Poker Home

ELC 2007 Reports

Kara Scott's ELC Review

I can honestly say without reservation that The Ladbrokes European Ladies Championship of Poker 2007 is officially one of my favorite poker experiences to date. I had no idea what to expect walking into the event, and I don’t mind admitting that I was blown away by the calibre of play, the friendliness of the women and the incredibly well run tournament. Not being entirely convinced of the credibility of single-sex tournaments myself and despite being told in advance by several male poker players that ‘ladies events’ were not only patronising to women but also notoriously poorly structured and badly played, I found the truth to be entirely the opposite in this case. The tournament had obviously been designed to allow plenty of space for creative play so that whomever wound up sat behind the mountain of chips at the end of it all, could truly call herself the European Ladies Champion.

And what a field to draw from! Surveying the crowd on Saturday morning, I realised that patronised was definitely NOT one of the emotions I was feeling. Nervous and excited? Yes. Intimidated? Certainly. But patronised? No chance! Laid out before me was a veritable ‘who’s who’ of European women’s poker. Vegas veteran and two-time winner of the Irish Open Colette Docherty was there discussing how often she is underestimated at the male dominated tables in Vegas because of her age and gender. Uber-aggressive Lucy “Golden Ovaries” Rokach was overheard agreeing with Colette’s assessment of how sweet it is to see the look in their eyes as the penny drops and they realize you’ve just taken their entire chip stack. Shelley Rubenstein (who’s certainly taken a few pounds off of me in cash play) and Beverley Pace, wife of Norman Pace the comedian and poker analyst and a ferocious poker player herself were heard talking about the Poker Million VI seat with last year’s Poker Million V winner Raj Modha, there supporting his lovely wife Hina at her first big live event. The beautiful and deadly poker pro from the US, Liz “Poker Diva” Lieu charmed everyone with her friendly and down to earth demeanor. Well-known faces on the poker circuit Eliza Burnett and Kate Szeremeta from Poker Europa Magazine sat talking poker strategy over a cup of coffee, whilst last year’s ELC runner up Katharine Hartree (the last European woman standing at both the WSOP main event and the Aussie Millions this year) was giving final pieces of advice to the women who had attended her poker ‘finishing school’ at Champneys only weeks before. All of them agreed that this tournament was going to be no walkover.

With such a collection of well-known faces mixed in with the unknown quantities that were the online qualifiers, what could have been a very daunting experience was actually surprisingly inclusive and friendly. It was hard to believe that in a few minutes time the warm smiles would retreat behind dark glasses and solemn faces as the cards were dealt.

And what a battle it was. I’m sure you’ve heard all the same theories about women in poker that I have. “Women are too passive”. “Women check too much”. “Women are weak and easily bullied”. “Women don’t bluff”. Ha! Although the banter at the tables was sometimes biting, there were no catfights (hate to disappoint you, boys) and the consensus in the queue for the ladies loo at the first break was that the standard of play was even higher than in the previous year’s tournament. Although there was a real range of styles on the tables, in general the players were aggressively taking chances and pressing their advantage whenever they could, premium hands or not! So it’s not surprising that we lost a number of players in the first half hour. The first to run into trouble was in fact, the Poker Diva herself, Liz Lieu, who’s aggressive move with pocket threes saw her leaving the tables to the hush of a shocked room.

All through that first day, Mags Manton the tournament director skillfully kept the tournament on track – no easy feat when you’re not only running a poker event but filming a TV programme as well. And as one by one the ladies fell, the illustrious final table began to take shape. The 8 hotly-contested seats belonged to Jackie Meecham, Beverley Pace, Janine Regan, Jenny Mason, Lorna McDermid and Tina Loucaides of the UK, Veronika Larsen from Norway and Angelina Nilsson of Sweden. Such a mix of ages, styles and experience levels made predictions for the final heads-up incredibly difficult.

And so at the end of the day, it was back to the hotel for everyone to either drown their sorrows or steady their nerves for the test of skill that would be the final table.

Despite having lost 40 players the day before, the next morning saw a full room of spectators gathered to cheer on the final 8 as we watched the action on the big screen TVs and heard Roy “the boy” Brindley and Jessie “The Voice of Poker” May call the plays.

It was an action-packed final table but the deck proved golden for Jackie Meecham and no one could deny that it was her day to win. After a hard fought battle that saw 6 of the formidable players at the table go down to the felt, the careful heads-up tussle between Jackie Meecham and Angelina Nilsson saw the chips swing dramatically back and forth. Even after gaining a commanding chip lead, Angelina was unable to stand in the way of the poker juggernaut that was Jackie Meecham and the final hand saw Jackie taking the trophy, the big cheque and that much coveted seat at the Poker Million.

