This week on the 3-Bet we bring you news of the first-ever International Poker Federation European Nations Cup, a group of UK grinders that traveled to Marbella in search of poker glory plus the biggest score of British pro Kevin Allen's career.
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1) Teams Ireland and UK Qualify for IFP World Championships
There were a few people smiling in debt-ridden Cyprus this week when teams from both Ireland and the UK performed well in the first-ever International Federation of Poker (IFP) European Nations Cup.
The IFP have created a new tournament format known as ‘Match Poker’ where - wait for it - you don’t have any cards or chips. Instead, decisions are made via smartphone and the first winners were the Irish who now head to Rio for the World Championships.
With Padraig Parkinson leading the Irish team you can be sure of some great technical team talks … or maybe not.
“As captain of the Irish team, I’d like to tell you that I spent the two hours before the final session last weekend of the IFP Poker Nations Cup poring over hand history’s, discussing tactics and considering a possible substitution with my team mates. What I was really doing was drinking beer with Jesse May after I lost my team mates,” Parkinson wrote in his blog.
The Irish will be joined in that world final by the UK team, captained by Barny Boatman, which also reached a qualifying position.
2) The Brits Invade WPT Marbella
There’s nothing like the Spanish coastline to attract UK residents like flies to … well, you know what. So when the World Poker Tour (WPT) announced that it would hold a National Series event in Marbella, the boys from the wet and windy island didn’t disappoint.
James Akenhead, James Mitchell, Matt Perrins, Steve Watts, Scott O’Reilly and James Dempsey are just a few of the heroes who made the trip.
Here are a few reasons why the trip to Marbs was such a great idea.
Both Steve Watts (7th) and Scott O’Reilly (5th) made a final table that was won by Spanish pro Francisco Perez.
3) Kevin Allen Wins DTD Monte Carlo
The Dusk Till Dawn (DTD) duo of Simon Trumper and Rob Yong have once again organised a wonderful tournament in the shape of the Monte Carlo £500,000 guaranteed.
“This has got to be the greatest final table ever… proper f*&kin poker … awesome,” said one Blondepoker follower.
John Eames, James Atkin, Ben Jackson, Richard Trigg and The Devilfish were all bashing on the door when the business end of the competition came knocking, but it was Kevin Allen who beat Richard Trigg heads-up to become the worthy winner.
“Kevin deserved it. He played the best,” said a humble Trigg after his £70,000 second-place showing.
Dusk Til Dawn has long been known for its London card room and great low buy-in live tournaments but most recently the brand has garnered attention for backing the much-questioned International Stadiums Poker Tour set to kick off at Wemblay in just a few weeks.
Check out this thread on Blondepoker for tons more info on how the final table played out.
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