Through the Lens: Best Moments From the British Poker Open

RELIVE TWO THRILLING WEEKS OF HIGH STAKES ACTION FROM LONDON

Posted September 20, 2019 by Drew Amato

  |     |     |     |     |     |     |  

The 2019 British Poker Open produced 10 High Roller Champions over the course of 10 days. Some of the worlds best came out to battle it out in small and very elite fields, to prove their stock when it comes to the greats of the game. I was fortunate to spend the last two weeks in London documenting the high stake battles, so below you can find a collection of some of my favorite images from the two weeks abroad!

It was essentially a homecoming for English pro Sam Grafton who came out for a few of the British Poker Open events. Grafton got off to a hot start, finishing 4th in Event 1, the £10,000 No Limit Hold’em Event. Grafton is one of the biggest personalities in poker these days, and it showed as he provided plenty of comedic relief on stream. Be sure to tune into PokerGO to rewatch the action!
With more than $28mm in lifetime earnings, it comes as no surprise to anyone to see Steve O’Dwyer at any high roller final table. O’Dwyer did just that, as he finished 2nd in both the opening event, and the £25,000 buy-in Event #8.
If there was one trend over the two weeks of London, it was that Sam Soverel could not be stopped. Out of the 10 events, Soverel had 2 wins, 2 seconds, and a third, making him impossible to catch for the British Poker Open Leaderboard. Here he’s seen facing George Wolff and Stephen Chidwick.
Sam Soverel became the first ever British Poker Open champion at Aspers Casino in London.
The results did indeed propel Sam Soverel to the overall BPO Champion and Soverel became the first ever British Poker Open champion at Aspers Casino in London.
One of the most challenging and yet rewarding aspects of photographing poker is trying to freeze those brief moments of triumph or defeat for an eternity. While you’d think with more money at stake the high rollers would be the most tense tournaments to shoot, its actually the opposite. With the best in the world so good at suppressing their emotions at the table, it can be tough to capture any sort of emotion. This in particular photo is of Cary Katz watching as the final river card in Event 10 would snatch his tournament life, as he finished second to Ben Tollerene. 
While he is not necessarily known as a tournament player, or frequenting the high roller scene, George Wolff had quite the run in London. Wolff primarily plays High Stakes PLO Cash, and his experience with four cards was full on display. Wolff not only captured the title in the £10,000 Pot Limit Omaha Event #2, but Wolff went on to finish runner-up to Stephen Chidwick in the £25,000 Pot Limit Omaha Event #7.