O’Connell sixth at Big ThrowDown

Pat O’Connell of Laguna Beach competed Monday at the inaugural PartyPoker.net Big ThrowDown Tournament of Champions, where he finished in sixth place.

Six competitors entered the tournament, each having won a qualifier to advance to the finals, which were held at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.

O’Connell entered the tournament as the Surf champion, a qualifier tournament he won on July 29 at the Bank of the West Beach Games featuring the Honda U.S. Open of Surfing in Huntington Beach.

He was one of six world-class action sports athletes representing their various disciplines at the championship table Monday. Other finalists included Josh Sanders (Wakeboard), Danny Kass (Snowboard), Dennis McCoy (BMX), Sergie Ventura (Skate) and Jeff Tilton (FMX).

Kass won the tournament and Tilton was the runner-up.

Sanders finished third, followed by McCoy and Ventura, who tied for fourth place.

Each player received an appearance fee of $10,000 just for making it into the final. With an automatic buy-in of $5,000 into the final, Kass won the $30,000 grand prize.

“The PartyPoker.net Big ThrowDown was an exciting edition to the Bank of the West Beach Games,” said James Leitz, executive promoter of the Bank of the West Beach Games and vice president of International Management Group Action Sports. “The athletes had a great time, the crowds were enthusiastic and the drama will make for great television.”

The one-hour telecast of the Tournament of Champions poker tournament will air at 11 .m. Oct. 21 on the Outdoor Life Network.