Welshman Warren Wins English Championship

APAT held its English Championship event at the splendid G Casino, Coventry over the weekend of June 29/30. With a £75 buy in and a 15,000 starting stack running to a 45 minute clock the field, made up of APAT members from around the U.K. battled it out to see who would become the new English Champion, with 2012 winner Mike Hudson not among the 147 runners who built up a prize pool just over £11,000. Added to this were APAT Gold, Silver and Bronze medals to the first three players, as well as an added seat in the Main Event of the 2014 World Championships of Amateur Poker

The English Championship was the Main Event of the weekend – but also part of the weekend were two side events – Leg 1 of the Cash Tour Championship, played on the Friday evening and Leg 1 of the Pot Limit Omaha Championship – played on Sunday afternoon. Both these events, along with the Main Event, held APAT Ranking Points for the top placed finishers – these points, won at events throughout Season 7 – both live and online – will result in an overall Ranking Points Leaderboard – the eventual winner of which will receive a once-in-a-lifetime package to Las Vegas with APAT in 2014.

Play in Main Event got underway bang on time at 1:30pm on Saturday – and most tables had not completed their first hand when the first eliminated player was sadly departing the scene. APAT stalwort Paul Davis being the desperately unlucky player. His KK running smack into the AA of Jon Laight – the hand signalling the start of a day to remember for Jon as he went on to eliminate three other players before the first break, and accumulating a massive chip stack for so early in the event. Such was Jon’s dominance that at first break, with his stack at 91,000, he was over 50,000 ahead of his nearest competitor. Scarily enough, his nearest competitor turned out to be the player sat directly to his right, Adam Smith, who maintained the carnage by also accounting for several players scalps – and very soon he had built a stack to almost rival Jon’s! It was Steve Owen though who ended the day with a particularly wet sail, winning a succession of key hands to assume the chip lead.

At close of play on Day 1, we were down to 37 players left in the event. Amongst the chip leaders starting Day 2 were :

Day 2 started fast, with players going down almost every hand – very soon the tournament was down to 3 tables and it then became the Sharon Roberts show. Sharon accumulating a monster stack after first doubling up through Ian Witt with AA v QQ – and then accounts for Dale Macchiarelli solely within 3 hands – first getting Dale to put down QQ and TT and then having him crushed with 2 pair to a gutshot draw which didn’t get there. With Dale having built his stack to nearly 300,000, this run for Sharon established her as the tournament chip leader by a considerable margin. Conversely, Steve Owen endured some shocking luck and amazingly he was the cash bubbler, exiting in 16^th place as his QJ wasn’t good enough to see off the unsuited 25 ‘BB special’ hand of Warren Jones. With the cash bubble burst it was now all about making the Final Table – and when James Edwards runs his 88 into the KK of Sharon Roberts, we have the Final Table line up – which was as follows :

Sharon Roberts – Chipleader On Final Table

1 Stephen Manning 185500
2 Stephen Roderick 135000
3 Jon Laight 138500
4 Sharon Roberts 904000
5 Ian Witt 152500
6 Adam Smith 45500
7 Warren Jones 173500
8 Michael Ramsay 160500
9 George Liperis 310500

With blinds on the final table beginning at 5000/10000/1000.

The first player down from the FT was Steve Roderick. Something of a cooler here as Steve goes over the top and All In against the pre flop raise by George Liperis – Steve showing Ace-King diamonds and George KK. A King on the flop is great for George – but there are also 2 diamonds there. The brick turn heightens the tension – and the river brings the 9 of diamonds. Steve’s elation at completing his flush turns into despair as realisation sets in that the 9 was the worst of cards – as sat alongside the King on the flop was the 9 of spades – completing George’s full house.

Long time chip leader Jon Laight fell in eighth – his QT no match for the 77 of Sharon Roberts – soon after this, Steve Manning goes in 7^th, when his K8 falls to the A6 of Adam Smith.

By this time, Sharon Roberts was still chip leader, but was coming back to the pack – and the main beneficiary of that was Warren Jones – his set of Kings got paid by Sharon for what was a 200k pot and then he took a 400k pot down against George Liperis, making a hero call with pocket 7s against a board that had overs and a pair showing – but none of which George had any of. This meant that Warren Jones had now assumed chip lead.

Adam Smith had been quiet for a while but then woke up with AQ – good enough he felt to go all in but not accounting for Ian Witt, sat there even quieter with AK. George Liperis decided his A4 was good enough to also get involved, but it wasn’t to be, as the AK held up – trebling through Ian Witt – but meaning we lost Adam in 6^th.

There was then a quiet period at the Final Table, as all players were well stacked – but Ian Witt made a move with pockets threes designed to take the BB of George Liperis. However, he hadn’t accounted for Warren Jones in the SB, sat there with 99, which held and took Ian out in 5^th place.

Michael Ramsay had been playing solid poker, timing moves and steals expertly, but got a bad beat delivered by the irrepressible Warren Jones. Warren raised Michaels BB enough to effectively put him all in. Michael made the call with K9 against Warren’s JT – all good for Michael on the board – until a Ten arrives by river that knocks Michael out in 4^th.

So three handed now, but Warren was dominating the table, with 1.7m chips in comparison to the 200k stacks of Sharon and George. Warren using his stack effectively and aggressively – though not stupidly as he did put away cards to 3-bets and shoves. But eventually – inevitably – he accounted for Sharon – with the good lady shoving with A6 only to find Warren sat there with JJ. The Jacks hold and we go Heads Up.

Stacks at the start of Heads Up were Warren on just over 2m, George about 200k. So very much an uphill struggle for George but he looked determined to make Warren work for the win – and so it proved – after George doubles up initially with a full house and then with a flopped two pair and suddenly he had around 700k and was in the game. That’s as good as it got though – try as he might to bamboozle Warren, he was having none of it, and eventually the chips went in pre flop – Warren having 66 – George having AJ – a 6 on the flop seals it for Warren and he is our new APAT English Poker Champion – winning £3,025, the WCOAP Main Event Seat and the APAT Gold Medal!

Congratulations also to Rob Finch, who won Leg 1 of the Cash Tour Championship, and David Howard, who won Leg 1 of the Pot Limit Omaha Championship.

APAT now moves on to its third event of Season 7, the APAT Welsh Poker Championship at the G Casino in Cardiff in early-August. For all the details of how to enter this and future APAT events and free membership of APAT visit www.apat.com – please note you can reserve your seat NOW for just £5 also via the APAT website!

Warren Jones – English Amateur Poker Champion 2013

APAT English Poker Championship

G Casino, Coventry

29/30 June 2013

Entries 147

Buy in £75

Prize Pool £11,025

1 Warren Jones £3025 + WCOAP Main Event Seat + Gold Medal
2 George Liperis £2290 + Silver Medal
3 Sharon Roberts £1435 + Bronze Medal
4 Michael Ramsay £880
5 Ian Witt £690
6 Adam Smith £525
7 Stephen Manning £410
8 Jon Laight £305
9 Stephen Roderick £220
10 James Edwards £195
11 Andrew Duncan £165
12 Michael Holmes £165
13 Shawn Jones £165
14 Dale Macchiarelli £165
15 Brian Ross £165
16 Steve Owen
17 Tony Trippier
18 Dawn Dineen