A NOVICE poker player’s name has earned him a place in a one of Europe's biggest tournaments.

David Atkinson, of Willington, County Durham, was one of 12 contestants selected for Grosvenor Casinos' Dave vs Goliath hunt with the aim of finding players whose name incorporated a variation on David for the Goliath challenge.

The 31-year-old dad found out he was selected after receiving a lucky golden poker chip from the company and will now go through intense face-to-face training at Goliath Boot Camp from top Poker professionals, Joe Beevers, Jeff Kimber and Ellie Biessek.

The trio will pass on their expert knowledge to Mr Atkinson before he goes into the tournament where he will be competing for the record-breaking prize pot of £250,000.

The competition will be held at the Ricoh Arena, Coventry, from August 8-16, where Mr Atkinson will join the other contestants trying to win the Goliath tournament - so called as it is Europe's largest

The contest is set to be fierce with 3,400 entrants competing for a share of the prize last year and organisers expecting more than 4,000 entries this year.

However, Mr Atkinson has been reassured that it can be done as 21-year-old Ryan Foster, from Devon, walked away last year with the lion’s share of £62,120, despite being a complete novice at the game.

Mr Atkinson, who has only been playing poker for about 18 months after watching it on TV, said: “I’ve only played in a casino perhaps once or twice. I normally play locally once or twice a month, at the football club.

“I’m really looking forward to boot camp.

“It will be great to meet the professionals, but also just learn about all of the different poker skills and rules!”

He added: “If I did go home with some winnings I’d probably spend some of it on the house – decoration and furniture – and on treating my son.”

Professional poker player, Ms Biessek, said: “I am really excited to help train David and make sure he is ready to take on Goliath.

“Each year the Goliath Poker tournament goes from strength to strength and we expect this year to be the biggest yet!

“We hope that David will learn a lot about poker, enjoy the tournament and be able to take home a share of the prize pot at the tournament itself.”

For more information about the tournament visit grosvenorcasinos.com/goliath-poker/dave/