Player Focus: "ocrowe"

By James Eastham

2006 was his breakthrough year - when it all came good for him at the poker table

"ocrowe" scooped one of the biggest online prizes of the year at PokerStars. Read all about him...

Owen Crowe aka "ocrowe" is 24, comes from Halifax (that's in Canada, rather than Yorkshire, UK) - and is considerably richer than he was 12 months ago.

ocrowe was playing poker online in 2005, but it was really just a dress rehearsal for the good times that lay ahead. 2006 was his breakthrough year - the year when it all came good for him at the poker table.

On August 27th he won PokerStars' $500 buy-in, defeating a field of 2,425 to claim a first prize of $218,250. That performance immediately established him as a force to be reckoned with. Not a bad night's work.

The tremendous display that night may have been his biggest win of the year but if you think it was his only moment of glory, think again. ocrowe has displayed an impressive level of consistency all year.

His winnings on PokerStars alone in 2006 total $468,359. That means he's collected more than $250,000, even if you take his big victory at the $500 buy-in out of the equation.

ocrowe - who took up the game five years ago - has made no fewer than 47 final tables on PokerStars this year and also enjoyed offline success. He won more than $70,000 at four tournaments last year, three in Las Vegas (his favoured live venue) and two of which were WSOP events.

But his biggest single win came at the New England Poker Classic, where he finished third to claim $29,725. He's shown the flair and skills to triumph online and offline - more success looks sure to lie ahead.

At the 2008 WSOP Main Event Owen pushed himself further into the limelight with a 15th place finish - good for a cool $463,201. On top of his earlier 8th place finish in the $1,500 NLH (for a further $81,833) its clear that Owen will be a force to be reckoned with on the live circuit for many years to come.

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