Elliott Marais has won the biggest Goliath tournament ever held after beating a record-breaking field of 6,385 players. The biggest live event outside of Vegas created a mammoth £638,500 prize pool shared out among 682 players. Numbers were up 20% on last year’s event.
The next stop on the GUKPT is the £100k guarantee GUKPT Leeds September 10-17; we are the tour’s Official Travel Partner and can help you find great accommodation for GUKPT Leg 7 Leeds.
Marais, who hails from Scunthorpe but currently lives in London, takes home £85,760 after his historic victory. Unlike many players who entered multiple times, Marais made it to Day 2 with the very smallest of investments: £120. He played Day 1E, went home on Thursday and came back for Day 2 on Saturday. His previous best cash before now was £215 after finishing fourth in a tournament in Sheffield in January and his live tournament winnings amounted to just £1,111.
Hull in headlines yet again
Marais used to play at Napoleon’s Casino in Hull and is the venue’s third player to hit the headlines in the last month after Bridport grandad John Hesp finished fourth in the WSOP Main Event and the late Dave “Devilfish” Ulliott was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame. Napoleon's is clearly a hotbed of poker talent: former marine Paul Morris finished fourth at Goliath for £31,670 while fellow Hull native and Goliath entrant Helen Firth was runner-up in the televised Women's World Open in 2010.
Among those who cashed in this year’s Goliath were Grosvenor Ambassadors Joe Beevers, Jeff Kimber and Katie Swift. The Goliath has seen massive growth every year since the very first event back in 2012, with entry numbers rising from 1,954 in 2012 to 5,232 in 2016.
Following GUKPT Leg 7 Leeds next month, the GUKPT will be heading to Luton in October, Blackpool in November. The GUKPT Grand Final takes place November 19-26 at the Poker Room above the Grosvenor Victoria Casino in London’s Edgware Road.
Redtooth off to Bournemouth
Redtooth’s biggest ever tournament on UK soil took place as part of the record-breaking Goliath poker festival. The £75 buy-in event was Redtooth Poker’s first with a £25,000 guarantee. The tour now heads to Bournemouth in August, followed by a fantastic event at Casino Malta from September 15-18. The remaining stops are Dundee, Liverpool and Nottingham this year plus Cardiff in January 2018 and London next February. Tickets exclusively available on MainEventTravel.com.
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