We’ve digested, cogitated and deliberated, and after a series of debates that David Dimbleby would have struggled to keep up with, have finally selected our 50 Graders, the Vegas Five-O.
The inaugural 50 Black Belt Poker Graders include some of the UK’s hottest, young talents such as Tony Phillips, James Mitchell and Ramsey Ajram. The list also boasts multiple GUKPT winners including Sunny Chattha and Jerome Bradpiece, the latter having scooped the GUKPT’s biggest ever payout outside the Grand Final when he won £121,600 at the 2007 GUKPT Walsall.
And let’s not forget those who have shone in the now defunct Gala Casino British Poker Tour (GCBPT). Battling it out with the Internet whiz kids will be Nottingham winner Steve Holden, as will Neil Blatchely who must surely be the only player to have won both a GCBPT and APAT title.
The one name that really sticks out, however, is that of Mickey Wernick. At the ripe ol’ age of 64, he’ll be eager to prove that he can still ‘kick it’ with the up-and-comers, despite coming from an age when having a ‘mobile phone’ required you to slice through the cable. Having finalled the Walsall GUKPT not too many moons ago, ‘The Legend’ clearly has what it takes to give them a run for their money.
Whoever they are and whatever they’ve won, they’ll all be vying for the same thing, a position in the top eight and a guaranteed $20,000 package to Vegas for the World Series of Poker. Upon return, they’ll also receive a monthly sponsorship of a minimum of $4,000 as one of our Brown Belts, while also having the opportunity to become the first ever Black Belt Pro. Those who don’t quite make the top eight, but impress nonetheless, will receive Blue Belt status and a minimum monthly sponsorship of $1,500. Anyone who completes the Grading will be immediately awarded Green Belt status.
If you’ve been living in a cave for the last couple of months, then let me recap. The Grading is a gruelling trial which will require the Vegas Five-O to play a minimum of six hours a day, five days a week, four tables simultaneously. Players will be playing either ring games or STTs with stakes ranging from $0.25/0.50 to $1/2 and $10 to $50 respectively. They will play on Boylepoker, and once a week will be required to attend a Workshop/training day with the other Graders. The Grading commences on Monday, April 27, 2009 and will end on Sunday, April 24, 2009.
At time of writing, and in no particular order, the Vegas Five-O are:
Woody Deck
Dave Bland
Dean Sanders
Hugh Kirton
Alex Martin
Mark McCluskey
James Keys
Scott O’Reilly
James Mitchell
Mickey Wernick
Nicky Evans
Joe Whittaker
Jerome Bradpiece
Eoin Kennedy
Sunny Chattha
James Atkin
Nick Wright
Charles Chattha
Adam Vinson
Ben Vinson
Adam Noone
Toby Lewis
Aarun Bernard
Steve Holden
Alan Vinnicombe
Marc Wright
Gareth Cash
Jamie Roberts
Stephen Hall
Ramsey Ajram
Richard Hawes
Kevin Allen
Richie Allen
Tony Phillips
Dave Penly
Dominic Kay
Daniel Murphy
Jon Lundy
Sebastian Saffari
David Tighe
Neil Blatchly
Sida Yuen
Sandeep Shah
Rob Lawlor
Adam Latimer
Simon Knight
Michael Douglas
Henry Griffiths
Joel Ettedgy
Bill Purle
All players will have access to the Graders’ page on the Black Belt Poker website in which they’ll be able to post reports on their progress. Many will also be writing blogs and making various other contributions to the site. If you would like to keep an eye on how the Grading’s going, then be sure to check out the Graders’ page by clicking the link at the top of the page.
On that note, all that is left to do is wish the Vegas Five-O the very best of luck. Ooh, ooh, and I’ve always wanted to say this…
“Shuffle up and deal!”