World Speed Poker Open
Encyclopedia
The World Speed Poker Open (WSPO) was an international poker tournament
held under speed poker
rules.
Twelve preliminary heats took place, each with six participants. The winner received £2,500 and a place in one of the WSPO semi-finals.
The top three finishers in each of the semi-finals received a seat in the WSPO Final. The winner also received a further £2,500. Players took to the Final the amount of chips they had when their semi-final got down to just three players.
The payout structure for the Final was:
Twice per tournament, a player may have an additional 30 second time-out, this idea was the brainchild of Dave "Devilfish" Ulliot.
If a decision is not made during that time period, the hand is declared dead.
To help speed things along, 2 dealers are utilised.
Poker tournament
A poker tournament is a tournament where players compete by playing poker. It can feature as few as two players playing on a single table , and as many as tens of thousands of players playing on thousands of tables...
held under speed poker
Speed poker
Speed poker is a live variant of Texas hold 'em inspired by online poker. A relatively new variant, it is the format of two major televised tournaments, the World Speed Poker Open and the Poker Dome Challenge, as well as the Asia-Pacific Speed Poker Championship. Card Player Magazine credits...
rules.
Format
The tournament had a £2,000 entry fee.Twelve preliminary heats took place, each with six participants. The winner received £2,500 and a place in one of the WSPO semi-finals.
The top three finishers in each of the semi-finals received a seat in the WSPO Final. The winner also received a further £2,500. Players took to the Final the amount of chips they had when their semi-final got down to just three players.
The payout structure for the Final was:
- Winner: £50,000
- Runner-Up: £25,000
- 3rd place: £17,000
- 4th place: £10,000
- 5th place: £5,000
- 6th place: £2,000
Rules
Each player has 15 seconds to make their decision. The clock starts when the player knows how much the bet into him or her is.Twice per tournament, a player may have an additional 30 second time-out, this idea was the brainchild of Dave "Devilfish" Ulliot.
If a decision is not made during that time period, the hand is declared dead.
To help speed things along, 2 dealers are utilised.
2005 Results
| Event | Winner | Runner-Up | Other Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heat 1 (paddypowerpoker.com) | Mike McFadden | Ram Vaswani Ram Vaswani Ram Vaswani is an English professional snooker player, turned professional poker player and the youngest member of The Hendon Mob... |
|
| Heat 2 (paddypowerpoker.com) | Oliver Boyce | Kevin O'Connell |
Lucy Rokach Lucienne "Lucy" Rokach is an English professional poker player from Stoke-on-Trent. She was born in Cairo, Egypt and is now regarded as one of the top female players in Europe... |
| Heat 3 (coralpoker.com) | Tiffany Williamson Tiffany Williamson Tiffany Williamson is an American corporate lawyer who qualified for the 2005 World Series of Poker in the Gutshot Poker Club. She went on to finish in 15th place, earning $400,000, after having spent just one year learning the game... |
Dave Penly |
Roland De Wolfe Roland De Wolfe is an English professional poker player and a former writer for the poker magazine Inside Edge.After winning first prize in an event at the 2004 Gutshot Poker Festival, he went on to make a money finish in the $1,000 No Limit event of the 2005 World Series of Poker.In July 2005, he... |
| Heat 4 (partypoker.co.uk) | Jac Arama Jac Arama Jac Arama is a professional poker player of mixed English/French descent... |
Jason Smith |
|
| Heat 5 (partypoker.co.uk) | Lynne Beaumont | Thomas Bihl Thomas Bihl Thomas Bihl is a German poker player who became the first person to win a World Series of Poker bracelet outside of Las Vegas, Nevada. Bihl was sponsored by Betfair, the official sponsor of the 2007 World Series of Poker Europe .... |
Willie Tann Willie "The Dice Man" Tann is an English professional poker player.Tann was born in Singapore and came to England to study law in the 1960s.Tann has numerous nicknames on the poker circuit... |
