| UK's Jake Cody Wins WPT London Poker Classic |
The inaugural WPT London Poker Classic, held at The Palm Beach Casino in London's Mayfair, has been won by a 22-year-old from the UK who is getting rave reviews from top pros and commentators alike.Jake Cody, from Rochdale, who beat Sweden's Nichlas Mattsson in heads-up play, can now boast a WPT title (the first-ever to be held in London) to the EPT crown he won in Deauville in April. All that is left to win for this poker wonderkid is a WSOP(E) bracelet and he would become only the third ever holder of poker's most coveted “triple crown” (behind Gavin Griffin and the UK's Roland De Wolfe).
As well as the title and a cheque for £273, 783, Cody received great praise from Poker Hall of Fame member, Mike Sexton: “Jake Cody is an outstanding young player and mark my words when you see this action on television this final table is something very special. I rate it is amongst the best poker I have seen in nine years commentating for the WPT. This is going to be a real treat when it airs, I can hardly wait.”
The final table was fraught with great tension for tournament sponsors PartyPoker.com as they agreed to pay out $1,000,000 (£652k) in bonus money if any of their online qualifiers ended up winning the event: Swedish online qualifier Kristoffer Thorsson eventually finished in fourth place.
Jake Cody was, understandably, delighted with what he has already achieved in poker, despite being so young: “This is crazy – I am so happy to win my first WPT title. It’s been an amazing year for me so far and to win a major tournament on UK soil is very special. I was totally aware there was huge pressure on Kristoffer because of the extra $1 million bonus. I thought he did well and actually believe he was the best player at the table.”
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