The Women’s Bootcamp Showdown, in association with Poker Power, played a truly thrilling finale today at EPT Cyprus, culminating in a memorable victory for the British player Louise Ulrick.

Ulrick, who is a former maths teacher turned licensee consultant, will now head to EPT Prague to play the €5,300 Main Event with a full package of travel expenses, accommodation and a buy-in to what is certain to be one of the biggest events on the annual poker calendar.

“Astonished,” Ulrick said, when asked to describe her immediate emotions after taking down the 10-player event finale, after winning through a tense qualification process online. “I didn’t expect it at all.”

She added that she was happy. “That goes without saying,” she said, before reverting back to her original assessment. “No, astonished is better.”

Ulrick was evidently overwhelmed by the support she received from across the poker community, none moreso than from the nine other women who came to Cyprus to play the winner-take-all tournament today.

There was an incredible community spirit among the players here in Cyprus, with all of them staying until the very last card had been dealt. They had first played together online, with the final 10 winning their passage to Cyprus, where they played a winner-takes-all tournament for the massive prize.

READ MORE ABOUT THE PLAYERS IN THE BOOTCAMP SHOWDOWN

Ulrick had to survive a tournament that lasted far longer than the scheduled four hours, mainly because of a turbulent heads-up phase of play during which she overhauled a dominant chip lead of Katie Hopkins.

Hopkins had built a big stack early in proceedings and was formidable at the final — until Ulrick wore her down heads-up.

“Your aggression paid off,” Hopkins told Ulrick, who later said she had decided to change things up in the late stages of the tournament — an approach that paid real dividends.

CAGEY OPENING

Tournament levels were 20 minutes long, allowing some deep stack play at the start, but the promise of some frantic action later. Resultantly, all 10 players made the first break, with caution the name of the game in the early stages. This was a combination of understandable nerves, a winner-take-all format and the cards not delivering any out-and-out coolers.

The result, of course, was that the stacks got shallow and after Ines Lafosse became the first player knocked out, by Katie Hopkins, the remaining nine consolidated around a single table where plenty were under immediate threat.

Laura Lebailly thought she was heading to the rail when she lost an all-in pre-flop confrontation with Ulrick. Ulrick’s pocket queens stayed best against Lebailly’s K♥ J♣ , and the latter got up and wished everybody good game. But the dealer counted the stacks and Lebailly had marginally more, so she survived.

“Comeback!” cheered Sabrina Chevannes.

DOUBLE ELIMINATION

That comeback gathered more momentum soon after when the first of a clutch of multi-way pots played out. Lebailly called all-in for her solitary big blind and all of Patrice Gordon, Jenny Larson, Katerena Nowosad and Drea Renee all came along for the minimum.

After a flop of 4♠ 7♣ J♦ , Gordon led the action by shoving for her last three big blinds. All opponents called, taking them to the K♣ turn. Checked around. The 6♣ fell on the river and Nowosad now bet 10,000.

Renee folded but Larson called for her final chips. It would turn out to be her last involvement in the tournament as her 5♥ 6♥ wasn’t good enough to beat Nowosad’s pocket queens, nor Lebailly’s K♥ 7♥ . As for Gordon, her K♦ 8♠ wasn’t good enough either, and that meant two players hit the rail simultaneously as Lebailly quadrupled.

Gordon photographed the table, a proud memory of the day. Larson texted friends with the unfortunate news, but then sat beside the table to watch the rest.

“Not going to lie, I’m a little sad,” Larson said. “But I made a lot of new friends.” She said she had already reserved the time off work when EPT Prague takes place and has been sufficiently bitten by the bug to be seriously considering a trip to the Czech Republic anyway so she can support the eventual winner.

There’s always the consolation of a trip to an amazing winter wonderland.

MORE FIREWORKS

The fireworks weren’t done yet. On the next hand, both Yvonne Mai and Drea Renee limped and Lebailly, still with a relatively short stack, moved all-in again. Both opponents called, with Mai actually having the fewest chips.

It meant it was a pre-flop showdown, with Lebailly tabling A♠ K♣ and staying good against Renee’s J♠ K♠ and Mai’s A♣ 10♥ . The board brought two aces but the better kicker played. Mai was eliminated with trips.

“Comeback queen!” said the watching Gordon.

“I’m disappointed but I’m not angry,” Mai said. “I have enjoyed playing against people I consider friends. You can say, ‘Well done sister’.”

She added that the game had been a lot of fun, and a step up in tension from the practice round the women played earlier in the week. “It was very different from the trial round,” she said. “Everyone was a bit more loose with their cards in the trial round, but they changed their strategy.”

Mai was another player happy to confess she is a real convert to poker — even though it came as a surprise to friends.

“When I posted about poker, one of my old friends said, ‘I did not expect that from you.’ But with each game I feel I’ve learned.” Mai says she will now maybe play some cash games, just to get a potential win in the books, rather than suffering the variance inherent to tournament poker.

NOWOSAD AND RENEE CAST ASIDE

Back at the table, Katerena Nowosad was next to suffer at the hands of fate. She got her stack in pre-flop with Q♥ 10♣ but found Renee lurking with K♥ Q♦ , and a slightly smaller pile of chips. Both players hit their top pair when the flop came 7♠ 5♦ Q♠ , and although the J♦ turn and 9♣ river looked like they might change things, Renee’s hand stayed best.

Nowosad was now in trouble and ran into Renee’s pocket queens very soon after. Nowosad was out in fifth.

