All Africa Poker Channel on DSTV 393 captures latest local poker action
The All Africa Poker television crew, ably managed by Michael Collet Productions, captured yet another legendary poker moment at Montecasino this weekend, when Darren Kramer was crowned as the new champion at the PokerNews Open 2008 Main Event, and walked away with the grande prize of more than R1.1 million! The final table of 8 consisted of Anton Bertilsson; Grant Nelson; Michael Holm; Chris Convery; Darren Kramer; Melanie Banfield; Danny K and Berrny Lengenfelder. 24 year old, Cape Town player, Darren Kramer won his heads up play against another Capetonian and legendary poker player Christopher Convery.
Other top finishers were Michael Hollom in 3rd place, Melanie Banfield in 4th place and Danny K in 5th place. This poker event certainly drew substantial international interest. To be seated at the televised final table, each of the 8 players had to battle it out against 175 players, 57 of whom hailed from 19 different countries from across the globe. Typical of African poker events, the final stretch of the tournament was conducted in good spirits, with the usual number of humorous quips passing between the players and the spectators. A common denominator between players Chris Convery, Darren Kramer, Melanie Banfield and Danny K, is that they have all previously played at the All Africa Poker Tournament, considered by most to be the ultimate tournament in Africa. Adding some glamour to the prestigious event, was hot and hip local singer and celebrity, Danny K, who was cheered on by his equally famous and gorgeous girlfriend Lee-Ann Liebenberg, former Miss South Africa.
Both these celebrities will be jetting off to Swaziland on 27th February, to play at the All Africa Poker Celebrity Charity Challenge, in an attempt to raise money for their charity of choice. Illustrating that dynamite indeed comes in petite packages, Melanie Banfield caused quite a stir, as she was the only lady to make it to the final table. Although no stranger to the poker scene, the final table was a first for her. Melanie was also the leading lady at the last All Africa Poker Tournament held in November 2007, where she finished in the top 25. It seems that all the first-hand poker sessions spent with October’s PokerAce winner, Cyril Jassinowsky, have certainly paid off! The story that poker players will repeat around the tables for some time to come though, has to be the one of the Australian Denis Huntry, who just missed the final table, by finishing in the 9th place. Living by the old adage “a chip and a chair,” Huntry fought for all he’s worth to remain in the tournament, by going all in, a whopping 30 times! As told by Ryan Dreyer, All Africa Poker Tournament Commentator; “Everyone expected him to finish around the 18th place mark, but he miraculously survived highly unlikely scenario’s, where he literally only had a one or two percent chance!”.
Amongst the entries, were some regular faces on the poker scene, also frequently seen playing at the All Africa Poker Tournament held at Piggs Peak, Swaziland. They were poker commentators, Ryan Dreyer, David Dadic and Ryan Brauer, celeb and Idols presenter, Colin Moss, South Africa’s highest poker earner – Ray Rahme, as well as Sandy Koor, Tournament Director of the All Africa Poker Tournament. Wendy Graaf, Group Marketing Manager of Piggs Peak, Swaziland, was also spotted at the event. “We are fanatical supporters of any event that could enhance the growth of poker in Southern Africa”, said Wendy. “This is why it’s of utmost importance that tournaments such as these are televised, to show to everyone out there that our local players have what it takes to compete on an international level.” Wendy highlighted the tremendous process that the production team follows in order to produce such an event; “In an event of this size, it takes many weeks of post production, after filming over 600 hours of footage to produce the highly entertaining and compelling poker programmes shown on the All Africa Poker Channel on DSTV channel 393.” But there’s no need to hear all the latest poker news secondhand. Tune in to the action and catch this event, as well as other local poker events, on the All Africa Poker Channel 393, on DSTV. Watch the programming schedules, or visit www.allafricapoker.com to find out when the 2008 SA Poker Open will be screened.