So a big thank you to Ladbrokes for not only putting on an event that was enjoyed by all, but also for pushing women’s poker forward by televising such a high standard of play for a really worthwhile prize. Who knows, the Poker Million may even go to a woman this year! There is one thing that I’m certain of though; I’m going to be playing a LOT of poker this year, both live and online, to get ready for the real test of poker skill that will be the European Ladies Championships 2008!


Kara Scott


ELC 2007 Report


ELC- Day One


On the 5h of May, the second annual Ladbrokespoker.com European Ladies Championship kicked off at the London Studios. Starting with 5,000 chips, the standard of play was excellent and befitted the poker room's spectacular backdrop of the river Thames and St. Paul's Cathedral.

Some entertaining early action saw antepost favourite Liz Lieu surprisingly exit the tournament in 48th and last place, as her all-in raise with pocket threes on a 7-5-2 board run slap-bang into a spiked set of 7s.

Players were falling at the wayside at regular intervals, with early chip leader Veronika Larsen playing some superbly controlled and aggressive poker. Her day-long tussle with Beverley "cbass" Pace was one of the highlights of the day, as they traded chips throughout.

One player that was having more swings than most was Katherine "minimilk" Hartree who avoided early trouble, engaged in a couple of large clashes with Hina "aitch_em" Modha, the wife of Poker Million V winner . Firstly Hartree doubled-up holding A-A versus Modha's K-K before the roles were reversed as Hina's Q-Q stood up to Katherine's J-J.

Hartree then found herself squeezed between Larsen and a solidly-placed Dawn Fenn. Pushing all-in with J-J, Hartree was unlucky enough to run into Fenn's Q-Q and was left with under a thousand chips.

Miraculously, however, she battled her way back up to 7,000 chips before losing them all again the Angelina Nilsson as her 7-7 couldn't stand up to the Norweigan's A-Q. "minimilk" then exited in a mis-match with Larsen, as her J-3 failed to pick up the necessary cards against the young Swedish player's Q-Q.

Meanwhile, on the same table, a monster of a hand occurred.

Michelle Bricknell raised from under-the-gun with Q-Q. The action folded round to Larsen who was holding K-K. An immediate and sizeable re-raise was called, creating a large pot. However, Dawn Fenn then pushed all-in holding - you've guessed it - A-A. Bricknell was left with no choice but to push all-in herself, and Larsen again called to create the side-pot in an huge 33,800 chip pot. The flop came down A-8-2, and with no improvement on the turn or river, Fenn had trebled up and Bricknell had gone out in unfortunate fashion.

Amazingly, short-staked Janine Regan had passed A-Q on the small blind on that hand, and was rewarded for that amazing lay-down, doubling-up soon after with K-K against Fenn's A-5.

Then-chip leader Jenny Mason began to make some moves, taking blinds with big raises, and eliminating Dawn Fenn from the competition as her cowboys comfortably stood up to Fenn's J-10 of spades. She did, however, suffer a hit as Angelina Nilsson's K-K took out Mason's Q-Q following a king-high flop.

Janine Regan kept herself in the competition as her pocket 10s held up against Larsen's pocket threes, and it was left to Modha to bubble in the most agonising of fashions.

Competing in her first large live tournament, Modha had played some solid poker throughout the day, but found herself short-stacked on the small-blind holding K-J. Her all-in call was understandable, but ran into a monster as Lorna McDermid held A-A in the BB. The flop came A-10-rag, giving Lorna trip aces and Modha a gutshot straight draw. A queen came down on the turn to make Hina's straight, but amazingly that wasn't the final twist in the tail. The final ace in the deck - a 2% shot - came on the river, giving McDermid quad aces and ending Modha's tournament in incredible fashion.

Approximate chip counts going into final day:

Lorna McDermid (48,000)

Jackie Meecham (44,000)

Jen Mason (42,000)

Tina Louciades (41,000)

Angelin Nilsson (24,000)

Beverley Pace (16,500)

Veronika Larsen (14,500)

Janine Regan (5,000).


ELC – Final Day


In contrast to the glorious sunshine of the first day, Sunday in London began overcast and windy; a sober sky that reflected the increased seriousness of this stage of the tournament.

With a prize pool of £43,000 and a seat to Ladbrokes’ Poker Million VI on offer to our final table players, there was plenty to play for.