“I was pretty nervous. My heart was pounding the whole time,” she said. “That’s only the second time I’ve ever played face to face.”

Despite that, she was another player with fond memories of the bootcamp. “We only met each other for the first time on Monday but we’ve all got quite close,” Nowosod said.

In comparison with her opponents, Renee had spent by far the most time in poker rooms, having worked for several years first as a massage therapist and then as a sideline reporter and TV host. This was one of her first appearances at the felt, however, and she was soon to find out why there are so many tense muscles needing massages in this game.

Renee found A♥ J♥ in the small blind and did the only thing she could do with that hand. She shoved. She only had Lebailly behind her, but Lebailly found A♦ Q♠ at the crucial moment and made the call.

“A set up!” said the watching Jen Shahade. “Such a good hand.”

The board ran dry and Renee was out.

“And then there were four,” said Gordon, providing a running commentary both in the poker room and via regular social media updates.

CHEVANNES HIT THE RAIL AND THE BAR

Chevannes had been relatively quiet after a rough start to the tournament gave her only a short stack to play with. But she was still involved four handed, and chips were starting to move around the table with much greater haste than before.

She managed one double up with pocket nines, flopping a third, but her tournament ended with a bit of an outdraw. Chevannes’ chips were all in with A♠ J♦ and Hopkins was the lone caller with a big stack and K♣ 8♣ .

Chevannes’ commentary told her own unfortunate story. “There’s the king,” she said, as the dealer put the flop on the table. “And there’s the king,” she continued when the river came down. Trips for Hopkins sent Chevannes elsewhere.

“I’m going to the bar,” she said.

LEBAILLY’S COMEBACK ENDS

Two of the three players left — Ulrick and Lebailly — had been down to crumbs at one point and built back, while Hopkins had held the chip lead pretty much since the first orbit. But poker is never predictable, and just when it seemed that Lebailly had all the momentum, her comeback hit the skids.

She raised from the small blind and picked up a call from Hopkins. After the low flop, Lebailly bet 8,000 but then watched in obvious horror when Hopkins moved all in with a stack that comfortably covered.

Although she would be left with not quite two big blinds, Lebailly folded and lived to fight another day. However, mercy was brief. She was all in in the big blind soon after and watched as both her opponents played to the flop, even after Hopkins had made a sizeable raise.

The Q♥ K♥ 5♥ flop agreed with Ulrick and she moved all in. Hopkins folded and they turned their hands over. Ulrick was ahead with K♠ 10♥ but Lebailly had hope with A♥ 6♠ . Turn and river were blanks, however, and Lebailly’s race was run.

Lebailly was greeted with hugs and “good games” as they prepared for heads-up play. “I absolutely love this,” said Gordon, still shooting videos and pictures. “It’s so exciting.”

A LONG AND TURBULENT HEADS UP

The silver spade trophy found its way to the table too, greeted by oohs and aahs as though it was a fireworks display.

Hopkins had a huge chip lead as heads-up began, but Ulrick came out of the gate firing. She shoved multiple times to get the chip stacks much closer, and then there followed a succession of huge pots — all-ins, called — with the smaller stack winning every time.

On one such occasion, Ulrick had Q♠ Q♥ to Hopkins’ A♦ 7♦ and they got it in pre-flop. The dealer fanned the 2♣ A♣ 8♥ flop, greeted by gasps from the audience. But then the Q♦ came on the turn to put Ulrick back ahead and the 6♠ river was a blank.

“This frickin’ game!” said Renee, peering over her erstwhile opponents’ shoulders.

It continued. On another memorable hand, Ulrick moved all-in with the biggest stack and Hopkins called. Ulrick had 3♥ 4♠ to Hopkins’ K♠ 6♦ , but after a flop of 7♣ 10♦ 7♦ , the dealer put the 4♦ on the turn.

Ulrick suddenly sat up in her seat, sensing victory. “It’s a diamond though,” cautioned Shahade, who has seen this kind of thing before.

The river was the A♦ , filling Hopkins’ flush. Ulrick sat there stunned as Hopkins moved back into the lead.

Ulrick had, however, found her groove and continued to put her chips in the middle repeatedly. Hopkins often found herself having to back down, watching her stack dwindle as a result. One cruel pot went in Ulrick’s favour when Hopkins’ pocket sevens were counterfeited on a double-paired board, with Ulrick’s kicker playing.

And then eventually Hopkins could cling on no more.

‘DID I WIN?’

They got their chips in once again, with Hopkins holding 9♥ 8♦ to Ulrick’s K♥ 3♠ . There was nothing on flop or turn, and then a king on the river.

“Did I win?” Ulrick asked, tentatively.

“Yes, you won,” said Hopkins, before becoming the first to hug the new champion. The rest of the competitors came over, with some in tears. Ulrick remained composed until congratulations messages started flooding in and she too began to cry.

“I can’t believe it,” she said. “Obviously winning was the objective of coming, but you never quite think it’s going to happen. I didn’t feel confident when we were practicing live. I felt clumsy with all the cards and the chips and everything, but today came together.”

She also issued a rallying cry to players who might be pondering a trip to a card room, or who are tentative still about playing online.

“Anybody who is thinking about learning poker, it is such a good game to play. You can learn so much about yourself. There are online resources, that are great to have a go at. And have a go!”

Congratulations, Louise. We’ll see you in Prague.

MORE ABOUT THE EPT

Official EPT site
EPT Cyprus coverage hub
EPT Cyprus activities guide

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