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ALL ROADS LEAD TO VICTORY! ONLINE QUALIFIER JASON BRENNAN WINS PARTYPOKER.COM SPORTS STARS CHALLENGE IV

London – 2nd June 2009 – 34-year-old unemployed road builder Jason Brennan scooped £27,000 after emerging victorious at the http://www.partypoker.com/ Sports Stars Challenge IV in London. Sports stars, both past and present, joined a group of online qualifiers in taking their seats in the hope of being crowned the ultimate sporting poker champion in the strongest and most international line-up to date.

Brennan, from Archway in London overcome Irish boxing legend Dave ‘Boy’ McAuley heads-up at the climax of an exciting final table. The key hand came when McAuley raised to 800 with Kh 10h and Brennan pushed all-in with Ah 3h. The board failed to help either player and the online qualifier sealed a memorable victory.

“I’m completely stunned, this is a dream” said Brennan. “Not only did I get to play poker with many of my sporting heroes, I also managed to win and qualifying did not cost me a penny! It means so much to me. I am currently out of work and the money couldn’t have come at a better time.” Brennan was cheered on by his mother Mary, who was overcome with emotion after he sealed his win. “I am so proud of him, especially the fact that he believed in himself and believed that he could do it,” she said.

Brennan qualified for the tournament through a series of online freerolls which were entered by a staggering 140,000 people. Brennan came through the darts qualifier. He won his heat with the darts stars, taking out legendary world champion and keen poker player Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor heads-up to secure his spot on the final table. The final table featured three online qualifiers in the form of Brennan, Scott O’Reilly and Paresh Patel. They joined England rugby union star Henry Paul, Germany’s European Championship football winner Thomas Helmer, boxing legend McAuley and popular French golfer Jean Van De Velde in the fight for glory.

Boxing legend McAuley was a gracious runner-up. The Belfast hero retired from boxing in 1992 but was involved in some of the biggest and most memorable fights of the late 1980s. “I lost my first two world title fights and won the third so maybe next time the title will be mine,” he said. McAuley previously played in the event two years ago but was eliminated very early.

First out on the final table was golfer Jean Van De Velde, who will forever be famous for the 18^th hole at the 1999 Open Championship. In this poker debut he reached the 18^th but at least he made the fairway and proved that he was no fish in these waters. Next to go was 42-year-old online qualifier Paresh Patel from Blackpool – he got to play with football stars and took out French World Cup winner Frank Leboeuf heads-up in his heat to win a place in the final. He was shortly followed by German European Championship winning footballer Thomas Helmer.

Following these eliminations there was an exciting period of four handed play with Brennan the aggressor – never being afraid to get his chips in and intimidate the rest of the field. Next out was England Rugby Union international Henry Paul, followed by online qualifier Scott O’Reilly. After finishing 54^th in the WSOP Main Event in 2006 for over $165,000, O’Reilly was undoubtedly the favourite to triumph and had ended the dominance of Brennan but a couple of cruel beats sent him to the rail. O’Reilly is a member of PartyPoker.com’s VIP club http://www.palladiumlounge.com/ and came through a high octane motorsport heat that featured F1 icons Giancarlo Fisichella and Jacques Villeneueve. This left Brennan and McAuley heads-up but the online qualifier always looked the more likely winner.

A PartyPoker.com spokesman said: “We’d like to congratulate Jason on his win – it is truly remarkable that he managed to be the last man standing from over 140,000 players. He says his poker hero is Tony G but he looks like a contender to become UK poker’s Ali G figure in a straight fight with Luke ‘Full Flush’ Schwartz and Josh Tyler! Kara Scott’s win in this event in 2008 was a huge springboard to further success so it will be interesting to see what the future holds for Jason.”

Eddie Hearn, Director of Matchroom Sport said: “It was a fantastic event and there was no surprise that the fastest heat was the motorsport one. All the sports stars were great fun and spent plenty of time socially with all those lucky players that won seats online. Giancarlo Fisichella and Ronald De Boer, in particular, showed they have some serious form on the green felt and they were unlucky not to be in the final.”

Amongst the sports stars knocked out in the heat stages included 2008 European Ryder Cup team member Graeme McDowell, David Frost and Sam Torrance. Footballers included Holland’s Ronald De Boer, Romania’s Florin Radiciou and Denmark and Liverpool legend Jan Molby. The boxing tear-up featured Germany’s former unbeaten World Champion Sven Ottke, while the rugby heat didn’t prove fruitful for union’s former France and Wasps captain Raphael Ibanez.  For the first time in the Matchroom Sport organised event’s history there were heats for motorsport professionals, top golfers and an online qualifier element. Full hand details can be found at: http://www.matchroompokerforum.co.uk/

PartyPoker.com players had the chance to win a seat through a freeroll in the sports heat of their choice. The sports were football (two heats), rugby (union and league combined), motorsport, boxing, darts and golf. The winner of Sports Stars Challenge I was former rugby union star Austin Healey, while the second instalment saw victory for Irish snooker champion Ken Doherty. Last year’s winner was television presenter Kara Scott, who used the tournament as the starting point for a breakthrough successful year on the circuit that also included big cashes at the WSOP Main Event and Irish Open. Scott won £20,000 after defeating Manchester United football legend Norman Whiteside heads-up. There was no presenter heat in the format this year.

The winner of each of the seven heats took their seats at the seven seat final table. Each player sat down with 2,000 chips with the heat winner getting £7,000. The overall winner received £20,000 with second getting £10,000 and third receiving £5,000.

Coverage of the event will be aired in the UK later this year on Sky Sports in the UK and then distributed internationally. Jesse May leads the commentary and was joined by Nik Persaud, Ian Frazer and Matt Broughton.

PARTYPOKER.COM SPORTS STARS CHALLENGE IV – PRIZE POOL – London – 29^th May – 1^st June

1^st – JASON BRENNAN (ONLINE QUALIFIER DARTS) £20,000

2^nd – DAVE MCAULEY (BOXING) £10,000

3^rd – SCOTT O’REILLY (ONLINE QUALIFIER MOTORSPORT) £5,000

4^th – HENRY PAUL (RUGBY)

5^th – THOMAS HELMER (FOOTBALL)

6^th – PARESH PATEL (ONLINE QUALIFIER FOOTBALL)

7^th – JEAN VAN DE VELDE (GOLF)

PARTYPOKER.COM SPORTS STARS CHALLENGE IV FINAL TABLE – London – 29^th May – 1^st June

SEAT 1 – JEAN VAN DE VELDE (GOLF)

SEAT 2 – DAVE MCAULEY (BOXING)

SEAT 3 – JASON BRENNAN (ONLINE QUALIFIER DARTS)

SEAT 4 – HENRY PAUL (RUGBY)

SEAT 5 – THOMAS HELMER (FOOTBALL)

SEAT 6 – PARESH PATEL (ONLINE QUALIFIER FOOTBALL)

SEAT 7 – SCOTT O’REILLY (ONLINE QUALIFIER MOTORSPORT)

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