Jamie Le (pictured below) won a fiercely-contested battle in Luton on Sunday night to become the latest GUKPT champion. Along with his trophy, the father-of-two from Birmingham has snagged a giant cash prize of £96,630 in the £1,100 buy-in event after beating a 353-entry field.
Le had a tough final table to contend with in Luton – with the likes of Matt Davenport, Ryan Spittles, Francis Obadun and Atanas Pavlov (pictured above) all vying to get their hands on the trophy. Pavlov and Obadun were already quids in after reaching the High Roller final earlier in the week – with Obadun finishing fifth in that event and Pavlov runner-up.
In the Main Event, Obadun once again bust in fifth while Pavlov was runner-up for the second time – adding a substantial £67,100 cash to the £34,350 he snagged in the High Roller.
One of the real heroes in Luton was Matt Davenport, who was down to just 1.5 BBs at one point but finished third for £41,050. After his seventh place at GUKPT Leeds just a few weeks ago and a runner-up finish at Luton in June, Davenport’s latest result seems certain to secure his commanding lead in Grosvenor’s National Poker League. Although Davenport has yet to win a GUKPT, he has a stellar record at Grosvenor events including fourth place in the Grand Final last December and numerous other final table appearances in both the Main Event and the High Roller. If he triumphs in the National Poker League, he'll be a worthy winner of the £40,000 Grosvenor Poker Sponsorship Package and coveted Player of the Year Trophy.
GUKPT Luton is always a hugely popular stop – and a destination that’s been on the GUKPT calendar since the very start of the tour in 2007. The bumper field in the Main Event created a £388,300 prize pool, divvied up between 34 players. It was the tour’s second trip to Luton this year following the event in June when Tom Hall beat Davenport to win £90,965.
High Roller and other side events
Two-time WSOP Main Event finalist Antoine Saout won the £1,800 GUKPT Luton High Roller after beating the 75-entry field. He won £34,350 after cutting a deal with eventual runner-up Atanas Pavlov. WSOP finalist Jack Oliver, who bettered his GUKPT Leeds High Roller result, was third for £12,600. The other finalists included Sam Grafton, Francis Obadun, Leeds champion Chris Johnson and Kully Sidhu.
Riad Soloman took down the £250 buy-in Mini Main Event – beating a huge 562 entry field to win £25,040. The prize pool totalled £123,640. Conor O'Driscoll won the £200 + £200 + £40 buy-in Mystery Bounty Event, outlasting a 283-entry field for a £11,875 payday.
Other excitement at Luton also included a world-first when coverage of the GUKPT Luton 6-Card PLO cash game was aired. It was the first time that a live stream anywhere has ever followed a 6-card PLO Cash Game.
GUKPT Luton was the ninth leg of GUKPT Season 16 and took place from October 6 to October 16 at the Grosvenor Casino Luton. The £1,250 Main Event started on Thursday, October 13 with three entries allowed per flight. The next GUKPT and final “leg” before the Grand Final is taking place in Blackpool starting November 6.
MainEventTravel is the GUKPT’s Official Travel Partner and can help you find great accommodation for the next GUKPT in Blackpool! The festival runs from November 6 to November 13. The final event of 2022 is the eagerly-awaited GUKPT Grand Final in London in December.
Photo credit: Grosvenor Poker