| Heat 6 (partypoker.co.uk) | Neil Channing Neil Channing Neil Andrew Channing is an English professional poker player and author based in Maida Vale, London. He is the 2008 Irish Poker Open champion.... |
Korosh Nejad Korosh Nejad Korosh Nejad is an Iranian professional poker player based in London, England.Nejad has played for over 30 years, but first came to the public attention with three impressive performances in the Stakis Festival in London during May 1999 where he had a 2nd place finish in a £100 Pot Limit Omaha... |
Michael Greco Michael Greco is an English actor and poker player. He was educated in Surrey, England at Reigate College. Internet rumours claim he was born in Dunbar, Scotland, but Greco himself states that this is false, and that he grew up in London.... |
| Heat 7 (pokerheaven.com) | John Kabbaj John Kabbaj Jean-Michel Kabbaj is an English professional poker player, referred to by The Hendon Mob as their unofficial fifth member.-Before poker:Kabbaj quit school at the age of 16... |
Victor Garcia Camara |
|
| Heat 8 (pokerheaven.com) | Dave Colclough Dave Colclough David E. Colclough is a Welsh professional poker player, now living in Thailand.-Before poker:Prior to becoming a poker professional, Colclough worked as a computer programmer. Amongst the companies he worked for were the Post Office and the National Health Service... |
Henning Bolstad |
Carlo Citrone "Diamond" Carlo Citrone is a British professional poker player and commentator, based in Newcastle upon Tyne.-Early years:Citrone was raised in Whitley Bay by his father John Citrone, a fifteen-time world bodybuilding champion and supplier of sports nutrition and gym equipment products.Whilst still... |
| Heat 9 (pokerheaven.com) | Tony G Tony G Antanas Guoga , more commonly known as Tony G, is a businessman and professional poker player. As a child, he was the Rubik's Cube champion of Lithuania before moving to Melbourne, Australia at the age of 11. He has played poker since the age of 18, and is known for his outlandish table talk and... |
Alex Tsai |
Sverre Krogh Sundbø Sverre Krogh Sundbø is a Norwegian poker player who came in second in the European Poker Championship in London in 2005 after being defeated by professional poker player Tony G during heads-up play.... Tony Bloom Anthony Grant "Tony" Bloom is a football club chairman and successful poker player.-Poker and betting:Bloom made a name for himself as a successful sports bettor and property investor... John Duthie John Duthie is a London-based English television director and creator of the European Poker Tour.-Film and television:... |
| Heat 10 (fulltiltpoker.com) | Adam Richardson Adam Richardson Adam Scott Richardson is a former Australian rules footballer who played for West Adelaide in the South Australian National Football League and Adelaide in the Australian Football League .... |
Chris Ferguson Chris Ferguson Christopher Philip Ferguson is an American professional poker player. He has won five World Series of Poker events, including the 2000 WSOP Main Event, and the 2008 NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship. On September 20, 2011, the U.S... |
Marco Traniello Marco Traniello is an Italian professional hairdresser and is sponsored professional poker player on Full Tilt Poker.-Poker:... Jennifer Harman Jennifer C. Harman-Traniello is an American professional poker player.-Early life:Harman was born and raised in Reno, Nevada. She started playing poker in 1972 at the age of eight... |
| Heat 11 (interpoker.com) | Emile Petit | Matthew Norman |
Kathy Liebert Kathleen H. Liebert is an American professional poker player.- Poker :Liebert started her professional poker career as a prop player in Colorado... |
| Heat 12 (interpoker.com) | Rory Matthews | Piero Milani |
Robert Varkonyi Robert Varkonyi is an American poker player, best known for winning the main event of the 2002 World Series of Poker.-Early years:Varkonyi was born in and raised in New York... Roy Brindley Roy 'The Boy' Brindley is an English professional poker player, now living in Wicklow, Ireland.-Early years:... |
| Semi-Final 1 | Emile Petit | Mike McFadden |
|
| Semi-Final 2 | Tony G | Lynne Beaumont |
|
| Grand Final | Oliver Boyce | Emile Petit |
|