Cumbrian Hero Riding High
While the UK poker industry has struggled to produce the stars which the American circuit seems to wheel out on a regular basis, little known Cumbrian player Jonathan McCann may be about to change all of this. The 20 year old from Little Broughton, Cumbria recently banked a £3,000 online poker tournament win but last Sunday he took home his largest prize to date–a cool $30,000.
The poker star has been on the circuit for a while, and qualified for a poker tournament in Monte Carlo last year (although he did not manage to “break the bank”) but he now steps forward to the national championships in Manchester where the prize pot is an impressive £100,000.
It is more than refreshing to see a young British poker player taking on the online market and walking into some of the largest competitions in the UK. The more experience McCann gets in the bigger competitions, the more chance of him breaking into the big time. The UK market has been crying out for a name to follow for some time with a lack of new talent hitting the US trail.
This is a prime example of how poker in Britain is still very popular, compared to the doom and gloom of “outlawed” online poker in the US. While it has been some time since we had a major name hit the top of the US charts, many native players are losing out on vital experience with the online ban–something the British players are taking full advantage of.
It will be interesting to see how this new star copes at the national event and where he might move to next if he is successful. Are we entering a new era for UK poker?