Janine “mizMallotrop” Regan began the day’s play precariously short-stacked, holding only enough chips to afford two rounds of blinds. An early move was imperative, and she pushed all-in holding K-J off. Chip-leader Jackie “jacs8” Meecham called with suited A-10, and was delighted to see an Ace on the flop. The turn and river couldn’t improve Janine’s hand enough, and her brief final day appearance came to an abrupt end, albeit with a handy £1,000 cheque to soften the blow!

One-time Day One chip leader Veronika “vero86” Larsen was the next to fall by the wayside earning 7th place and a cheque for £2,000. Knowing that she needed an early double-up to seriously compete in the competition, she found Q-10 suited and pushed all-in from the button. Unfortunately for the young Norwegian, Jen “J_Mason” Mason in the big blind was holding K-K, and the ‘cowboys’ held up comfortably.

The action continued cagily, with seasoned poker player Beverley “cbass” Pace playing her short-stack aggressively in order to gain a real foothold in the final, and Jackie Meecham taking down a number of small pots with excellent hands to establish herself as a solid chip leader. Unsurprisingly it was these two players who contested the next big pot of the tournament.

Finding A-Q in the pocket, Bev Pace made an understandable all-in raise. However, she was thwarted by Meecham’s dominating A-A as well as an extremely raggy board that never came close to offering any assistance to the underdog. Bev’s efforts over the two days were rewarded with £3,000, and it left us with just five players remaining going into what was likely to be the final session of the tournament.

Tina “gloryblade” Louciades, who had been card-dead all day was the next to exit the ELC, finishing a creditable 5th. Tina’s K-10 off was monstered by Jackie Meecham’s A-10 of spades. Jackie’s nut-flush was hit on the turn and we were down to four players. Back in the Green Room, Tina had her disappointment slightly tempered by winnings of £4,000, and vowed to return next year to go a few steps better.

Jen Mason had been getting steadily busier throughout the day, and was slowly catching Jackie Meecham for chip leader. However, a pair of nines in the pocket proved disastrous as she called Angelina “Angel75” Nilsson’s all-in. The Swede turned over K-J, and proceeded to catch a straight on the river to leave Mason dangerously short-stacked.

The North Londoner exited the tournament shortly afterwards, as the field was trimmed to the final three; Mason’s A-Q falling foul of a 10-high board which left Lorna “KingLarsson” McDermid’s J-J a clear winner.

With the first prize looming ever closer, action became increasingly cagey with fewer flops seen, and many pots passed uncontested. However a big, three-way pot helped shape the future of the final table.

Holding K-9 off, Jackie Meecham was content to fold to Lorna McDermid’s raise, as the flop came down A-6-2. A flat call from Nilsson precipitated the turn, which came down a Jack. McDermid, by that stage extremely short-stacked, pushed all-in only to be called swiftly by the Swede. Lorna turned over a spiked set of twos, only to look on in horror as Angelina showed her dominating trip aces. The river was another Jack, and Lorna McDermid was out in third (winning £8,000), despite holding a full house.

The tension was palpable both in the Green Room and at the table, as the final pair fought out an attritional and absorbing heads-up. Highlighting the Community spirit that underpins all of Ladbrokes’ offline events, the Green Room was populated by many of the final table participants and competitors from Day One such as Shelley Rubenstein and Hina Modha, as well as the players’ families and Ladbrokes staff.

The heads-up swung both ways, as Angelina – who had taken down 156,000 chips in the pot that saw Lorna McDermid exit – tried to exert her chip lead, but Jackie Meecham played her short stack tenaciously and managed to slowly turn the tide of the final in her favour.

Eventually, with the blinds beginning to exert real pressure on the players, Angelina was forced to move all-in holding a pair of twos. Jackie Meecham called with K-2, and watched with delight as the flop came down A-K-3. There was no miracle for Angelina on the turn or river (which came down A-7) and Jackie Meecham, an England international pool player from Leytonstone, was crowned as a deserving winner of the Ladbrokes’ European Women’s Championship of Poker 2007.

The winner’s cheque of £15,000 was presented to Jackie by Ladbrokes’ Head of Poker Colin Cole-Johnson, who declared that: “The tournament has been a real success, and remains a unique event in the world of poker. The quality of play was top class and the camaraderie typical of a Ladbrokes offline event. My congratulations go to Jackie for her excellent win, and I wish her success in the Poker Million heats.”


The ELC was televised on Sky Sports in mid-to late July as part of the build-up to PokerMillion VI.


Content Manager



Back to top