A huge thanks to APAT (in particular Des,Leigh and tighty) for another fantastic week of poker. The amount of effort that goes into the planning, organisation and running this event is immense. It is greatly appreciated.
Also DTD is a wonderful venue for poker where I always enjoy playing. That being said the somewhat heavy handed approach at times to those who were celebrating left a bitter taste. I am not talking about those who were over the top, but exuberance at various levels of success. Additionally in the case of those who did over indulge- many had put a lot of money over the bar (hundreds of pounds in quite a few cases). Banning them from drinking was not always the most appropriate way of rewarding their custom.
Anyway...... Obviously the team event was the highlight of the week for me. I am so proud to have played a small part in Wales"s victory. The team spirit was fantastic from the start and was what kept us going when the going got tough. Above everything else we all enjoyed the event, the play..... the company... the craic. We were blessed with captain fantastic who encouraged when needed, but also had the sense to leave us when we needed to focus. Paul..... u truly are "da man" ( further proved his class with a 4th place in the HORSE event). Dan was our secret weapon - did anyone really want to be drawn on the same table as him? I told him I felt he was the key to any success that we might have- and so it proved, His irrepressible personality and style made him unplayable at times. To those who doubted him or questioned his selection. well the results dont lie! Dylan was the glue holding us together- always supportive and making so many right decisions he showed his class on so many occasions taking the beats ( and there were some nasty ones) with dignity. I have never seen anyone give so much on a table. By the last game were he was heads up he was almost out on his feet.... a huculean effort ( how he managed a FT in the omaha when totally knackered is amazing.. red bull, a poker brain and true class I guess)
I am proud to call these guys world champions... but more than that they are my friends.
I cant mention everyone, but can say I that I enjoyed every table that I played (I can only apologise for my jokes on the final 6 max table- I suppose it was my way of saying that I wouldnt let the pressure get to me. However a special mention to teams Canada and Northern Ireland both teams in the hunt till the end- never bottled it and never lost their sense of humour- Well done on the medals guys it was a great battle. Colin you were a pleasure to play with well played indeed. The support and play of the other teams especially le luckboxes of france (!), Ireland and Poland was fantastic.
A special mention for team England, picking this team was a thankless task, you will never please everyone. Make no mistake this was a high calibre team who were on the wrong side of so many outdraws it was unreal. To their credit at no point did they lose their cool and the words of support and then congratulations are amongst those that I value the highest. They showed real class and dignity. WP GG guys.
We got so much support from so many people... thankyou to you all.
It was a great time for Wales with Dai 2nd in the stud, Dylan 8th in the omaha, Warren 3rd in the HU, Paul 4th in the HORSE and of course Ben and Steves 1st and 2nd in the ME. Looks like selection for next year will be tougher than ever
Well done all.
I hope this wasnt too much of a ramble- I just wanted to express how much I enjoyed the whole 5 days, and what it meant to me
Rudders
