The UK-based Lithuanian, Matas Cimbolas, is the new Sky Poker UK Poker Championships High Roller winner, after defeating Andy Bacon in heads-up action in Dusk till Dawn.
A lot of people like Dusk till Dawn (DTD).
That’s why it wins the Best British Card Room award, at the British Poker Awards, every single year.
But Matas Cimbolas REALLY likes it.
The UK-based Lithuanian was unheard of until Nov 2014, when he walked away with the £200,000 first prize at the World Poker Tour (WPT) UK Main Event at DTD.
I watched him closely during that event. At no time did I think he would make a ripple. To me, he was another Muggle hoping for a little bit of magic. He got it. He won the whole goddam thing.
A one hit wonder?
We had seen enough of them. That was it. He had won his one event and it was time to fall back into the shadows.
Not this kid.
He turned up at the European Poker Tour (EPT) in Deauville and made the final table of the Main Event. He finished in eighth place for a $66,338 score. He was a Muggle no more.
The £3,000 No-Limit Hold’em (NLHE) Sky Poker UK Poker Championships High Roller attracted 43 entrants. That man Cimbolas flopped a set, against John Duthie’s two pair, to set up the final table of nine with 450,000 chips. Only Enzo Gomez and Andy Bacon had more than him.
It was a decent final table. Well-known UK grinders Keith Johnson and Stuart Fox made it. The recent WPT National Prague winner Alex Goulder also took a seat. But it was the appearance of the reigning champion, Jeremy Nock that had most tongues wagging. Could the Parisian hotel magnate go back-to-back?
Cimbolas would send Nock crashing to the rail AK<AA. There would be no second title for the Welshman with a funny accent. It wasn’t just Nock that got a whack from Cimbolas. Alex Goulder got it in with JJ v 55, but the Lithuanian flopped another set, and then Gomez got it in on 456, holding pocket kings versus 97, only for Cimbolas to hit an 8 on the river.
When the game runs like that there is no stopping you. Andy Bacon didn’t stand s chance. When the heads-up contest started he was already on toast, and burned to a crisp.
UKPC Final Table Results
1st. Matas Cimbolas – $92,386
2nd. Andy Bacon – $55,432
3rd. James Clarke – $36,954
4th. Enzo Gomez – $23,096
5th. Alex Goulder – $15,938
