Poker Mourns the Loss of Dave ��El Blondie�� Colclough
British poker player Dave Colclough, affectionately known as ��El Blondie,�� died Oct. 18 after a battle with cancer at 52 years old.
Colclough was a regular feature on Late Night Poker in the United Kingdom, often competing against the likes of Simon Trumper, Surinder Sunar, Joe Beevers, Barny and Ross Boatman and the late Dave ��Devilfish�� Ulliott.
Hailing from Carmarthen in Wales, Colclough was a computer programmer before taking up poker full time. Colclough��s first recorded cash on his Hendon Mob page dates back to February 1995 when he finished eighth in a ��100 Pot Limit Hold��em tournament in London for ��350. Since then, Colclough amassed live tournament winnings of $2,639,641, enough for him to occupy second place in the Wales all-time money list.
Some of Colclough��s biggest live tournament cashes include:
- 1st place in the ��1,500 European Poker Classic for ��80,302
- 1st place in the �2,000 Omaha Cup at the 2003 Summer Tournament, Paris for �66,000
- 1st place in the ��1,025 No Limit Hold��em event at the 2003 Midland Masters for ��54,000
- 1st place in the �3,000 European Omaha Championships in 2004 for �71,000
- 1st place in the ��2,000 European Poker Championships in 2004 for ��100,000
- 1st place in the 2007 GUKPT Manchester Main Event for ��88,300
- 2nd place in the $2,070 Pot-Limit Hold��em event at the 2000 WSOP for $89,300
Members of the British poker community have taken to social media to pay tribute to Colclough.
��A sad day. In poker, Dave was someone I always looked up to and was keen to play well against," Neil Channing wrote. "It never seemed to happen. Never had a cross word with him, always very easy to deal with and decent. Glad to have known him.��
��Dreadful news about Dave Colclough - a great poker player and more importantly a lovely guy #RIPBlondie,�� said John Conroy, another player.
Barry Neville echoed Channing and Conroy��s thoughts.
��One of the nicest men I ever met at the poker table or anywhere else. One of the best on the circuit. Taken way too soon RIP,�� he wrote.
