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Warm up Event - held Saturday 15th November 2008 @ Lonestar Tavern
The Lone Star Tavern on the Gold Coast was the venue for this years Queensland's National Final. A warm up event conducted on the night before the final attracted 194 players eager to get some practise in before the big final. Included in the field were players from South Australia, Victoria, Emerald, Carins, Rockhampton, Sarina, Townsville, Sunshine Coast, Brisbane and the Gold Coast. With a prize-pool of $1,000 and the chance to win a seat in the National Final the next day play was very tight early.
The battle for the final table and prizes was contested with players from South Australia, Victoria and Queensland. Werner Kaden a regular player and winner from the Gold Coast finished in 4th place while Rick Cartwright another well-known Brisbane player was out in 3rd place. The heads up between Jannette Kingham from South Australia and Troy Bishop from Raintrees Tavern in Carins was an absorbing tussle with Troy emerging victorious.
National Final - held Sunday 16th November 2008 @ Lonestar Tavern
264 players registered to play the National Final. Play commenced at 11am with each player starting with a $10,000 stack. After the first hour of play the field had been reduced to 224 with the average stack $13,500, the chip leader having $45,000. When play resumed after lunch positive aggression was the order of the day and before long another 50 players had hit the rail. Hard luck stories were abundant with players holding the nuts prior to the river and being sucked out, players flopping straights and flushes were not safe as no fewer than 6 quads hit the table during the session.
With the blinds at $1,000/$2,000 and the field reduced to 124 players play began to tighten up again and by the next break only 24 more players had been eliminated. By the time the blinds had climbed to $4,000/$8,000 the field had been reduced to just 59 players, chip leader with $145,000, low stack $10,000. You could feel the tension in the air as one by one the field was reduced to the final 16.
Following the elimination of Tracie McLaughlin from the Alex Sports Bar on the Sunshine Coast the final table was set. With $2.7 million in chips on the table and with over 60 well-wishers watching on the battle for the title and the cash was on. The final table was an all Queensland affair with players from Brisbane, Toowoomba, and Carins & Atherton.
With all players now in the cash there were many all in bets as each player tried to increase their chip stacks. First player out was Damien Ewart from Springwood, followed in quick succession by Sean Hudson from Wilsonton and Peter Kim from Mt Gravatt. Of the five remaining players two, Rick Cartwright from Belmont & Troy Bishop from Raintrees had made the final table at the warm up event the night before and were looking to increase their winnings for the weekend. Unfortunately for both they were the next two to be eliminated. The three-way action was now between Dean Beven from Atherton, Richard Holstrom from the Royal Exchange and Mark Andary from Oxley.
Over the next hour the chips were exchanged as each player took turns in winning some massive pots. Following some great play to get the chip lead Mark Andary's luck ran out and he was eliminated in third place. As the final two started the heads up there was talk of splitting the cash as both players were fairly even in chips. But with both keen to have the bragging rights as National Champion play continued. The final hand came when Richard called Dean's all in bet showing A 3 against Deans A 7. When the board did not improve either player dean's 7 played and he was crowned National Champion.
The Final 16:
- Dean Bevan - Atherton Hotel
- Richard Holmstrom - Royal Exchange
- Mark Andary - Oxley TCB
- Rick Cartwright - Belmont
- Troy Bishop - Raintrees
- Peter Kim - Mt Gravatt
- Sean Hudson - Wilsonton
- Damien Ewart - Springwood
- Tracie McCaughlin - Alex Heads Sports Bar
- Andrea Davis - Benowa
- Emma Nightingale - Brunswick
- Scott Grounsell - Centenary
- Carlene Wilson - Heritage Rockhampton
- Mary Nagas - Wilsonton
- Ray Nagas - Federal
- Brendan Higginson - Forest lake
I would like to thank all the players (especially those who travelled long distances) who have supported NPPL and our events and for the manner in which they played the game and conducted yourselves. With over 100 players involved in turbo games while we were still running the main event your patience and tolerance was greatly appreciated. We look forward to seeing you again.
Special thanks also to my hosts on the weekend Peter Rhodan, Christine Kerr and Emma Love without your efforts the event would not have been the success it was. Also to the Management and Staff at the Lone Star your support over the weekend was fantastic. We look forward to coming back again next year.
Tim Phillips
NPPL QLD Manager
Click here to view Pictures from the National Final and Warm up event.
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