Sky Poker's Total Player competition has culminated with Dan Brown being crowned the winner. The 26 year old from Doncaster received the most votes from the Sky Poker community in a nail-biting finale, screened on Saturday night on Sky Channel 865. The other finalists, David Capon and Ben Nuttall were quick to congratulate Brown as they narrowly missed out on first place after the keenly contested 13 week competition.
Describing the moment in the TV studio when he won, Brown (pictured) said: "The light stopped on me and I didn't know what to do. I was waiting for it to move onto someone else, but it didn't! Then Richard Orford announced my name and it was all real!!!"
As the Total Player, Brown will now represent Sky Poker at a £100 buy-in Sky Poker Tour event, a £1000 national UK tournament and the $10,000 buy-in WSOP Main Event in Las Vegas in July. Ed Giddins, who was Brown's mentor, will receive 10% of Brown's winnings from these tournaments.
"Over the course of the competition Dan showed that he has what it takes to compete at the highest level in poker and I am really proud of what he has achieved," said Giddins. "What has really struck me and the other mentors is the friendship that has developed between the finalists. This is really borne out of the community atmosphere found on Sky Poker – and that community will be supporting Dan all the way to Vegas."
After his win Brown reflected on the camaraderie that developed between the Total Player finalists: "I immediately thought of Ben and David and what they must be feeling. There was no way I would be fist pumping and screaming as I have far too much respect for these two mates. I hope that if I had not won I would have been as dignified and shown as much class as Ben and David did that night. They were true gents."
The Total Player competition started at the end of last year and saw many hopefuls vie for the top prize. The three Total Player mentors, who included Sky Poker analyst, Matt Broughton, Sky Sports presenter David Tuckman, as well as Ed Giddins, were looking for a creative player with a strong all-round game. Over the course of the competition the field was progressively whittled down, until only three remained for Saturday's vote.