For many GUKPT enthusiasts, the forthcoming festival in Blackpool is their favourite event of the year. Located at Grosvenor Casino Blackpool, the 10-day festival is a calendar highlight and the last chance to win big on the tour before December’s Grand Final in London.
This year’s GUKPT Blackpool is running from November 3-13 and features more than 15 different tournaments on the schedule. The highlight of the festival is undoubtedly the £1,250 buy-in GUKPT Blackpool Main Event which gets underway at noon on Thursday, November 10.
Other highlights include the £250 Mini Main (which starts on Sunday, November 3), the £2,000 High Roller, a PLO 4/5/6 Card tournament, the £550 GUKPT Cup, the £150 Seniors event, and a £200 NLHE Turbo – not to mention numerous satellites. The £440 Mystery Bounty is also now a regular feature on the GUKPT with hundreds of players vying to notch up as many bounties as possible as well as scoop substantial cash prizes. At the last Mystery Bounty in Luton, Conor O’Driscoll took top honours after beating a 283-entry field.
GUKPT Blackpool runs November 3-13 so bag your accommodation now with MainEventTravel, the GUKPT’s Official Travel Partner. GUKPT Blackpool takes place right on the seafront – just seconds away from the pier, promenade, and famous Blackpool Pleasure Beach – and lots of the best hotels are filling up very fast.
The Main Event
This year’s GUKPT Blackpool Main Event features three starting flights (including a Day 1c turbo), with two re-entries per flight. All players will receive a 20,000 starting stack with 60-minute levels.
The GUKPT has visited Blackpool every single year of the tour and awarded millions in prize money for the Main Event. Previous winners include Grosvenor Ambassador Richard Trigg (2013, £53,000), Tom Middleton (2016, £56,255), Jonny Gray (2015, £69,050) and Simon Deadman (2012, £49,200).
Last year Richard Horton took down the Main Event for £94,150 after outlasting a 533-strong field. Following a four-way deal, Horton managed to secure victory – and his biggest ever live cash – after beating UK stalwart Paul Jackson.
Grosvenor Ambassador Katie Swift said: “Blackpool has been often favourably referenced as “the party leg of the tour” and I’ll be joining midway through again – so will be focusing on some cash game action as well as the Main Event. The beauty of GUKPT Blackpool is that there are always a ton of cash games running at all stakes day and night. So whatever your preference – whether it’s NLH, PLO or DC – there’s always a game to suit you. I’ve no doubts that this year’s GUKPT Blackpool will be very well attended – it’s always a popular stop on the tour and I’m looking forward to catching up with lots of people.”
GUKPT Blackpool is the last leg of the 2022 GUKPT season before the Grand Final in London in December. The current leader of the National Poker League is Matt Davenport who is some 160 points ahead of nearest rival Calogero Morreale from Italy. Davenport has been on a massive tear at GUKPT events during 2022; his achievements include third in the GUKPT Luton Main Event a few weeks ago and seventh place in the GUKPT Leeds Main Event.