The Gala Casino in Edinburgh hosted our second Scottish final of the weekend. Another record turnout were again looking to take that next step towards Las Vegas. £1,000 would be shared amongst the top eight players.

The players were in a buoyant mood as the tournament got under-way. The buoyancy was short lived for Daniel Hinton, George Young and Alan Brown as they were the first three players to hit the rail. This would also eliminate their respective pubs from the team event as the first break neared.

As play resumed, the team event winner edged closer. Last seasons champions, the Pentland Inn, Loanhead made a good defence but ultimately fell short. That left the Wintergills and the Abbey Granary to fight it out for this seasons trophy and with three top 20 finishers on the day the Wintergills took the honours for season 5.1. Brian Murray, Calum Healey and Jeanette Campbell were the heroes on the day.

The final table for the South Scotland region lined up as follows….

Seat 1: Mike Gunning – IQue Cafe Bar, Glasgow (3,500)
Seat 2: Brendan Martin – Abbey Granary, Newton Grange (12,500)
Seat 3: Alan Robertson – Crofters, Edinburgh (2,000)
Seat 4: Robin McDonald – Sportsman, Glasgow (45,000)
Seat 5: Gary Purcell – Pentland Inn, Loanhead (70,000)
Seat 6: Emma Erwin – No.2 Baker Street, Stirling (9,500)
Seat 7: Calum Healey – Wintergills, Glasgow (3,000)
Seat 8: Brian Phillips – Barrachnie Inn, Glasgow (18,000)

Our three short stacks were all soon eliminated as the blind levels were just too high for their small stacks. Robin McDonald was looking to be the first ever player to retain their regional final title but unfortunately Robin was to finish in 4th place respectively. The heads-up match got under-way after Brendan Martin was eliminated in 3rd place. Gary Purcell was to match up against Emma Erwin. Gary, who held the chip lead at the start of the final table, wasted no time in despatching Emma to the rail. Gary’s K4 held the pre-flop lead against Erwin’s QT. A flop of J97hhh gave Emma plenty of hope but unfortunately missed her 15 outs on a 9 & J turn and river. This gave Gary Purcell from the Pentland Inn the South Scotland Regional Final title.

Cash Prize Winners

1. Gary Purcell – Pentland Inn, Loanhead
2. Emma Erwin – No.2 Baker Street, Stirling
3. Brendan Martin – Abbey Granary, Newton Grange
4. Robin McDonald – Sportsman, Glasgow
5. Brian Phillips – Barrachnie Inn, Glasgow
6. Calum Healey – Wintergills, Glasgow
7. Alan Robertson – Crofters, Edinburgh
8. Mike Gunning – IQue Cafe Bar, Glasgow

National Final Qualifiers
Gary Purcell
Emma Erwin

Team Winners
Wintergills, Glasgow