Nervous faces as the Community watches Beyne's final hand
Last week's Heads Up Grand Slam brought together 26 of the world's best poker pros with four PKR online qualifiers, a Team PKR Pro and Beyne, to fight out a rare and eagerly-anticipated $10,000 buy-in heads-up TV tournament.
Don't get me wrong, the action on the tables was some of the most remarkable I've seen - but it was the lively rail which provided some of the best entertainment during a memorable 72 hours
Who was there?
Day One saw the arrival of poker stars in all shapes and sizes, from the imposing Tony G to the diminutive Vicky Coren, many accompanied by a fellow pro, partner, life coach, financier or psychotherapist.
Despite the fierce heat of the studio lights (and a few mammoth egos), this diverse group mixed easily with PKR staff and leading figures from the Community to create a relaxed, easygoing atmosphere, the like of which is rarely seen in the poker world.
ChivalrousGent, accompanied by NexusWR, TheSqueeze, Rocafella, whodrawstheline, MRDICKIE and LockeLamora were on hand. Also present, the charming Elz442, foofiter, enoobs, jimmyfizzels, geoffbrent and the inimitable Sooosick. [Apologies if I've left anyone out!]
With a studio set consisting of three levels (a featured table, three more tables on the middle level and a bar at the top) there was no shortage of choice for spectators. Fans could choose to hug the rail, just metres away from the action, or chill at the bar with a recently busted pro!
Throughout the three days, the sight of a PKR Community member rubbing shoulders with a star was common place. LaiBin, harbouring no ill will towards his first round conqueror, hung with countryman Juha Helppi, lending his support to the Fin (perhaps the only support in a room dominated by an obsessive PKR fanbase).
PKR_Colin was tapped for TV trivia by Alec 'traheho' Torelli before his 3rd/4th playoff match with james666 - the PKR TV presenter struggling to recognise the predominantly online player (in fairness, we all scratched out heads until we looked up online).
Tony G was seen dealing for NexusWR's sidegame, while Luke 'FullFlush' Schwartz, Zigmund, Laak et al were happy to make use of our famous travel chipsets in attempts to lift money from our forumites!
At the more glamorous end of proceedings, many a soft drink was enjoyed at the bar with the stunning Kara Scott, who took on interviewer's duties for the weekend. 'The Voice of Poker' Jesse May made an appearance on Day 3, to experience the reknowned PKR atmosphere first hand before lending his skills to the post-production process.
With such a premier crowd assembled, it was no surprise to see the contest for attention fought and won by the Devilfish. Whether complaining about recent losses at the hands of inferior opponents, recounting tales of dubious truth and comedy, or exposing pictures of his latest squeeze on his phone, the Fish always astonishes, shocks and (occasionally) entertains. You can check out the forum's view of his antics in this thread.
From the horses' mouths
"Great weekend - great result - and my personal best poker moment, taking £120 off JC Tran, Phil Laak, Colin Morris, james666, Jenn Tilly and a couple of other fish. Gwaaaaan PKR!" - Rocafella
"Just come back from the studio... big congrats to Beyne who really owned the final HU... and very funny to watch him and James in the semi almost playing as if it was a £10 home game. An amazing performance, and Beyne is on his way to superstardom." - TheSqueeze
"Beyne was throwing in a couple of /rude's against james and the atmosphere was really good. the final was very entertaining, with beyne being a little drunk and always calling for more beers, and basically pwning helppi. Helppi was a little annoyed at the river but did let me have a picture taken with him which was nice. Many thanks to PKR for organising this, and a shout out to all the players I met - LaiBin, Chiv, Elz442, Squeeze, Sooosick, NexusWR, Beyne, and Jabba & Danski of course! Roll on the next one!!" - whodrawstheline
For more Grand Slam news and views, check out LockeLamora's thread, and if you're a friend of NexusWR on Facebook, check out his Grand Slam album!
On behalf of PKR, I want to thank everyone who turned up to lend their invaluable support to the six PKR men who took on the pros. Without the their energy and enthusiasm, these live events would be a pale and shadowy fraction of their true potential. Roll on PKR Live III, and let's hope Beyne can return in 2010 for another PKR Heads Up Grand Slam!