Last Tuesday proved a feast of poker fun and frolics on Black Belt Poker as League VII kicked off to a rapturous bubble of excitement with a record-breaking (no, record-smashing) 123 players clicking the 'register' button. Among them were all the usual suspects including many of this year's intrepid Graders such as Tom 'Werrrrd' Drew, Paul 'xxM3boyxx' Garnham and Mike 'Belterman' Carroll. Also present were the Hall of Famers, the illustrious previous Champions, all chomping at the bit to become the first player to win an unprecedented two League titles.
Mark '99Ranny' Ranson was the only person vying for back-to-back titles. After tying up League VII a few weeks prior, Mark was whisked off to the Cardiff studios to watch the final of Late Night Poker unfold as a special guest of Neil Channing. From the comfort of the green room, he got to watch Phil Ivey in action, before meeting some of the pros such as John Duthie and Ben Roberts. This week, however, he stalled in the starting blocks, forced to settle with 88th and looking for a reverse in fortunes next Tuesday.
Perhaps the most fearsome faces, however, were those of the Blue Belts, Black Belt Poker's finest sponsored pros keen to justify their position at the top of the totem Belt pole with an impressive performance in the League's seventh outing. And judging by the results of Leg 1, it would appear as though their plans for an ambush are much more than an idle threat as Simon 'AlwaysMissing' Mairs, Kevin 'Kevish47' Williams and Brown Belt Rob '7Enygma7' Jarrett-Smith all made the final table. Neil Channing and newest recruit Richard 'CHUFT11' Ashby were less fortunate; they dropped in 69th and 108th respectively.
Whilst unknown entity GENTOU picked up that unwanted wooden spoon, the other end of the spectrum saw Kristian 'KIDDONUT' (no need to shout!) Dawson and Mark 'UKPB' Deacon battling it out for top honours. After a dogged fight, it was the former who won the battle of the Yellow Belts, Dawson claiming both victory, bragging rights, and the sumptuous $166.05 first prize.
1st KIDDONUT-- $166.05
2nd UKPB -- $98.40
3rd blackbeltninja -- $61.50
4th cikarang5 -- $49.20
5th Elysiumjay -- $43.05
6th AlwaysMissing -- $36.90
7th bolden1212 -- $30.75
8th tentofollow -- $24.60
9th 7Enygma7 -- $18.45
10th Kevish47 -- $12.30
11th megaranaxx -- $7.38
12th Sparklett -- $7.38
13th tealcSVU -- $7.38
14th 1amAD0nkey -- $7.38
15th UsainZeus88 -- $7.38
16th ACarey -- $7.38
17th Brewski1 -- $7.38
18th tandy26 -- $7.38
19th ZoeRiZZ0 -- $7.38
20th losbert40 -- $7.38
The League standings are thus not too surprising:
1st KIDDONUT -- 148 points
2nd UKPB -- 140 points
3rd blackbeltninja -- 136 points
4th cikarang5 -- 132 points
5th Elysiumjay -- 129 points
6th AlwaysMissing -- 126 points
7th bolden1212 -- 123 points
8th tentofollow -- 120 points
9th 7Enygma7 -- 117 points
10th Kevish47 -- 115 points
Of course, the League is almost an hors d'oeuvre to the night's festivity. An hour into the League, the Mulligan kicked off with a respectable 38 runners creating a $228 first prize. The man snapping up the dangling carrot was none other than recent Irish Player of the Year and serial UKIPT casher Owen Robinson. He toppled Gary 'mutesuperstar' Briggs heads-up whilst Simon 'ourkidsid' Herrick picked up third.
1st Ruaction -- $228
2nd mutesuperstar -- $142.50
3rd ourkidsid -- $91.20
4th Redwrasse -- $91.20
5th JustinBieber -- $62.70
26 reared their heads for the Donkament, but it was Ben 'forku2' (excuse his French) Daniel who rose triumphant, his first place finish netting him $32.75 for an hour or two at the office. What was perhaps even more incredible was that he completed the task without having a single rebuy! Credit also goes to the other two cashers (bh0ywonder, thankfully, enjoyed a profit after a loosey goosey eight rebuys); commiserations to AngleVick45 who bubbled.
1st forku2 -- $32.75
2nd bbpjimjam -- $19.65
3rd bh0ywonder -- $8
Leg 1 one was a poker player's delight, and it was great to see so many of the BBP faithful, as well as some fresh blood, involved. Leg 2 will be back next Tuesday, same Bat time, same Bat channel, so make sure you're there for a second bite. With extra points for finalists, you never really fall too far behind, and last time, the lead continually changed. There's an invite to the BBP Christmas Party and a chance to play a £1,500 SNG freeroll up for grabs - as the big giant finger says, 'It could be you...'
Missed Leg 1? Don't fret, you can still join in. Go to 'Scheduled'>'Black Belt Tournaments'>'Black Belt Poker League VII' in the tournament lobby. If you're not yet a member, then signing up is easy peasy: simply download the poker client and follow the step-by-step process to opening an account. Any problems, just give us a shout at info@blackbeltpoker.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment