While the sun was shining outside, it was raining value inside Dusk Till Dawn this week as Black Belt Poker returned to the East Midlands armed with a $75,000 guaranteed prize pool.
Nottingham Live II attracted 258 hopefuls over the weekend, but it wasn't enough to reach the guarantee as players were treated to a whopping $23,400 overlay.
After an exciting final day, it was Kevin Williams who prospered most from the added value, defeating Jack Sambrook in a short-but-sweet heads-up battle. In doing so, he scooped the $15,000 first prize as well as a big, shiny trophy.
Williams' achievement was even more admirable when glancing at the field, a fearsome lineup that included Neil Channing, Richard Ashby, Marty Smyth, Paul Jackson, James Keys and reigning Nottingham Live Champion Stuart Hyson.
The tournament had a fun atmosphere, thanks in part to Sam Razavi and Babis Lappas who sponsored six players into the event with the promise of a £2,000 Vegas package if they captured the title. The T&Cs were simple: 50% of their winnings would be donated to Cancer Research and any brave volunteers had to compete in full clown garb.
Kerryjane Craigie kindly donated her entire $200 winnings to the cause after creeping into the money, but last clown standing was Shane Norman who made the final second in chips. He was joined by Black Belt Poker sponsored pros Jerome Bradpiece and Kevin Williams.
Seat 1: Matthew Heap -- 205,500
Seat 2: Luke Bindon -- 308,500
Seat 3: Shane Norman -- 697,000
Seat 4: Jack Sambrook -- 728,500
Seat 5: Kevin Williams -- 515,000
Seat 6: David Craigon -- 441,500
Seat 7: Chris Keyworth -- 196,500
Seat 8: Russ Swift -- 448,000
Seat 9: Jerome Bradpiece -- 336,000
The final table was a brisk affair, with Jerome Bradpiece the first domino to fall when his K-Q failed to outgun the A-K of Shane Norman. He was followed by Luke Bindon in eighth whose K-J was out-flipped by Chris Keyworth's 7-7.
Perhaps the most pivotal hand of the final was played out between Kevin Williams and Russ Swift. After Williams opened and Swift defended his big blind, the latter check-raised the As-Kc-8s flop before leading out on the 9d turn and moving all in on the 5d river. Despite his fears, Williams made the call with Ah-Jd and was shown an inferior Kd-Qc to scoop both the pot and the scalp.
Sixth place went to Shane Norman, whose downfall witnessed more drama than an Eastenders omnibus. First, he doubled up Heap in a dramatic hand with A-A versus 7-7 (despite flopping a third bullet!) and then sang his swan song with Q-6 versus the 7-6 of David Craigon on a 5-8-6 flop when the river came a 4. Nevertheless, his efforts netted Cancer Research $1,900.
Two more causalities were forthcoming. Chris Keyworth was unlocked in fifth when his flopped flush draw failed to improve against Kevin Williams' K-K. Matthew Heap was then added to the rail in fourth when his short stack push with 4s-3s was looked up by the Ac-6c of Williams.
Kevin Williams then took out his third consecutive opponent, this time David Craigon whose 9-6 was unraveled by 6-3. A crab on the river brought us to our final two players with Jack Sambrook the underdog and facing a 1.4 to 2.5 chip disadvantage.
Those getting the popcorn in for a long heads-up battle were to be left disappointed; on the very first hand, Sambrook check-raised all in on the turn of 4s-6s-7d-4d board with As-Kh, but was met by a call from Williams who tabled 6d-3d. No change on the river and the fat lady belted out her opening chord.
A Blue Belt on Black Belt Poker, Kevin Williams won no fewer than three Samurai seats worth $250+25 over the weekend, two for eliminating bounties Neil Channing and Peter Wigglesworth, and another for placing in the money. He also became the first bounty to win a Black Belt Live title.
"The inhabitants of my trophy cabinet have been a little lonely of late," commented Williams, "so I'm glad they've finally got a new friend. I was disappointed at how tough the final table was, but now I can laugh at everyone who used up their one time in the Euro Millions lottery."
Nottingham Live II may have reached its exciting conclusion, but the Black Belt tournament bus will back later this month. On Thursday, August 30, the Samurai returns for its second outing, along with a $250+25 buy-in and $10,000 guaranteed prize pool.
Final Table Results:
1st Kevin Williams -- $15,000
2nd Jack Sambrook -- $10,000
3rd David Craigon -- $7,500
4th Matthew Heap - $6,000
5th Chris Keyworth -- $4,600
6th Shane Norman -- $3,800
7th Russ Swift -- $3,100
8th Luke Bindon -- $2,500
9th Jerome Bradpiece -- $2,000
Bounty Eliminations:
James Keys by Mike Shaw
Jamie Burland by Nick Hemming
Neil Channing by Kevin Williams
Nik Persaud by Jalal Rasoul
Peter Wigglesworth by Kevin Williams
Sam Razavi by Matthew Sheils
Paul Jackson by David Tompkins
Stuart Hyson by Matthew Caister
Richard Ashby by Kerryjane Craigie
Stephen Dickson by Daniel Bland
Marty Smyth by David Tompkins
Jerome Bradpiece by Shane Norman
Kevin Williams by no one!
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