Financial whizz Ian Gascoigne has won the GUKPT Blackpool Main Event after a series of final table deals with runner-up Callum Gordon and third-placed Josh Radley.
Poker is a passion that Gascoigne (pictured below) has pursued alongside a highly successful career in financial planning and Sunday’s £62,198 score at Grosvenor Casino Blackpool was by far his biggest live cash. Gascoigne, a former “Wealth Adviser Personality of the Year”, only retired as director of wealth management company SJP last year.
Although he has won plenty of low-stakes freezeouts at his local casino in Nottingham – and made the final table of GUKPT Blackpool in 2012 – Sunday’s triumph was Gascoigne’s first major tournament victory. He was also the Day 1b chip leader which means he has won a £1,500 seat into next February’s UK Open in Coventry as well.
On X (formerly Twitter), Gascoigne wrote: “Well I can hardly believe it myself!” Thanks to the deal, Callum Gordon won the biggest prize of £73,675 while Blackpool local Josh Radley, who satellited into the tournament, picked up £61,127 for third place.
There are just two days to go before the start of the GUKPT Grand Final which is taking place from November 22 to December 3 at the iconic Poker Room at the Grosvenor Victoria Casino. MainEventTravel.com – the GUKPT's Official Travel Partner – has prepared a hotel lowdown for the Grand Final so do check it out.
There were 347 entries in the £1,100 Main Event with 34 players paid from the £360,430 prize pool. The stacked final table included GUKPT Edinburgh champion Ludovic Geilich, who finished fourth and GUKPT London winner Tim Chung who finished seventh. Others who cashed included Player of the Year contender Robbie Bull, Mitch Johnson, former Blackpool champ Tom Middleton, Wadey Ashraf, WSOP finalist Jack Oliver, GUKPT Luton champ Stuart Rutter and Kully Sidhu. Lin Chen, who won the first GUKPT Blackpool of the year, finished 19th this time round.
Chrisy Taylor wins Mini Main
Chrisy Taylor (pictured below) won the GUKPT Blackpool £220 Mini Main Event for a career-best cash of £37,000. Taylor outlasted a huge 797-entry field in her home town to win her first major poker tournament. She was congratulated on Facebook by a host of stars including Grosvenor Ambassador Katie Swift who wrote: “Congratulations Chrisy - absolute boss babe! Great to see you getting top spot. Hard work pays off!” GUKPT Manchester finalist Alex Montgomery – who also paid tribute to his heads-up rival – was runner-up for £30,390 while Grosvenor Ambassador Jamie Nixon was fifth.
Xu Hang wins £1,850 High Roller
Xu Hang (pictured below) had some tough competition en route to victory in the GUKPT Blackpool High Roller and he started the final table only fourth in chips. But the Coventry Cup champion is having a stellar year with major scores at the WSOP as well as other festivals in the UK. He beat Michael Alexander heads-up to take the £45,130 first prize. Cal Morreale, who was already leading the Grosvenor National Poker League, finished third for £19,830 and another 16.48 NPL points. There were 77 entries in all creating a £136,675 prize pool. Others who made the money included Youness Barakat plus Grosvenor Player of the Year contenders Brandon Sheils and Arian Kashani.
Sudworth takes down Mystery Bounty
Richard Sudworth, (pictured below) a regular at Grosvenor tourneys in Blackpool and Manchester, won the Mystery Bounty for £10,500 and also picked up five bounties on route to victory. However, the biggest £5k bounty prize was snagged by Gordon Callum who finished seventh overall, for another £1,140. There were 305 entries with 31 players sharing the £43,920 prize pool.
Other side events
A triumvirate of Jameses were the last men standing in the £180 Turbo event. James Williams (pictured below) beat James Clossick heads-up to take it down for £6,110 with James Broderick finishing third. There were 145 entries creating a £25,055 prize pool with 15 players paid. Richard Sudworth, winner of the Mystery Bounty at the start of the festival, finished ninth.
The GUKPT has visited Blackpool every single year of the tour with the Main Event awarding many millions in prize money. Gascoigne follows in the footsteps of illustrious previous winners such as Lin Chen, (2023, £65,310), Richard Trigg (2013, £53,000), Tom Middleton (2016, £56,255), Jonny Gray (2015, £69,050) and Simon Deadman (2012, £49,200).
Next up: GUKPT Grand Final at the Vic
The GUKPT Grand Final starts this Wednesday and is running through to December 3 at the iconic Poker Room at the Grosvenor Victoria Casino. The 12-day end-of-season extravaganza is one of the biggest UK festivals of the year and Grosvenor is anticipating a huge turnout. This is the final leg of the GUKPT’s 17th season with more than 20 different tournaments on the schedule and giant prize pools up for grabs.
MainEventTravel.com – the GUKPT's Official Travel Partner – has prepared a hotel lowdown for GUKPT London so check it out to ensure you get exactly the accommodation you want.
The £1,250 GUKPT Grand Final Main Event starts on Thursday, November 30; other schedule highlights include the £250 Mini Main, £2k High Roller and £550 GUKPT Cup. The event kicks off with the £150 + £150 + £30 Mystery Bounty which features four starting flights. Players will also have the chance to win a WPT Vegas package worth £14,000 with numerous Step 1 satellites costing just £110 to enter.
MainEventTravel #FinalTableFreeroll promotion
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The promotion includes a wide selection of FTF-eligible events; as well as the GUKPT Grand Final, eligible events include the Eureka Prague €1100 Main Event (7th – 11th December) and EPT Prague €5300 Main Event (11th – 17th December). There is no additional cost to enter, and the potential winnings are limitless! To participate, simply tag @MainEventTravel.com and use #FinalTableFreeroll before the event starts and post a picture with the tags before the Official Final Table begins. Even if you don't win the event, you can still earn back a percentage of your travel costs. Reaching the Official Final Table gets you a 10% travel credit, and reaching Heads-up earns you 50% of your travel costs as future travel credit. For full details, click here.
Photo Credit – Grosvenor Poker
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