In the early hours of this morning, Stuart Hyson survived an epic final table to win the year's most sought after title in poker and become the first ever Black Belt Nottingham Live Champion.
400 players were originally pencilled in to grace the exquisite Dusk Till Dawn Poker Club in Nottingham, but after selling out a week before the event, the field was extended so that a total of 492 would ultimately stump up the $125+15 buy-in fee and take their seat in the UK's largest cardroom.
Among them were 21 coveted bounties including poker pros Julian Thew and Jake Cody, as well as London Live II Champion Peter Wigglesworth. Eliminating a bounty could net up to $250 depending on Belt level, and that was precisely the reward reaped by Purple Belt Mark England when he despatched Blue Belt Kevin Williams early on Day 1a.
The day also marked the debut of Koddzilla's Carps, an eight-man team of misfits who'd been sponsored into the event by Black Belt Sam Razavi with 50 percent of winnings going to Cancer Research. Elvis, a panto dame, and Blanka from Street Fighter were among the motley crew, but it was a giant chicken who led from the front, cashing in 53rd and donating his entire $200 winnings to charity - far from a paltry gesture.
107 players returned for Day 2 with Thomas Ambler boasting a monster chip lead of 266,600, over 100,000 clear of Kim Vernon in second. Later that day, Ambler was involved in an incredible pot against a fellow big stack in which he seven-bet shoved Q-3 uncontested. But despite his bravery, he would lose some crucial pots and tumble out in 36th.
With Nicholas Drinkwater feeling the splash of the bubble, our final table was set with Daniel Robertson holding the chip lead:
Seat 1: Arran Fletcher -- 625,000
Seat 2: Stuart Hyson -- 1,331,000
Seat 3: David Buckland -- 723,000
Seat 4: Byron Brewer -- 1,014,000
Seat 5: Adam Carey -- 444,000
Seat 6: Daniel Robertson -- 2,070,000
Seat 7: Kevin Corcoran -- 539,000
Seat 8: Nick Wealthall -- 148,000
Seat 9: Paul Lynch -- 591,000
For a moment, it looked as though poker personality and last bounty standing Nick Wealthall was destined for victory as he climbed three money-rungs and doubled up no fewer than three times. On each occasion he was behind, most memorably when he called the exact river with Ac-3d versus Ah-4h on an eventful 4d-2c-Qs-9c-5d board. It was third time unlucky for Nick, however, as he eventually departed in sixth.
After Arran Fletcher crashed out with Ad-Qc versus Qs-9h on an emphatic 9c-Qd-9d flop, it was left to Stuart Hyson and Daniel Robertson to contend for the illustrious title. And what a classic battle it was; two-hours of roller coaster, back and forth action culminating in one decisive hand as the clock struck 3:00.
All in with As-8d versus Kd-Qc, Robertson - who'd earlier been one coinflip away from tasting victory - just needed to avoid paint to earn a vital double-through. The 5s-2s-Jd flop looked harmless, and the 4s turn narrowed Hyson's outs even further, but the Poker Gods had one last trick up their sleeve when a Kh river hit the felt to bring the inaugural Nottingham Live to its dramatic conclusion.
Robertson had fought a plucky, Rocky-esque war, but when the smoke had cleared and the dust settled, it was Stuart Hyson of Rye in East Sussex who emerged as Champion. In doing so, he earned himself the sparkling trophy and a $15,500 payday, which included an additional $1,400 for being an Orange Belt in the Black Belt Poker Belt-Up Rewards System and $100 for eliminating bounty Wealthall.
Stuart, who was nicknamed 'The Dyson' during the live coverage due to his ability to vacuum up chips, plays on Blackbeltpoker.com under the moniker 'diiscostu' and qualified for the event for just $20. Meanwhile, he worked his way up to Orange Belt to take advantage of the added value on offer.
"I'm absolutely knackered," confessed Stuart just moments after victory. "I came up with the crazy idea that to stay awake I'd get myself a Red Bull and coke, which didn't taste very nice, but did the job. Daniel was a tough opponent and I was relieved to hit that king because I was really tired and knew he could grind it out if he had to."
"I used to work with Stuart at the racecourse and he is a great guy and a worthy champion," complimented Black Belt Neil Channing. "He told me he needed the money because he had a 23 year-old daughter, a 21-year old girlfriend and a bit of a gambling addiction [laughs], so I'm pleased he won."
1st Stuart Hyson -- $15,500 ($14,000)
2nd Daniel Robertson -- $9,000
3rd Arran Fletcher -- $6,000
4th David Buckland -- $4,000
5th Byron Brewer -- $3,000
6th Nick Wealthall -- $2,400
7th Paul Lynch -- $1,820 ($1,800)
8th Adam Carey -- $1,300
9th Kevin Corcoran -- $1,000
(Prize in brackets is standard payout without bonuses)
Bounty Eliminations:
Jamie Burland by Paul Williams
Peter Wigglesworth by Dean Cryz
Chris Edwards by Sarah Priest
Kevin Williams by Mark England
Paul Spillane by Sinem Melin
Richard Ashby by Nick Finn
David Gentry by Paul Lynch
Warren Wooldridge by Tristan McDonald
Julian Thew by Daniel Robertson
Jerome Bradpiece by Ben Lake
Tristan McDonald by Gareth Ainsworth
Paul Marrow by Giovanni Albanese
Sam Razavi by Andy Potts
Simon Mairs by Gary Kinnersley
Bob Bulman by Tom Gurden
Jake Cody by Richard Hurst
Andy Miles by Chris Nicol
Neil Channing by Jean-Pierre Carmier
Adam 'Snoopy' Goulding by Zahir Aslam
Ben Meredith by Adam Reid
Nick Wealthall by Stuart Hyson
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