A Swift Chat
Much of the interest before the partypokerLIVE MILLIONS Main Event final has been in both ladies who have reached the final eight. One of the women with the million pound top prize in their sights is 34-year-old Katie Swift. The mother of one also runs a cafe business on the coast down in Kent and her family is right here on the rail supporting her.
"I don't really feel nervous, it's quite strange," she told us. "I only really felt it when I saw my Mum and Dad were here, along with my husband. Other than that moment though, I feel quite detached."
Swift has got to know most of her table opponents, and has armed herself with information.
"The way I see it, it's like having a toolbox and over the week I've been filling it up. I have the call, raise, check-raise, and I just need to know when to put each tool to use against each opponent. I've not been on the feature table until now, so while I've seen some of the players play, they haven't seen me. It's all situational, though, so we'll just have to see how it goes."
The cafe business is being run in her absence - no one is waiting on a bacon sandwich on the South coast - but Katie admits the paperwork is stacking up just like her chips have been in this record-breaking event.
"I do all the accounts, the paperwork, everything like that, so it's been left to pile up a bit this week, but I've been blown away by the messages of support I've received. Everyone has been so lovely, and honestly that's affected me far more than the poker itself. I'm really looking forward to it."
Katie Swift has been in the zone for four days and looks the same right now with the final about to start. Focused, of course, but also an odd blend of being a little detached from the room and zoned into doing everything she can to take down the trophy. It would be the second trophy her family have won this week.
"Our little boy won his cup final and I couldn't be more proud. Two trophies for the family this weekend would be great."
Swift's rail is by far the most vocal and everyone behind her on the rail seems as nice as Katie herself. There's no doubt that she would be a very popular winner both in the room and across the UK live poker circuit.
in the small blind and came over the top for 23M. Maria Lampropoulou quickly got out of the way in the big blind, and after a bit of deliberation, Rypulak opted for the fold.
from middle position. Stephen Chidwick defended his big blind with 
, and the two of them saw an 
flop. Chidwick opted for a check-call of 8M, leaving himself only 26,900,000 behind.
turn was everything Chidwick hoped for, and the Brit instantly made the call when Rypulak put him all-in. Rypulak were looking to improve on the river to get the knock-out, but it wasn't to be. The river 
made Chidwick a full house, and the shortest stack of the final table secured an early double.
and Katie Swift called out of the big blind with 
. The flop came 
and Swift checked, Murthy bet 5M and Swift called.
and three-bet to 31M with the 
. Lampropulos called and the flop fell 
turn, Murthy counted his stack carefully before then moving all in for 83.5M. Lampropulos called and Murthy immediately left his chair, knewing he had no chance to win the pot. The American was drawing dead while the meaningless 
river completed the board, and Murthy takes home £72,395.