UK Poker Stars Doing Well at the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas
The World Series of Poker is a traditionally American event, but Brits are beginning to cause a stir. The 2017 edition of the biggest poker tournament in the USA is well underway. With 50 of the 74 events completed, UK and Irish players have bagged more than $4m, three winners’ bracelets, and scored cashes in all but seven events.
Bagshot’s Vincent Russell finished eighth in the $565 No Limit Hold’em Casino Employees competition to open the tally. He won a healthy $5,941 to complete a career-best cashout. Soon afterwards, Kent native and PokerStars Pro, Liv Boeree, along with partner Igor Kurganov, emerged victorious in the $10,000 No Limit Hold-em Tag Team Championship. The pair netted themselves $136,982 and a winner’s bracelet each.
Their success has been capitalised on by two more British stars. Chris Moorman, who has won more than $14 million from online poker tournaments, won the $3,000 No Limit Hold’em 6-Handed event. He collected just under half a million dollars to take back to England. Meanwhile, Southampton resident Christopher Brammer won a gold bracelet and $527,555 for victory in the $5,000 No Limit Hold’em event.
“The blinds went up fairly quickly and that creates a lot of all-in action. I won pretty much all of them. I got a lot of good cards as well. I could shove into them, put pressure on them. I was dealt a lot of good hands. – Christopher Brammer, Southampton resident
His win is the largest total for a UK player in this years’ event
UK players continue to rise in the high-stakes poker world.
Another Southampton local, Benny Glaser, finished second in the $10k Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship, earning himself almost $200k. His tally of three winners’ bracelets is the most won by any British player, with two of the victories snagged in last years’ meet.
A host of other top UK and Irish players have had big wins but without adding to the tally of bracelets. Howard Smith came close, but finished second in the $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha Hi/Lo event, bagging almost $119,524 for his efforts. Another second-place finisher was Harry Law, who won $143,017 in the $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha.
Ireland’s Mark Reilly narrowly missed out but finished third in the $3k PLO event to take home a whopping $149,258. It could have been much more as he went into the final table as chip leader, only to see Lady Luck evade him at the final hurdle. Another Irishman, Marc MacDonnell scooped $420,805 for his fourth-place finish in the $1,500 No Limit Hold’em Millionaire Maker event. It’s not the first time MacDonnell has come so close to winning a bracelet after he finished second in the $1,000 No Limit Hold’em Hyper Turbo event two years ago.
The World Series of Poker is the world’s second largest poker tour after the European Poker Tour, which is now known as the PokerStars Championship. The $10,000 main event is still to be played, along with almost 30 other events, meaning there is still ample opportunity for British and Irish players to add to the impressive total they’ve already amassed.
