Not every poker player in the UK was heading to Wembley for the ISPT event; there were a number of poker players that were far more interested in the G Casino in Portsmouth. After the initial days jousting, there were a total of 55 players back at the popular casino and poker venue, looking to make their way down to the final 9 players that would make up the final table. The poker action took 10 hours to whittle the numbers down which meant that all of the players who got through deserved their cash.
The fact that this event is paying out to the top 13 ranked players means that everyone at the final table can bank on taking money home. While the ultimate aim was to make the final table with a good level of chips, there would have been plenty of poker players that were simply aiming to get higher than 14th. You never want to be the player that bursts the bubble but as sure as every tournament has a winner, every tournament must have a player that just misses out on the big money too. In this event, the unlucky player was Dale Simmons.
Bubbles must be burst at poker events
This exit ensured that every player still involved in the action would be taking home at least £1,000 with them. The first player to go out after the bubble had been burst was Andrew Miles who finished in 13th place. Once the bubble had been burst, there was a quick burst of players heading home with Paul Burbidge, Ellie Biessek and Fraser Beach following on quickly. Biessek had picked up the Genting Poker Series title in Newcastle and he was no doubt keen to follow up with more success but it wasn’t to be, although another cash finish is always going to be a pleasing aspect. When beach crashed out, this left 9 players and this brought a close to the day’s action as the final table numbers had been reached.
With respect to poker chips, in 9th position was Dennis Omahoney who had 85,500 chips and in 8th position was Adam Boutwell who had 136,000 chips. In 7th position was Trevor Bowers with 184,000 chips and in 6th place was Khalik Mohangee who was just ahead with 187,000 chips. The 200,000 chip mark was broken by Morgan Sorfleet in 5th place with 204,000 chips. There was then a massive jump up to 4th place and Dom Mahoney, who had 304,500 chips in place. In third was Simon Skinner with 492,500 chips and Nick Humphris was in second place with 505,500 chips. The leader for the event was Blair Hampton who held 554,000 chips.