Sensei Neil Channing

Name

Neil Channing

Online Moniker

NeilChanning

Belt

Background

44 from Maida Vale in London, Neil has been a professional poker player for well over a decade, recording his first cash back in 2000 at the South of England Poker Festival. Before he was a poker pro, he worked as a bookmaker at various UK racehorses, and still does the occasional books for some of the industry's most renowned gaming sites.

A hugely popular figure on the circuit, Neil has garnered prominence for his backing of countless players across the globe, and is often cited as possessing "lucky money" after sharing a percentage in 2009 WSOP Main Event finalist James Akenhead. Neil is also known for supporting some of the country's other young sensations such as GUKPT winners Sunny Chattha and Jerome Bradpiece.

Despite his success at the felt, Neil has set his sights on the business side of the industry, turning staking into an art form and co-founding Europe's up-and-coming website, Black Belt Poker, with fellow pro Nik Persaud.

Credentials

He may look innocent enough, but Neil's reputation as a stalwart of the cash felt is world-renowned, his ability to grind out a sumptuous wage on a daily basis at the Grosvenor Victoria making him one of the most respected and feared players in the game. Most recently, he completed 48-hours of non-stop poker on The Big Game, and has showcased similar stamina in other cash game shows such as the Poker Den.

If picking off the tourists wasn't enough, in 2007 Neil ambushed the live tournament circuit, guns a blazing and seemingly on a mission to prove his worth in both formats. Three years on and it's mission accomplished, Neil's trophy cupboard heaving with silverware from events such as the 2008 Irish Open and the 2010 Luton GUKPT, and his wallet now boasting in excess of $2.8 million in live tournament winnings.

In the summer of 2010, Neil came a whisker away from bracelet gold when he finished second in the $5,000 shootout event for $273,153. This was one of four cashes that year, taking his WSOP total to an incredible 25 and putting him 80th in the WSOP all-time cashers list. In England, Neil is eighth in the all-time money list, third in the GUKPT all-time ranking list, and currently the biggest ever money winner in Ireland.

Away from the felt, Neil is regarded as a first class mentor of the game having shared his wisdom in Academies and Boot Camps across the country, as well as the annual Poker in the Park in Leicester Square. Neil also writes a monthly column for Bluff Europe and appears on numerous TV poker shows as both a commentator and expert pundit.