Archive for 7 - Europe
England’s Stuart Ward Wins European Amateur Title
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Stuart Ward: 2009 European Amateur Champion
The 2009 APAT European Amateur Poker Championships, in association with Blue Square Poker, was held at the G Casino Luton and attracted a field of 195 players from twelve countries including Poland, Hungary and Italy. At stake was a first prize of £3,500, ranking points towards the APAT National Amateur Rankings and, for the winner, added value of a seat into a GUKPT Main Event.
First out was Warren Jackman with pocket Kings up against Hugh Nairnie’s pocket Aces whilst through the early levels John Miller from Accrington, an experienced festival player was the chip leader. Soon current APAT Welsh Amateur Champion Simon Auckland ran Ace-King into French International Franck Viollett’s Aces on a King high board.
Meanwhile Stuart Ward took Queen-Six to knock out Michael Pemplomiak with Aces and reversed roles when he himself found Aces against Robyn O’Neille’s Queens, the combined effect of which was to propel Stuart towards the chip lead, alongside Derrick Andrews, regular APAT player John Murray and German International Silke Burghardt.
The end of day one chip leaders, with 32 remaining and average stack 60,000 blinds 2000/4000 ante 300 were as follows:
Derrick Andrews 177,500
John Murray 143,000
Stuart Ward 130,000
Paul Townsend 82,900
Silke Burghardt 80,000
Gareth Ower Wins 2007 APAT European Amateur Poker Championship
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The Amateur Poker Association & Tour (APAT) held its sixth event in its first season live series, the European Amateur Poker Championship in Luton’s new and sumptuous G Casino, on 25th-27th August. The event had 300 entries split over two starting days, the biggest ever field for an APAT tournament, who qualified by both online satellites and direct payment. The players were again offered a £75 freeze-out with 10,000 starting chips, a slow clock, £3,750 to the winner plus significant added value from new tour sponsors BlueSquare.com via the form of entry into November’s GUKPT grand Final in London worth $8,000 to the winner in addition to their cash prize, trophy, medal and Player of the Year ranking points.
With the Season One Player of the Year race only having two live events remaining, all the leading participants were present as they battled for the exciting prize for the Player of the Year, entry into the PokerStars.com sponsored EPT event in the Bahamas in early 2008.
Day 1a saw the field play down to 20 players headed by Danny Palmer with 170,500 chips followed by Ben Walton (120,000), Rupinder Bedi (111,000) and Gary Hartley (102,000). In a day of unavoidable confrontations the first player to exit, Chris Wilkinson, saw his Aces beaten by the flopped trip Jacks of John Huckle and there proceeded a number of set against set and over-pair against set eliminations. Indeed play finished two levels earlier than planned due to the pace of exits. English Amateur Champion Daniel Phillips never made significant progress and left the tournament in the middle of the first evening, whilst the same applied to rankings challenger Wayne Parker.
