PokerPlayer Championship Event #3, Newcastle, No Limit Hold'em, 2 August 2008

Entrants: 99
Buy in: £50
Prize pool: £5,000 plus £1,060 GUKPT seat

Final results:
1. Stuart Long, £1,700
2. Trevor Routledge, £950
3. Karl Teasdale, £700
4. Dominic Davidson, £500
5. Ian Cross, £350
6. Gary Graham, £280
7. Garry Wilson, £220
8. Lee Hickson, £180
9. Alan Brady, £120

With a 5,000 starting stack and 25 minute clock the third PokerPlayer Championship tournament attracted 99 runners to the Grosvenor Casino in Newcastle.

Members of the Newcastle Poker Forum were in strong attendance, as well as players from Punters Lounge, Eat My Stack, and the PokerPlayer forum. Seasoned player, ex-Poker Night Live presenter and well known media commmentator James Browning also sat down to play the £50 freezeout event.

The tournament was won by 28 year old Stuart Long from Selby, who pocketed £1,700, a GUKPT main event seat and a seat in the seven man PokerPlayer Championship final at the Vic in London in October.

If he then goes on to win that live final he will win a seat for the GUKPT Grand Final.

Long, who was the first player through the doors of the Casino at 12pm accompanied by his brother Stephen, was understandably delighted with the victory.

"I'm really tired but it was a great win," Long told PokerPlayer. "The prize money from here will go straight into my bankroll, and I'm already looking forward to the next round." "I haven't decided yet which GUKPT event I will play, but I will approach it in exactly the same way as I did today."

The final table was a tense affair, but the tournament played out in a friendly fashion, as it had done from the very first hand dealt at 2pm. A deal was done on the cash bubble, with tenth place receiving £50 (£5 from each player on the final table). Local player Michael Ilderton was the beneficiary of that gracious gesture.

As the blinds increased from 3K/6K on the final table, Karl Teasdale, Trevor Routledge and Stuart Long battled hard in a gritty three-handed tussle, before Teasdale's Q-4 succumbed to Long's K-J, which hit both the King and the Jack for a big two pair.

That bust out meant Long had a more than 4-1 chip advantage going into heads-up play, with his 407K dwarfing Routledge's 88K. Indeed, heads-up play lasted only one hand.

Long pushed pre-flop from the button holding Q♣-7♣ and Routledge called with J♣-Q♠. The flop came down 4♣-K♥-9♣, giving Routledge a gutshot straight draw, and Long the flush draw.

The turn brought the insignificant 3♥ before the 7♦ on the river sealed Long's triumph.

The tour now moves on to Bristol on 23 August, with tickets for that one on sale 15 August.