Black Belts Return to Oz

Black Belt Poker made their annual trip Down Under this year when two Black Belts warmed up the poker barbie at the 2013 Aussie Millions.

The Men at Work were former finalist Richard Ashby and 2008 Irish Open Champion Neil Channing, both of whom were hoping to replicate the feat of Oliver Speidel who triumphed 12 months prior.

But before the Main Event, the experienced duo tackled the many side events with Richard looking for a repeat performance of his Eight-Game victory in 2011.

Although no trophies were captured, Richard did manage a cash in the A$1,100 Shootout, while Neil enjoyed a ninth place finish in the A$1,150 Six-Max for A$8,000.

Just one day later, Neil went one table better in the $1,150 Rebuy when he made the final in fifth for a not-to-be-sniffed-at A$24,000. Just one rung above was bracelet winner Craig McCorkell.

Despite having 'gddays' in the A$10,000 Main Event, Day 2 would prove a cruel affair for both Black Belts as they fell painfully short of the money.

"This is one of my favourite events on the poker calendar," revealed Channing, "but Australia hasn't been kind to me. I suffered gout when I was here a couple of years ago, but missing out on the money is just as painful."

"I've played the Main four times and finished in the top twenty percent each time, but never cashed. This year I had a great table, but ran bad with odd hands on Day 2 and ended up shoving 16 big blinds with A-T… the board was far from marvellous."

Richard's exit was particularly frustrating. With blinds of 2,000/4,000, he three-bet to 27,000 before getting it all in on a 3-4-5 flop. His opponent tabled 5-5 and that was all she wrote for the 2010 bracelet winner.

Struth!

At time of writing, just seven remain with Dan Shak leading the way and Patrik Antonius lurking nearby in third. Other notable cashes include Phil Ivey, Brandon Adams, James Obst and Brit Joey Lovelady.

As for the Black Belts, they'll be returning to their attention to the UK circuit, and in particular the UKIPT in Cork and GUKPT London at Neil's second home, The Grosvenor Victoria.