152 players sat down for the West Midlands One Regional Final at the Circus Casino, Star City, Birmingham which got underway promptly at 2.00pm.

By the time we reached the second break more than half the field had been eliminated and Liverpool had beaten Man Utd so the players could now concentrate on playing poker. At this stage only four teams remained with a chance of picking up the team trophy.

By 6.30 the outcome of the team event had been decided, a clear win for Shane Hobson, Paul Tobin and Kelly Hawker from St Stephens Working Mens Club, Worcester.

The final table of ten were;
David Craig – Apple Tree, Bilston – 76,000
Dick Bennett – Crown Inn, Stockton – 204,000
Darren Gallagher – Tividale Football Club, Tividale – 97,000
Jamie McGrogan – Maudslay Hotel, Coventry – 69,000
Gareth Day – Apple Tree, Bilston – 66,000
Claude Bailey – Rose & Crown, Hereford – 25,000
Joshua Quant – Merry Boys Inn, Wolverhampton – 30,000
James Barlow – Swan Inn, Kingswinford – 40,000
Paul Nolan – Pilot, Wolverhampton – 80,000
Peter Webb – Raglan Arms, Rugby – 94,000

The three short stacks, Joshua (10th), James (9th) and Claude (8th) were soon eliminated with the remaining seven all guaranteed a seat at the National Final on the 27th. Paul (7th), Jamie (6th) and Gareth (5th) followed in pretty quick time. The final four then settled down for a marathon battle with David, Peter and Darren all trying to eat into Dick’s huge chip lead. David was eliminated in 4th spot and after an appauling run of bad luck Dick surprisingly finished in 3rd place. Darren and Peter battled on with Darren eventually coming up trumps when his Jd 8d easily beat Peter’s 10s 5s when the flop came down Ac 9d Js followed by 2d and the 5d to complete the flush.

Cash Prize Winners
1. Darren Gallagher – Tividale Football Club, Tividale
2. Peter Webb – Raglan Arms, Rugby
3. Dick Bennett – Crown Inn, Stockton
4. David Craig – Apple Tree, Bilston
5. Gareth Day – Apple Tree, Bilston
6. Jamie McGrogan – Maudslay Hotel, Coventry
7. Paul Nolan – Pilot, Wolverhampton
8. Claude Bailey – Rose & Crown, Hereford

National Final Qualifiers
Darren Gallagher
Peter Webb
Dick Bennett
David Craig
Gareth Day
Jamie McGrogan
Paul Nolan

Team Winners
St Stephens Working Mens Club, Worcester