Friday, May 30, 2008

GUKPT - Leg 5


The unfeasibly stimulating GUKPT continues to turn heads as it builds to its grand final in London in November. May saw the 5th of the 9 legs take place in Newcastle and it followed the tour’s history by providing an epic climax.

The heads-up contest between Doctor Ganesh Rao and rookie online qualifier Ian Farell lasted over two hours and featured plenty of swings. It also offered two highly contrasting styles: typically, Ian would be the aggressor, raising a lot pre-flop and capturing a lot of blinds but he was matched by Ganesh’s more patient style – often the aggressive bully was trapped in a pot and leaked chips.

The end eventually came at 1am when they were both showing signs of fatigue. Strange things can happen in long heads-up duels due to the accumulation of tough folds and intense pressure. Maybe that explains why Ian decided to go all-in holding 5-2. We will never show for sure. It was probably a simple blind steal but when Ganesh looked at pocket jacks, the band started playing.

Rookie Ian had the good grace to attribute some of his success to his seat placement earlier in the tournament. He said that he was lucky to be sitting with Pete Linton, who finished in 16th, as he learned to adopt an aggressive style. Maybe he will use some of his £33,075 to buy Linton a Newcastle Brown Ale.

However, the general practice is to shine the light on the winner and so we are proud to announce that the good Doctor was awarded £57,175 for his surgical precision on the table.

Roll on Luton’s Leg 6 in August.

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