manchester_webOur newest Regional Final venue, Manchester 235, hosted our North West One Regional Final for only the second time. 119 players competed for six National Final seats and a share of £1000.

The first hour saw 11 eliminations, then after the remaining 108 players had been fed and watered, some serious aggressive poker was played throughout.

An unusual final table of 11 was set once our 12th place finisher was eliminated. Lee Smith who qualified through our Red Tavern online league held the chip lead with 125,000 in chips. Unfortunately Lee couldn’t take home the win as he was eliminated in 8th place and also just fell short of a National Final seat.

The heads-up match came down to Aden Reeve from the Ash Hotel in Stockport and Mark Christie from the Red Lion in Bolton. The final hand saw the best hand hold up as Mark’s K3 smashed a board of TK4 4 K to complete a full house and defeat Aden’s 89. Mark takes home £500, a crystal glass trophy and a seat in next years National Final.

Cash Prize Winners
1st Mark Christie – Red Lion, Bolton
2nd Aden Reeve – Ash Hotel, Stockport
3rd Tom Plant – Smugglers Den, Morecambe
4th Sami El Balbisi – Varsity – Manchester
5th –
6th Steve Woodhouse – Walkden Legion, Walkden
7th Barry Lock – Boat & Horses, Chadderton
8th Lee Smith – Red Tavern, BetFred

National Final Qualifiers
Mark Christie
Aden Reeve
Tom Plant
Sami El Balbisi
Steve Woodhouse
Barry Lock