Being based in the United Kingdom, we at PokerPlayer like to honour our homeland with two awards of it’s own. Tomorrow we’ll announce the UK player of the year but for now, let’s take a look at the best British moments of 2013.
3. Brits abroad – June/July 2013
Perrins won his second WSOP bracelet in 2013
After 48 events it was looking like a bleak summer for UK hopes at the WSOP. David Vamplew and Matthew Ashton came close and we had a few final tables but no gold. And then we won three – and what a three they were!
Firstly, the ever-popular UK veteran Barny Boatman won a NLHE event and picked up $546,080. Then Matthew Ashton went one better and won one of the most prestigious titles – the $50k Poker Players Championship. Ashton picked up $1.77 million in his first ever seven-figure score. The cherry on top came in the shape of Matt Perrins who joined an elite group of Brits to have won two WSOP bracelets. Perrins triumphed in a $5k NLHE event witnessed by one of the rowdiest rails of all time. We know how to play poker. And we know how to PARTY!
2. Moorman first to $10m! – September 2013
The $10 man!
We’ve always punched above our poker weight in the UK, but this year brought about a real claim to fame; our very own Chris Moorman became the first player ever to record $10m in online tournament winnings. Moorman started out playing cash games in the days when he claimed players, ‘were a lot worse then they are now.’ Then he discovered tournaments where he said, ‘they were ten times worse!’
The games might have toughened up since but so has Moorman, and he hit the incredible landmark on September 28 when he won a $215 buy-in event on PartyPoker for $9,500. He’s not resting on his laurels though and is currently up to nearly $10.5m. Here’s to the next $10m…
1. Disaster averted – June 2013
Jakub Michalak lifting his trophy in front of 90,000 adoring fans…
The inaugural International Stadiums Poker Tour (ISPT) event could well have been the last too. The idea was ambitious – a live event in Wembley Stadium with a €20m prize pool and 30,000 players. Satellites were far from successful and the concept was ridiculed on poker forums.
The €20m guarantee was retracted and it looked like it might not see the light of day. Then Rob Yong and Dust Till Dawn rode to the rescue. Yong guaranteed a €1m prize for first and mobilised the poker world with online and live satellites. When the dust settled Yong was left with a €589k hole in his pocket. He kept to his word though and delivered an event that was historic, if not what you’d call a success. Jakub Michalak got to lift a trophy in the hallowed ground. Will we see an ISPT event again? Watch this space.
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