We have had a long day of poker today behind us. We saw many clashes of big stacks, we have seen short stacks fighting their way through the mine field, but above all, we have seen absolute joy today! It is nice to be here in Dusk Till Dawn Pokerclub in Nottingham, and the players are absolutely having a ball.
The day started off with 57 players, all wanting to win the that fabulous trophy here at the The Festival Series. Players such as Georgina 'GJ Reggie' James, Ian Vertefeuille, Corrado Nane and Colin Lovelock all made it to Day 2 of this event. For GJ Reggie it ended just before the final table as she couldn't manage to win against Alexandru Grigorie.
''GJ Reggie, what is her online nickname on PokerStars, just got out of the tournament as she chucked in her last 8 big blinds, when the Grigorie went about all-in from UTG before her.
GJ Reggie 10 J
Grigorie K Q
The board gave a King, but no diamonds or draws/pairs for Georgina. With this bust we can conclude that the new PokerListings Champion won’t be a female player.''
Not much later we had reached the final table and the following players were taking a seat at the feature table. It was Nicholas Burrett who had the commanding chiplead already for a long while, as well when going into the final 9:
| Colin Lovelock | 12,740,000 |
| Nicholas Burrett | 23,925,000 |
| Russel Bowman | 8,150,000 |
| Corrado Nane | 4,200,000 |
| Vlad Talica | 4,040,000 |
| Alexandru Grigorie | 5,925,000 |
| Dimitru Enache | 3,000,000 |
| Jeraint ‘JJ’ Hazan | 8,350,000 |
| Sean O’Donnell | 5,300,000 |
All nine players were great throughout the whole tournament and were chasing the grand first prize, together with many additions to it such as a trophy and a package. Burrett was in an amazing spot to finish it off, but eventually came short and didn't make it until the end of the tournament. Hazan, Bowman and Lovelock on the other hand, have every reason for bragging rights as they managed to make a deal when they were left with the three of them. If you would like to watch back the whole final table, or to read all the keyhands of the final table, make sure to check it out!
| Place + Player Name | Original Prize | After Deal |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Colin Lovelock | £ 6,850* + Package for The Festival Series Malta | £ 5,225 |
| 2 Russel Bowman | £ 4,225* | £ 4,335 |
| 3 JJ Hazan | £ 3,026* | £ 3,885 |
| 4 Nicholas Burrett | £ 2,350 | |
| 5 Corrado Nane | £ 1,850 | |
| 6 Alexandru Grigorie | £ 1,500 | |
| 7 Dimitru Enache | £ 1,200 | |
| 8 Sean O'Donnell | £ 950 | |
| 9 Vlad Talica | £ 750 |
Thank you all very much for following the liveblog. And stay tuned for all the live action at The Festival Series here in Nottingham!