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.
