After multiple near misses, Neil Channing last night achieved a long-awaited goal by taking down the sixth leg of the GUKPT in Luton. Dominant throughout, Channing toppled a tough final table which included Carlo Citrone, Joe Grech and former Walsall Champion Jeff Kimber to capture the title and £64,050 first prize.
Although 2010 has been a lucrative year for the high stakes pro, Channing was constantly the bridesmaid, being forced to settle for second place spots in a number of events such as January's iPoker Monthly Million, the GUKPT London Main Event, and, most recently, the $5,000 Shootout at the World Series of Poker.
But following this weekend's triumphant performance, Channing finds himself walking down the aisle as the latest GUKPT Champion, and finally part of that elite group of Champions that boasts celebrated UK pros such as Praz Bansi, Julian Thew, Sam Trickett and Black Belt Poker's Jerome Bradpiece.
Finishing Day 1A seventh in chips with 71,275, Channing carried his good form over to Day 2 to quickly take over the chip lead with around 300,000. From there, he didn't look back, eliminating Stephen Rawle, Arjanit Kondaj and friend Paul Parker to head into Day 3's final as the chip leader with a whopping 612,500.
Initially, the cards evaded Channing, but the 2008 Irish Open Champion remained patient, allowing his opponents to eliminate one another before applying the pressure and dispatching of Les Fenton in seventh. Moments later, and Channing added Citrone to his hit list, K-8 brushing aside T-8 suited to send the Geordie home.
With George White and Keith Johnson picking up fourth and third respectively, Channing found himself heads-up with a near 2:1 chip lead and a gnat's nostril hair away from victory. The man who stood in his way was Adebayo Odetoyinbo, a stalwart of the now defunct Gutshot Club who had stunned players with his trash-talking and table shenagans which included kissing both biceps and declaring that he loved himself.
However, with just two gladiators remaining, it was the cards that did the talking, and with all the chips flying in preflop, Channing's A-K was in dominating shape against the A-9 of Odetoyinbo. A T-Q-4-6-2 board later and after three days of hard-fought poker, Neil Channing was declared the 2010 GUKPT Luton Champion.
A popular character on the circuit, Channing has been a staple of UK poker for a number of years, but is perhaps best known as a live cash pro at the Vic in London where he plies his trade. In recent years, he has ambushed the tournament circuit, becoming Irish Open Champion in 2008 and cashing in no fewer than 25 WSOP events. Despite this being his first GUKPT title to date, victory in Luton means that Channing now boasts in excess of $2.8 million in live tournament winnings and jumps up to seventh in England's all-time money list.
Channing is currently the face of Black Belt Poker where he can be found playing on his Challenge Channing cash table every Tuesday from 7.30pm as part of our Super Tuesday promotion. If you would like to test yourself against the latest GUKPT Champion, then simply download the cardroom software and follow the simple step-by-step process provided. See you at the tables!
1st Neil Channing -- £64,050
2nd Adebayo Odetoyinbo -- £43,500
3rd Keith Johnson -- £28,050
4th George White -- £16,600
5th Carlo Citrone -- £12,600
6th Ricky Mackintosh -- £10,300
7th Les Fenton -- £8,000
8th Joe Grech -- £6,300
9th Jeff Kimber -- £4,600
10th Victor Ilyukhin -- £4,000
image courtesy of blondepoker.com