El Blondie won't be duped at the poker table

David Colclough is back to making headlines for his poker game, following his win of the Manchester leg of the Grosvenor U.K. Poker Tour on Monday.

After going a year without a major event win and a recent spell of personal bad luck, Colclough bounced back to grab the tour's title and £88,000 Monday.

The victory wasn't entirely painless; it took two and a half hours of heads-up play for the Welshman to knock online qualifier Barry Neville out of contention.

With 60% of the final table's chips, the race was between the so-called El Blondie and Neville. But Colclough narrowed the gap by the time the pair reached heads-up play, holding a 2:1 chip advantage - not to mention a fearsome reputation for aggression on the felt - over Neville.

After a marathon session with blinds reaching $25,000/$50,000, Colclough managed to deliver the knockout punch by rivering a flush. He would later say that the game turned into the toughest heads-up match he has ever played.

Poker commentator and consultant for the James Bond film Casino Royale, Tom Sambrook, finished third in the event after getting sucked out on by Neville. Sambrook, like Neville, was one of four online qualifiers to make the final table.

Results are as follows:

Place Name Prize
1st David Colclough £88,300
2nd Barry Neville £47,000
3rd Tom Sambrook £31,400
4th Nick Slade £22,800
5th Ryan Fronda £17,100
6th Richard Ashby £14,200
7th Chris Bruce £11,400
8th Jack Dionysiou £8,600
9th Victor Kaye £5,700

courtesy of Erin Warner

News Added: 24 April, 2007

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