Local amateur poker player Colin Pearson has won the Teesside stop of the Great British Poker Tour, earning him almost £20,000 and a seat into the GBPT Grand Final Main Event.

Father of three Colin from Stockton, Teesside, qualified for the festival as a $20 online Galapoker.co.uk player. The Gala Stockton casino regular went on to beat 100 other poker players, over the two day Main Event leading up to the final TV table on Easter Sunday.

His prize includes £19,610 winnings and a package to the £2,500 Grand Final Main Event in October 2007, where the ‘Great British Poker Champion’ will be crowned.