Vamplew wins London and champions events

SCOTSMAN David Vamplew was crowed European Poker Tour (EPT) London champion after beating top pro John Juanda in an epic three hour heads-up battle.

The 23-year-old beat off competition from an 848-strong field over five days at the London Hilton Metropole to land the £900,000 top prize. The event, which had a prize pool of $4,112,800, set a new benchmark for the largest poker tournament ever held in the UK.

Vamplew has been playing poker since 2005 and turned pro after graduating in maths from Edinburgh University last year. He normally plays mid-stakes cash games and only started playing live tournaments this year. His previous best cash was $6,000 in a World Series of Poker side event this summer.

The all time top-earning Scottish player of said:"It's going to take a while to sink in. I had to get lucky to win. I won a few all-ins but I'm pretty proud of the way I played. I'm pleased with myself for sure."

Online pro Kyle Bowker finished third, having arrived at the final with a narrow lead over Juanda, while Artur Wasek managed to equal his fourth-place finish in Berlin with another in London, winning £240,000.

Also at the table was Tom Marchese, winner of the inaugural North American Poker Tour (NAPT) event at the Venetian Casino, Las Vegas, back in February. He finished seventh after being eliminated by Vamplew.

Flushed with his EPT success, Vamplew went on to win the United Kingdom & Ireland Poker Tour's Tournament of Champions event the following day. His Champion of Champions grand prize includes a seat at every UKIPT event in Season 2, as well as a seat to next year's EPT London.