WHILST some of the regions finest were out running, riding and swimming this weekend, an unassuming quartet from Port Douglas took on their own greater Far North Queensland counterparts in the William Hill Cairns Poker Classic.

Local players Trevor Sands, Rohan Taylor, Geoff Denslow and Ash Meager joined an 80 strong field at the Cairns RSL on Saturday.

Continually topping out at weekly Port Poker tournaments, Meager and Denslow stepped up to take on the semi pro contenders, and just missed out on a handy collect.

Surviving down to only two tables and after a series of 'double downs' and successful 'all ins', the pair finally tumbled out at a respectable 11th and 12th at 9pm that evening.

“It all came down to one hand and it’s been haunting me all weekend,” Meager laughed.

“It was a pretty good effort to stay in for so long but a bit disappointing to just miss out in the end.”

Taylor and Sands exited earlier in the day but had some good moments.

The William Hill Cairns Poker Classic is part of the National Poker League and is the largest regional poker tournament, with a total prize pool of $5000.

Saturday’s winner walked away with a cool $1,750.

What do you think? Let us know in the comments below.

* Readers are encouraged to use their full details below to ensure comment legitimacy. Comments are the opinions of readers and do not represent the views of Newsport or its staff. Comments containing unlawful, obscene, defamatory or abusive material will not be published.