Birmingham poker pro Stuart Rutter (pictured on final table) has claimed his second GUKPT title after taking down GUKPT Luton last night for a giant first prize of £62,368. He beat a 223-entry field – and Vik Mehta heads-up – to win the prestigious £1,250 Main Event. Mehta, who won GUKPT Luton in 2019, takes £44,070 for his runner-up finish with 23 players overall getting a share of the £231,933 prize pool.
Rutter’s first GUKPT victory was back in 2010 when he won GUKPT Coventry for £41,910. His biggest cashes however have come at the World Series where he has made two final tables and also enjoyed a deep run in the 2014 Main Event. Now 40, he has earned more than $1.7 million in live tournament winnings to date.
Chatting to the Tower after the event, Rutter said that his GUKPT Coventry win in 2010 was actually the last time he won a tournament. He said: “I’m getting emotional. The fields are definitely tougher now and that was the biggest grind of a heads-up ever - Vik played absolutely great. We actually played together on Day 2 too and I doubled him up when he was down to 40k! So he put on an insane grind to reach the final.”
Poker pro and GUKPT Grand Final 2013 winner Kev Allen
GUKPT stalwart Terry Jordon bagged up a record-breaking 492,000 chips on Day 1 – the biggest Day 1 stack in the GUKPT’s 17-year history – but bust before the money in 34th place.
The flagship £1,250 GUKPT Luton Main Event was the highlight of a busy 11 days of poker that also included the £340 Mini Main tournament, the £560 Midi Main tournament, a £2k High Roller, a £3k Super High Roller and the £550 GUKPT Luton Cup.
GUKPT Luton Midi Main
Brandon Sheils (pictured below) won the three-day £560 Luton Midi Main for £30,678 after outlasting a 240-entry field and cracking David Greene’s aces in the final hand. Sheils, who is currently lying fourth in the Grosvenor Player of the Year race after big cashes on the tour this year, picked up 31.42 National Poker League points as he narrows the gap on the top three. His successes this year include winning the GUKPT London High Roller. Grosvenor Ambassador Matt Davenport, who is currently lying 10th on the Player of the Year leaderboard, finished fourth for £8,745. Davenport’s best result this year was winning the GUKPT Main Event at Goliath in August. A total of 23 players took a share of the £118,448 Midi Main prize pool.
GUKPT Luton High Roller
Keith Johnson (pictured below) won the fiercely-contested €1,800 High Roller tournament for £34,660 after beating Robbie Bull heads-up. There were 59 entries in the event with Matt Davenport finishing fifth for £7,650. Davenport had an unlucky elimination – his A-K couldn’t beat the A-8 of Keith Johnson, who rivered an eight.
GUKPT Luton Super High Roller
Arian HassanKashani (pictured below) took down the £2,750 Luton Super High Roller for £27,720 after coming back from a 10-1 chip deficit heads up. Arian battled for almost three hours to beat runner-up Ajay Kejriwal and win the tournament for £27,720. Arian, currently sixth in the Grosvenor Player of the Year race, has had a string of great results on the tour this year including runner-up in the Midi Main in London in August – for £32,230 and winning the Edinburgh High Roller for £43,800 in May. He was also runner-up in the UK Poker Championships (UKPC) High Roller in April plus numerous other smaller cashes. There were 21 entries in the Luton Super High Roller creating a total prize pool of £55,440. Ajay Kejriwal got £16,630 for second and Robbie Bull was third for £11,090.
GUKPT Luton Mini Main
Dean Morris (pictured below) won the £220 Luton Mini Main for a career-best £17,352 after a four-way deal. As well as his cash prize, Dean also won a £888 entry into the 888Poker Coventry Main Event. There were 484 entries in the Mini Main, with nearly 50 players getting a share of the £101,839 prize pool. Among those who cashed were Brandon Sheils, Lin Chen, Cal Morreale and Robbie Bull – the four players currently topping the Grosvenor National Poker League.
Other side event results
Florin Mustata (pictured below) took down the £200 GUKPT Luton Turbo tourney for £4,980. There were 93 entries creating a £16,070 prize pool. John Bousfield and Dean Clay were among the 11 players who cashed. Tony Poulengeris beat a 51-entry field to win the £175 buy-in Seniors event for £2,300 after cutting a deal with runner-up Brian Harvey. Eight others got a share of the £8,745 prize pool. Chandra Khajuria won the PLO 4-card event for £3,930. There were 62 entries creating a £11,905 prize pool.
And Jonathan Weekes (pictured below) took down the GUKPT Luton Cup being a 121-entry field to scoop £17,710 top prize!
Player of the Year race
The GUKPT Player of the Year race is really heating up with just three events left on the 2023 tour following GUKPT Luton. At stake is a £40,000 Grosvenor Sponsorship Package along with the coveted Grosvenor Casinos Player of the Year Trophy. There was much jostling for position at GUKPT Luton with most of the top ten cashing in at least one event. You can expect a lot more PoY action to come at GUKPT Leeds - Leg 8 next month, followed by GUKPT Blackpool - Leg 9 in November and the Grand Final in London starting November 23.
|
Position |
Name |
Points |
|
1 |
390.67 |
|
|
2 |
308.37 |
|
|
3 |
280.29 |
|
|
4 |
231.68 |
|
|
5 |
229.01 |
|
|
6 |
226.05 |
|
|
7 |
224.61 |
|
|
8 |
224.14 |
|
|
9 |
223.6 |
|
|
10 |
202.86 |
GUKPT Luton history
GUKPT Luton has been on the GUKPT calendar since the very start of the tour in 2007 and is always a very popular stop. The GUKPT tour – now in its 17th season – typically visits Luton twice a year; the first Luton stop was in June when Chris Day won the Main Event for £88,150.
Numerous big names have enjoyed victory in Luton; the roll call of previous Main Event champions includes Sam Trickett, Richard Gryko, Neil Channing, Charles Chattha, Jamie O’Connor, Adam Reynolds and John Eames.
Next up – GUKPT Leeds
The next big event on the Grosvenor calendar is GUKPT Leeds which is taking place from October 5 to 15 at Grosvenor Casino Leeds Westgate. The festival kicks off with a £150 + £150 + £30 Mystery Bounty which features four different starting flights. The Main Event gets underway on October 12. Also on the schedule are a £250 Mini Main tournament, a £1,500 High Roller and the £550 GUKPT Luton Cup.
MainEventTravel is the GUKPT’s Official Travel Partner and can help you find great accommodation near the festival venue at Grosvenor Casino Leeds Westgate. Leeds is one of the most vibrant cities in the UK with a booming nightlife scene and excellent shopping.
Following Leeds, the GUKPT will be hosting GUKPT Blackpool - Leg 9 in November and the GUKPT Grand Final London Victoria starting November 23.
Photo Credit: Grosvenor Poker
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