Neil Channing finishes second event #43

Neil Channing finishes second event #43

Tuesday, 26 June 2012

Neil Channing is still waiting for his first World Series of Poker bracelet after coming tantalisingly close to victory in the $1,500 No Limit Hold'em event.

Bluff Europe's regular columnist started the day third in the chip counts with 20 players remaining and dominated the final day proceedings, eliminating no fewer than five players en route to a heads up meeting with Henry Lu.


Channing held an almost five to one chip lead at the start of two handed play but that advantage didn't last long as the the American doubled up early on with AQ against the Englishman's AJ. That marked the start of a roller coaster battle which saw the lead change hands a number of times with Lu twice in danger of elimination only to double up both times. Channing got close on a number of occasions but was right out of luck when it came to winning a crucial showdown.


All told, the heads up battle lasted three hours with Channing's luck eventually running out when his AJ lost a race against Lu's pocket 4s.


Despite falling just short it was another fantastic effort from one of the most popular players in UK poker. We hope that the $406,409 will provide some consolation.


The final table positions and payouts were as follows:


1. Henry Lu – $654,380
2. Neil Channing – $406,409
3. James Mackey – $286,633
4. Tom Alner – $207,019
5. John Nelson – $151,338
6. Hovan Nguyen – $111,961
7. Balazs Botond – $83,802
8. Francois Dur – $63,459
9. Jared Rosenbaum – $48,614



Tags: Neil Channing, WSOP 2012, Henry Lu