In the early hours of this morning, London tournament regular Nik Stylianou became only the second ever East End Live Champion, taking home $9,000 and a year's supply of bragging rights.
A total of 287 salivating poker enthusiasts swamped the increasingly popular Aspers Casino in Stratford for East End Live II, with pros and amateurs alike battling it across three days for the illustrious trophy.
Jumping out from the player list were the likes of Joe Beevers, Nick Wealthall, James Dempsey, Jen Mason and defending Champion Sonny Pomroy, as well as Black Belt Poker sponsored pros Jerome Bradpiece, Richard Ashby and Sensei Neil Channing.
The tournament also included 13 pro bounties, in which would-be assassins received their $200+25 buy-in back if Orange Belt on June 01. Thomas Mahon must have developed a craving for the taste of paradise as he captured an incredible three bounties worth $675.
After Jamie Walden felt the full splash of the bubble, the final table was set with Dan Whittaker (affectionately nicknamed 'The Terminator') the runaway leader:
Seat 1: Craig Connaughton -- 475,000
Seat 2: Jim Parberry -- 550,000
Seat 3: George Achillea -- 330,000
Seat 4: Dan Whittaker -- 1,300,000
Seat 5: Michael Brock -- 270,000
Seat 6: Nik Stylianou -- 385,000
Seat 7: Mark England -- 305,000
Seat 8: Carlo Hassan -- 430,000
Seat 9: Lee Brooke-Pearce -- 145,000
Prior to the tournament, Black Belt Poker added a WSOP Main Event seat to first to any Orange Belt (or above) playing the event. Three players on the final had been Tango-ed with Mark England, Carlo Hassan and Michael Brock all dreaming of "Vegas and the f****ing Mirage".
The first casualty, however, was short stack and former Irish Open finalist Lee Brooke-Pearce. He was followed to the rail by Michael Brock who was F-5-ed out of the tournament with A-2 versus A-J.
George then found his Achillea heel with A-J versus J-J all in on the turn of a J-2-K-4 board while Carlo Hassan joined him at the bar with tens being dominated by a couple of pocket ladies.
The Famous Five turned into the Fab Four when Craig Connaughton ran A-Q into A-K, and then last surviving Orange Belt Mark England bubbled the podium in fourth when his K-J was cruelly cracked by J-6, and A-7 unable to improve against A-9.
With three remaining, it was Dan Whittaker who'd maintained his chip lead with over two million, but when Nik Stylianou dispatched off Jim Parberry (A-9 versus Td-8d all in on the flop of a 6s-6d-7d-2d-5d board), we were heads-up for the title and roughly even in chips.
A back-and-forth rally to rival Borg/McEnroe quickly ensued with Whittaker gaining the slight edge, but a T-7 versus 5-5 coinflip brought them back to even before a seemingly harmless hand triggered some unexpected fireworks.
A 6c-Ad-4h-9d board was in the process of being quietly checked down until the 3h river sparked more action than a Die Hard box set with both players pushing their chips across the line. Cards on their backs and Stylianou had caught the perfect card with 7-5 versus 5-2 for the superior straight.
The Fat Lady was already reaching for the microphone, and a hand or two later and she was belting out her favourite tune, Whittaker's final 700,000 going in with 4h-2c, but unable to budge Kd-8h on a clinical 8d-7h-Qh-Qs-9h board.
A 40-year old poker fanatic from Islington, London, Stylianou was one of 27 who earned their seat through a live satellite at Aspers, before going on to capture the East End Live II title and all-important spondoolies.
"I felt confident all the way through the tournament," he revealed amid the post-match celebrations. "I play quite aggressive, but so does Dan so I thought he'd cause me the most trouble out of anyone on the final table
"This was a brilliant event. A great venue and a really well organised tournament. One of the best things was the friendly atmosphere. It had a real community spirit. I was umming and arring about Vegas before, but I think this win has helped me make up my mind."
East End Live II was an undeniable success, so our thanks go out to all those who participated, and in particular the bounties who bravely put their body on the line. While the smoke may have cleared for this event, we have another tournament just around the corner with Samurai on May 22. Make sure you join us.
1st Nik Stylianou -- $9,000*
2nd Dan Whittaker -- $8,500
3rd Jim Parberry -- $5,700
4th Mark England -- $4,600
5th Craig Connaughton -- $3,600
6th Carlo Hassan -- $2,750
7th George Achillea -- $2,000
8th Michael Brock -- $1,560
9th Lee Brooke-Pearce -- $1,200
* A deal was agreed heads-up to split the money equally and play for $500 and the trophy.
Bounty Eliminations:
Neil Channing by Wayne Milton
Kevin Williams by Thomas Mahon
Annabel Jones by Yen Hoong Nenh
Richard Ashby by Lee Brooke-Pearce
Chaz Chattha by Thomas Mahon
Jamie Burland by Ethan James Davey
Nick Wealthall by Tony Harvey
Sonny Pomroy by Paul Shearing
Jerome Bradpiece by Michael Cleare
David Pomroy by Thomas Mahon
Kevin Allen by Simon Green
Jen Mason by Nik Stylianou
James Dempsey by Dan Whittaker
For more information, check out the following links:
East End Live II - Live coverage/upadatesDay 1a Chip Counts
Day 1b Chip Counts
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