After a two-year hiatus, a massive turnout is expected for the Goliath festival which is kicking off at the end of August at the Coventry Building Society Arena in the Midlands (previously the Ricoh Arena).
The Goliath Main Event is Europe’s biggest live poker tournament and – aside from the online years of 2020 and 2021 - has attracted record-breaking fields every year since its launch in 2011. 2022 marks the tenth edition of the event and, yet again, Goliath X is expected to smash attendance records with an estimated prize pool of over £1 million.
It’s not just the £150 buy-in Main Event which promises to make Goliath X an epic festival. There are more than 15 different tournaments on the schedule which runs from August 25 to September 4 and includes the £1k GUKPT Main Event which will open the festival. Other highlights include a £1,650 High Roller, a two-day £110 Women’s Championship, various RedTooth Poker events, a £150 4/5/6 Omaha tourney, the £100 Joker’s Wild event, a £150 Seniors tournament and the addition of the new £200+£200+£40 Mystery Bounty!
Grosvenor Ambassador Katie Swift is really looking forward to this year’s festival which features a bunch of exciting new changes including eight Main Event start flights and a two-day Women’s Championship. Katie has always credited her Goliath runner-up finish in 2015 with kick-starting her pro poker career. She said: “Goliath will always firmly have a place in my heart. Finishing 2nd back in 2015 is one of my proudest poker memories. Not long after, I was offered a sponsorship with Grosvenor Poker so it was Goliath that was the catalyst for achieving my dreams!
More start days for Main Event
This year, the Main Event comes with an extra start flight so there are now eight in total. Flight A is on August 27 with start flights then running every day through to September 2 when two final turbo start flights take place (Flight G and Flight H).
Each Day 1 flight lasts 16 levels – the first eight levels will last 30 minutes and Levels 9-16 will last 40 minutes. The turbos will have 20-minute blind levels. All Day 1 survivors return on August 3 for 16 40-minute levels – or down to four tables if that’s sooner.
Satellites galore
More than 400 Grosvenor Poker players have already won their way into the Goliath Main Event online. Satellites are running every night for as little as £1, feeding either into a four-times-a-week £11 rebuy or a £30 Freezeout taking place on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Both these qualifiers each guarantee at least two £150 Main Event seats.
Breaking records every year
The Goliath’s growth has certainly been extraordinary with more players taking part every year since the event’s launch in 2011. Lee Rawson won the inaugural Goliath, outlasting a field of 1,764 players for a £32,705 payday. At the last live Goliath in 2019, there were 9,300 entries creating a prize pool of £911,410, with British player Lee Reynolds outlasting the record-breaking field to win £64,601.
A total of 922 players cashed in 2019 with a bunch of notable names finishing in the money including Sunil Mistri, Natalie Bromley , Kevin Houghton, and Richard Kellett.
The two online Goliath events – held during the pandemic in 2020 and 2021 – were also very successful. Both were won by British players: "WRDortmund7" was the 2020 champion, cashing for £42,248, while "Whytestar" took down the 2021 event for £54,4460.
This year an army of poker players – from first-timers to seasoned poker pros – are preparing to descend on the Coventry Building Society Arena for the first live Goliath in three years.
Anyone wishing to play this year’s Goliath is strongly encouraged to plan ahead by booking their accommodation with MainEventTravel, the Goliath Official Travel Partner.
Busy Grosvenor summer!
For those who can’t bear to wait until August to compete in a live Grosvenor event or want to hone their skills before “the big one”, there are plenty of other great tourneys in the lead-up to Goliath. The G400 returns to The Poker Room at the iconic Grosvenor Victoria Casino August 11-14. There are also numerous 25/25 stops, and Grosvenor Deepstacks running in August.
Photo credit: Grosvenor Poker
£ GBP
$ USD
€ EUR
