Leg 2 of this year’s GUKPT tournament line-up is up and running with a 10-day live event in Manchester.
There are a total of nine different tournaments at this season’s GUKPT Manchester with the £1,250 GUKPT Manchester Main Event starting next Thursday on February 9.
The whole festival is running February 1 to February 13 with the festival opener being the increasingly popular £200 + £200 + £40 Mystery Bounty tournament which starts tomorrow.
This year’s Manchester Main Event features three start 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. Last year’s winner was Trevor Reardon (pictured), who just won the High Roller at the first GUKPT of the year and also finished fifth in the Main Event. Reardon, who won a staggering £141,100 after taking down last year’s Manchester event, is clearly on a roll and will be looking to secure back-to-back titles. His live tournament winnings now total over $750,000.
Other highlights on the Manchester schedule include the £250 Mini Main tournament, a £2k High Roller, a £150+£150+£30 PLO Bounty, the £150 Seniors tournament and numerous satellites.
At the first GUKPT of the year – GUKPT London at the Vic – Jonathan McCann achieved his biggest ever live cash by taking down the £1,250 buy-in Main Event for £89,122. The Cumbria-based player was part of an ICM three-way deal with eventual runner-up Cal Morreale and third-placed Devan-Kumar Patel.
Another player to look out for in Manchester is Cal Morreale. Not only did the Dunstable-based Italian finish second in the GUKPT London Main Event but he also came second in the Mystery Bounty and made the last two tables in the Mini Main. Morreale is a GUKPT regular and played dozens of events last year, ultimately finishing third in the Grosvenor National Poker. He now has a £20,000 Diamond Package to coast him through future events – and he’s already leading the 2023 leaderboard on 94 points.
GUKPT Manchester is the second stop of the GUKPT’s 16th season.
What’s next
The new UK Poker Open follows hot on Manchester’s heels with a £1 million guaranteed Main Event starting on March 1. The full festival is taking place from February 19 to March 5 and is being held at the Grosvenor Casino Coventry at the Coventry Building Society Arena, home to the annual Goliath festival.
After the UK Poker Open, it’s off to Blackpool in March, Edinburgh in May, then Luton, Goliath in July, London again in August, a second trip to Luton, Leg 8 in Leeds, Blackpool #2 and then back to London for the Grand Final. There are also at least 16 different 25/25 Series events. That’s a lot going on – but luckily you can sort out all your travel plans now with MainEventTravel.com!