Hit Squad Ice Tigers Win 2017 BCPC Team Championship

Written by Brian Yates

Saturday May 20th 2017 saw 100 poker players from all over the UK, descend on The Spring Meadow Social Club in the West Midlands for the 7th Annual BCPC Team Championships.

   It was the second straight year that the games had been held in this venue but even before the start we had drama as news filtered through that the two teams from Sutton Poker in Nottingham had been involved in (actually “caused”) a multi-car accident on the M1.

   During a phone call with Gary Colclough from the Sutton Club, Brian Yates asked if they would still be able to make it?

  “We are just running up the slip road to get our taxi now!” was the answer!

NOBODY wants to miss the BCPC Team Championships!

   Defending the trophy in 2017 would be The Pokeriety, although only Captain Mark Sanders was present when they were victorious in 2016. There were a few new teams this year as Kev O’Hanlon brought a team up from his establishment in London, The Lord Hill joined us at the last minute from Shropshire while the Essex Home Game team contained APAT England players in Shirley Cole, Matt Carter and Dawn Cooke, so would obviously be one to watch.

  The BCPC had 3 teams this year but no fewer than 31 players from the Club played in this event…magnificent support guys!

  Just after Noon, the cards were in the air and what a start by the Donkers Team. BCPC Member Dale Macchiarelli won his table while fellow Club members Sean Priest and Matt Kay, plus Lorna Bennett, were all 2nd on their respective tables, to give Donkers a massive 31 points after round 1 from a possible 40. Hit Squad Ice Tigers were 7 points behind in 2nd place but that could have been 12 points had Rich Cornick not defeated Sean Priest heads up on Table 8.

The lone BCPC success in the first round came from Tod Wood of the “A” Team as the “B” & “C” Teams both joined Blue Blood “B” on zero points.

  Into Round 2 and the Donkers lived up to their name and collapsed, with a 4th place finish from Matt Kay supplying them with their total of 2 points that saw them slip from 1st to 5th.

Every team scored points this round but it was Poker Mob who took control, following up a 24-point haul in round 1 with 20 this time to lead Essex Home Game (41) by 3 points with Hit Squad Ice Tigers in 3rd (39) and defending Champs Pokeriety on 34 in 4th.

Dawn Cooke was leading the Individual rankings after winning both of her games while both Matt Redfern (Blue Blood “A”) and Peter Canning (Pokeriety) had a 1st & a 2nd.

The final round produced the most thrilling finish we have ever had in this event.

With three tables left in play, there were still 4 teams who could still lift the trophy. Unfortunately, The Poker Mob were not one of them as Gary Peniket and his hardened drinking crew collapsed during round 3 (not literally!), picking up just 2 points in total to finish in 5th spot.

Blue Blood “A” had been the late movers thanks in the main to 27 points from debutant Matt Redfern, which saw him in position to take the Individual 1st prize of £100. His team’s chances of victory ended when Phil Matty was beaten Heads-Up by Darren Sutton and 53 points saw them finish in 4th spot. Darren’s win gave him 18 points in total as his Lord Hill team managed just 19 all day!

That left 3 teams to do battle, with the added incentive for Dawn Cooke of trying to become the first player ever to win all 3 tables at one event. Dawn knew what she had to do and nursed her shortstack brilliantly, picked her spots and finally got Heads Up with Steve Harris (Angies Room).

   The Pokeriety were desperately trying to retain the trophy though and Peter Canning was also Heads-Up with another player from Angies Room in Adrian Knight while Andy Foxhall was four-handed on his table with newly-crowned GUKPT Main Event winner Gareth Howard, Essex Home Game player Matt Carter & Blue Blood’s Steve Redfern. Canning would also tie Matt Redfern on 27 points in the Individual tally should he win his table. Only a victory by Dawn Cooke could then stop them. Meanwhile Rich Cornick was 3-handed on his table as the last remaining player on the Hit Squad team which left things looking like this…..

1st – Hit Squad Ice Tigers on 54 points with 1 player left and a maximum of 60 available

2nd – Essex Home Game on 53 points with 2 players left and a maximum of 62 available

3rd – The Pokeriety on 47 points with 2 players left and a maximum of 56 available

An amazing scenario to end a fantastic tournament.

Steve Redfern’s exit in 4th place from Table 7 meant Matt Carter was now guaranteed 4 points minimum so Essex took the lead……but Rich Cornick then got Heads-Up on his table, meaning Hit Squad were now going to finish with at least 57 points….and so the dream of retaining the Title was over for The Pokeriety.

Sutton Poker’s Martin Sieder beat Cornick Heads-up to keep Essex in the hunt but they would need at least a 1st and a 2nd place from Dawn Cooke and Matt Carter to win it.

Gareth Howard killed that dream soon after though when he put Carter out in 3rd, meaning The Hit Squad Ice Tigers were the 2017 BCPC Team Champions!!

Angies Room’s Adrian Knight saw off Pokeriety player Peter Canning on his table but Andy Foxhall got the better of Gaz Howard to leave The Pokeriety on 53 points and still in with a shot at the £700 prize for runners-up spot.

Just 1 table remained and all the pressure was on Dawn Cooke.

Win and she becomes the first player to ever win all 3 games at this event and will receive £100. Her team will then be outright runners up and receive £700.

Lose and she gets £50 and the team £350.

With the table surrounded by the remaining players, Steve Harris could not spoil the party as Dawn came through to secure a famous victory and bring the curtain down on the best BCPC event ever.

Of the 100 players participating, 33 went home with cashes while 16 scored zero points.

This event just gets better and better…bring on 2018