Grosvenor has released the schedule for the first GUKPT Luton of the year which is taking place from May 25 to June 4.
The flagship £1,250 GUKPT Main Event starts June 1, the highlight of a busy 11 days poker that includes a festival-opening 25/50 tournament, the £250 Mini Main Tournament, the £550 GUKPT Cup, a £2k High Roller, a £150 Seniors Tournament, numerous satellites and a £150 + £150 + £30 PLO 4/5/6 Bounty on the last day. The Main Event features three starting flights – including a Day 1c Turbo – with three entries allowed per flight. All players will receive a 20,000 starting stack with late registration open until the start of Day 2.
MainEventTravel is the GUKPT’s Official Travel Partner and can help you find great accommodation for GUKPT Luton so don’t delay booking if you’re planning to go!
25/50 to Kick Off the Luton Festival
The Leg 5 Luton stop also includes a £50k guaranteed 25/50 Tournament, the first time the popular tournament has formed part of a GUKPT Schedule since before the pandemic struck in 2020. The 25/50s (and their baby siblings, the 25/25s) are typically held as a two-day, standalone event and boast their own robust ten-leg nationwide schedule. With four starting flights, two re-entries allowed per flight, generous 25k starting stack and a £250 buy-in, the 25/50 at GUKPT Luton is bound to attract a big field.
Grosvenor Ambassador Katie Swift said: “It’s great to see the upcoming Luton GUKPT kicking off with a 25/50 comp! The structure and stack are phenomenal for this buy-in level and they are incredibly popular. They offer a fantastic structure, at a reasonable buy in with various Day 1 options to suit both recreational & pros alike.”
Players interested in playing more of Grosvenor’s popular 25/50 events should check out the schedule on Official Travel Partner MainEventTravel.com. There are ten legs in total during the 2023 season and events all over the country including Walsall, Portsmouth and Liverpool.
Cal Morreale dominating the POY leaderboard
GUKPT Season 17 has been a busy one so far with great events already wrapped up in London, Manchester and Blackpool plus the new UK Open event in Coventry in March. Dunstable-based Cal Morreale is off to a stonking start this year and is already dominating Grosvenor’s National Poker League, scooting nearly 100 points ahead of his nearest rival in the race to be Grosvenor Player of the Year. Morreale’s achievements so far include winning the GUKPT Manchester Main Event, finishing second to Jonathan McCann at GUKPT London and winning the Mini UK Open in Coventry. He also had a runner-up finish in the GUKPT Blackpool Mystery Bounty and a deep run in the Blackpool Main Event.
GUKPT Luton History
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. Jamie Le (pictured) won a fiercely-contested battle at the last GUKPT Luton in October to snag a giant cash prize of £96,630 after beating a 353-entry field.
The tough final table featured the likes of Ryan Spittles, Francis Obadun and runner-up Atanas Pavlov as well as Matt Davenport who finished second in the June edition of GUKPT Luton last year and third in the October edition. Davenport went on to win the 2022 Player of the Year race and is now enjoying a £40k sponsorship deal with Grosvenor. Davenport said: “I’m looking forward to returning to Luton - a very happy hunting ground for me. My second place there last year for £76k was my biggest live score and kicked off a six-month heater. The start of 2023 hasn’t been quite as successful so far but I’m hoping a return to Luton can spark a return of some run-good!”
Numerous big names have enjoyed victory in Luton with a roll call of previous Main Event champions that includes the likes of Sam Trickett, Richard Gryko, Neil Channing, Charles Chattha, Jamie O’Connor, Adam Reynolds and John Eames. Driton Haxhiaj is the only player that has won twice – in both 2013 (for £42,750) and three years later in 2016 for £61,520.
GUKPT Edinburgh
Next up on the GUKPT’s 2023 calendar is a trip over the border for the annual jaunt to Edinburgh. The festival is Leg 4 of this year’s 17th GUKPT season and gets underway on May 4 with an action-packed £150 + £30 + £150 Mystery Bounty event. The £1,000 buy-in GUKPT Edinburgh Main Event starts on May 11.
GUKPT Edinburgh runs May 4 to May 14; we’re the GUKPT’s Official Travel Partner so let us help book you a fabulous hotel in the Scottish capital.
£ GBP
$ USD
€ EUR
