NPCVIII: Holford goes back-to-back to win Main Event and High Roller!

The Newcastle Poker Championships have now concluded and it was local Steve Holford (pictured) that took the spotlight on the final weekend of play. Not only did Holford cement himself in NPC history by winning the Main Event, he went one better to triumph again the following day in the High Roller event!

 

Thanks to Aussie Hold’em Poker and Danny Hobby in particular, for providing event updates throughout the tournament series. Here’s a summary of the final results:

Event #1 – NLH Freeroll with Rebuys
Winner: Nathan Bevan
See summary event here.
 
Event #2 – NLH Bounty Event
Winner: Aaron Bolton
See event summary here.
 
Event #3 – NLH 2-Player Teams Event
Winners: ‘The Chicken Brothers’ David Bryde and Michael Evans
See event summary here.

Event #4 – NLH Deepstack
Winner: Josh Christie
See event summary here.

Event # 5 – Pot Limit Omaha
Winner: Micheal Marzella
See event summary here.

Event # 6 – NLH Turbo Lifeline
Winner: Barry Parton
See event summary here.

Event #7 – NLH 6-Max
Winner: Rhys Edwards
See event summary here.

Event #8 – NLH Shootout
1^st – Nathan Hudson $700.00

2^nd – Michael Marzella $350.00

3^rd – Ben Guinery $250.00

4^th – Nick Stojanovski $150.00

5^th – David Taubman $100.00

Event #9 – NLH PokerMedia Main Event
After a long day of intense play of over 13 hours, Steve Holford was able to triumph over the 75 starters that began the day. In the final hand of heads-up play, both Garry Windle and Holford limped to the flop which came 4s7c10h. Both players checked, the turn falling 5h. Holford bet 100k with Windle calling to see the river card. When the 2s hit, Holford shoved holding a huge chip advantage of 176k. Windle eventually called tabling Q5 for a pair of fives, but Holford showed 9d7d to pair his sevens and win the crown.

Garry Windle finished in a well-deserved 2^nd place and received $3,500.00 for his efforts. But it was Holford who truly deserved the win having built a significant chip lead with about 20 players left and had the skill to make that count. He knocked out several players throughout play, managing his dominance well. Along with the trophy and accolades, Holford collected $7,800.00 for the win and it was certainly his shout at the bar!

1^st – Steven Holford $7,800.00

2^nd – Garry Windle $3,500.00

3^rd – Shane Pearce $2000.00

4^th – Bradd McGarrity $1500.00

5^th – Mick Logan $1000.00

6^th – Andrew Woodward $700.00

7^th – Nick Pogonovski $500.00

8^th – Jacob Briggs $400.00

9^th – Ben Rice $200.00

Feature Event A – NLH High Roller Event
An impressive variety of notables entered the High Roller event, which was $550 to enter with an optional re-entry of $525. The likes of Steve Holford – Main Event winner from the previous day, Nathan Beavan – last years Main Event champion, Garry Windle, Bradd McGarrity, Bill Delaney, Elvis Earle, Brenton Nichols, David Haas, Leanne Haas, Rod Cooper, Dane Jerous and Nick Pogonovski were some that made up the field of 30 runners to create a prize pool of over $15,000.

Bill Delaney was the early pace-setter, followed closely by Nick Pogonovski and Brenton Nichols. However, much like the situation in the previous day in the Main Event, with about 20 players left, Steven Holford took charge to take over the chip lead. He continued his aggressive play to lead a solid group at the final table that included Nichols, Jamie Redding and Bradd McGarrity. But it was Holford again who was able to create further history by timing his aggression perfectly to overcome Bradd McGarrity heads-up for his second win in so many days.

1^st – Steven Holford $8500.00
2^nd – Bradd McGarrity $4000.00
3^rd –  Dylan Garland $2000.00
4^th – Corey Crooks $1000.00

Feature Event B – Open Face Chinese Poker
Winner: Mitchell Farrell

Feature Event C – NLH Freeroll with re-buys
Winner: Matt Murphy