The Masters Poker League held their first Grand Final on the 14th June 2008, following an inaugural first year, which consisted of three seasons and three Quarterly Finals.

The top MPL players from around the country were invited to take part in the main event of the year hosted at the Castle Gate Casino in Dudley all hoping to lift a 1st prize of a £6000 Holiday to Las Vegas or £5000 cash!

Oliver Jones was the lucky winner!

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The prizes were...

• 1ST - A FULL package to Las Vegas worth over £6000 OR £5000 Cash + Masters Champion Trophy
• 2ND - LCD TV (Worth Approx £300)
• 3RD - 8TH - Momento Trophies, MPL Branded Chip Sets and Poker Tables

Registration began at 11:00 in the morning, and already players had arrived, eagerly awaiting the day's proceedings. The casino made an outstanding effort to make sure the day's events ran as smoothly as possible and provided a superb hot and cold buffet catering for all the players and their guests. The atmosphere was a mix of excitement and anticipation as more players registered, and the pockets of conversation soon led to possible tactics for the day and tales of previous bad beats. Everyone arrived on time, hoping for a good day and the opportunity to walk away with the Grand Prize of a trip to Las Vegas worth around £6000 or alternatively a cash prize of £5000.

It wasn't too long before the draw had been made and the seventy hopefuls were asked to take their seats. Play began slowly, as everyone was cautious, trying to look for those tell tale signs of weakness, however, after about 45 minutes the first casualty fell, and the whole room breathed a sigh of relief. Play then began to gain pace, and more risks were being taken, and more players began to fall.

Most of the remaining players were glad to hear the announcement of the break, of which the casino provided an excellent hot buffet. Once that was consumed play restarted and chip stacks were relatively even, with just one or two players who would have been considered ahead. One by one they fell, along with their dreams of becoming the 1st MPL Champion and after about a further three to fours hours the final two tables were left. A number of bad beats and rash decisions soon delivered the final table. The tension was high, as were the stakes and all the players knew that one of them would walk away with the grand prize... Written by Phill Harris