Dale Garrad storms to victory at UKIPT5 Super Series for £28,300

The Hippodrome Casino staged the final of the UKIPT5 Super Series today and in just four swift hours Dale Garrad blitzed his way to the title, defeating Frenchman Julien Rouxel heads up to win the plaudits, trophy and £28,300 in prize money.

"I feel exhausted but great," he said with a beaming smile following his win. "It's nice to get some recognition for being able to play poker."

Three unrelenting days of poker preceding the final had condensed the field to 8 remaining players - lined up as follows.

Days 1A,B,C and 2 at the Super Series had been characterized by high quality, aggressive play and the final was no different. Barely a hand was checked down, the players keen to stamp their authority on the table whenever possible.

During the early exchanges , eliminations were at a premium, mainly as the shortstacks were running well at showdown, but that was all to change.

Sebastien Jung was the first of a rush of eliminations, the Frenchman busting out in 8th spot for £3,555 - the first of Garrad's victims on the final.

Julien Rouxel had been incredibly busy in the early levels and so it was no surprise he took the next scalp - sending Spanish computer programmer Jorge Barcelo Cortes on his way in 7th for £4,840 - Cortes unlucky his superior straight draw bricked out.

Steve Critchley had earned himself an early double -up and when he eliminated Andy Purser in 6th place for £6,590 with a pair of tens, he was starting to look a genuine threat for the title.

Alex Kaczmarek found the final table tough going - unable to find too many spots, he saw his challenge fade in a still highly-creditable 5th spot for £8,710 - Garrad doing the damage with a dominating ace once more.

Critchley's ascent up the leaderboard was halted by Russian Andrey Veselov - the advertising executive spiking a backdraw flush draw to win a huge pot and cripple him - an anguished, strangled scream from Critchley audible evidence of his pain.

He found himself unable to recover from this setback - ultimately crashing out in 4th place for £11,105 as he became a member of the ever-increasing "Busted by Garrad" club.

There had seemed an inevitability that the two most aggressive players over the final table - Julien Rouxel and Dale Garrad - would end up the two men contesting the trophy and so it proved - Veselov blinding down to a relatively low stack before running his fours into Rouxel's pocket tens.

£13,760 was the Russian's reward - leaving Rouxel and Garrad to blast it out between them.
"I get the feeling this won't last long," joked Garrad near the start of the heads-up and this slice of wisdom proved prescient as in less than one level he had turned round his starting deficit to best Rouxel and take the trophy down - Rouxel collecting £18,800 for his runner-up berth.

Final Standings

1 Dale Garrad United Kingdom £28,300
2 Julien Rouxel France £18,800
3 Andrey Veselov Russian Federation £13,760
4 Steve Critchley United Kingdom £11,105
5 Alex Kaczmarek United Kingdom £8,710
6 Andy Purser United Kingdom £6,590
7 Jorge Barcelo Cortes Spain £4,840
8 Sebastian Jung France £3,555

"He was a very good player," Garrad said of his beaten opponent. "I just had to try and keep control of him."

Asked about his plans later, Garrad was honest.

"I'm toying with the idea of getting drunk. I think that idea will win out!"

It's been an incredible four days here at The Hippodrome Casino. We've had a really exciting tournament, a riveting inferno of a final table and as usual the staff have played a huge part - putting in a massive effort to ensure the players have enjoyed their stay.

Huge congratulations to Dale Garrad - whose good humour and affability have won him many friends - and whose poker skill has won him many shekels.

We'll be back on the tour for the Edinburgh leg of the UKIPT 19th November - 22nd so if you fancy trying to emulate Garrad's achievement, there's your opportunity.

That's it from us for now though - thanks for following our coverage. Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

To read updates from the final table, click here.

PokerStars Blog reporting team at PokerStars UKIPT5 Super Series Rod Stirzaker. Photos courtesy of Mickey May.