If there is one thing that many poker players have learned in recent times is that the top female poker players are just as capable as the top male players. There may be some arguments about the true world class nature of the best male and female players but there is no doubt that the vast majority of poker players in the UK would love to have the talent, staying power and of course, the lifetime career earnings that many of the top female players have shown in recent times.
A reminder of the talent that is included in the rank of female players was shown at the Newcastle leg of the 2013 Genting Poker Series or the GPS. This was the second GPS leg of the season and with 400 players buying into the event, there ended up being a prize pool that was worth £160,000. Considering the guarantee for the event was £100,000 it is fair to say that there was a good deal of interest in this event. There were plenty of famous UK poker names involved in this event but in the end, they all bowed down to Ellie Biessek.
Polish poker star takes home the spoils after ‘Toon trip
Yes, the Polish poker star has been a regular name on the UK poker scene since 2011 and she became the first ever female winner of a GPS event. Okay, the series has only been running since 2012, so it is not as if this triumph is breaking down years of male dominance but it is good to see that the girls continue to show that they can match it and mix it up with the boys.
To be fair to Biessek, she has been showing for a considerable time that she is a match for the boys. In February 2012, Biessek picked up £4,000 at a side event at the GPS Birmingham event and then in March 2012, she reached the final table in London at another GPS event, where she picked up just less than £10,000. A third placed finish in the GUKPT leg in Belgium saw Biessek have career earned of over 13,000 euros but she can add another £38,000 to her earnings thanks to this triumph in Newcastle. It was certainly the best female performance in Newcastle since Cheryl Tweedy decided that she was going to try singing as a way to get out of the ‘Toon.
Of the final table, Dan Hemmingway was ninth and bagged £2,720 and Dom Mahoney came in eighth, taking home £4,320. In seventh place was Ashraf “Wadey” Waheed who earned £6,4000 and in sixth place was Jonathan Gill who picked up £8,960. In fifth was Jimmy Charlton who earned £11,840 and in fourth sport was Dan Woodford, who received £14,880. In third spot, George Clyde-Smith earned £19,104 and runner up Jamie Rutherford will have to contend himself with £25,600.
The next GPS event will take place in Sheffield in May.