GUKPT GRAND FINAL WINNER IS AN ONLINE ACE

12 December 2008

24-year-old Internet player takes down on of England's top tourneys

 

Internet poker ace Paul "Pab" Foltyn proved this week that he is also a formidable live tournament player by winning the Grand Final of the GBP 3 000 buy-in Grosvenor U.K. Poker Tour, surviving a field full of highly experienced and competitive pros.

The 24-year-old from Doncaster was a strong contender throughout the GUKPTcompetition, well deserving the GBP 167 050 winner's prize, Grosvenor officials said. The 184 entrant field included players of the calibre of last year's winner Mike Ellis, John Eames, WSOPE Main Event finalist Robin Keston, Chris Moorman, John Duthie and winner of the Thanet GUKPT leg Andrew Teng, along with EPT champions Julian Thew and Andreas Hoivold. GUKPT Bolton winner Tony Cascarino and EPT London runner-up Michael Tureniec were also among the competitive line-up.

The final table shook down to Erik Savanes in the lead with a 618 300 chip count, pursued by Guy Steel (492 000) and Jeff Duvall (481 000) with Foltyn around the middle of the pack on 330 100. Other players around the table were Stuart Nash, Richard Ashby, Stuart Rutter, Tony Cascarino and Surinder Sunar.

The heads up two were decided when Foltyn eliminated Guy Steel, leaving the young Internet pro facing seasoned plater Jeff Duvall, with chip stacks respectively at 1.5 million vs. 1.2 million. It was the start of a yo-yoing match where the chip lead changed several times in an intense game that ultimately saw Foltyn hold the lead and win, claiming his largest live cash cheque to date.