wakeboarding....not realising Graham was deaf....
Thanks also to the staff at the Casino - a few questionable decisions made by the Floor TD i thought - but hey ho - thems their rules and must be abided by.......but all were taken with respect and good grace, which i was delighted to see.
You can find a load of photos from the day here :
https://www.facebook.com/LivePubPokerLeague/photos_albums?ref=hland selecting the 2013 Pub Poker Player Championship
