The 888poker UK Poker League (UKPL) is presently within the seaside city of Blackpool, the place the primary occasion wrapped up on Might 8. The £250 No-Restrict Maintain’em Opening Voyager is that match, and Paul Newman is its worthy champion.
A area of 224 entries contested a £50,000 prize pool. That’s fairly a formidable attendance contemplating that solely Day 1a attracted 10 entrants. The highest 29 finishers gained a slice of the pie. Among the many in-the-money finishers have been Helder Casaca-Sena, Robert Douras, 888poker ambassador Ian Simpson, and Yucel “Mad Turk” Eminoglu.
£250 UKPL Blackpool Opening Voyager Closing Desk Outcomes
1Paul Newman£11,280
2Katie Swift£7,600
3Bryan Taylor£5,080
4Chun Ho£3,410
5Lilian Welch£2,370
6Edward Burke£1,750
7Chrissy Taylor£1,390
8Jamie Wilkinson£1,160
9Stephen Lee£1,000
Stephen Lee might not play as many stay tournaments as his friends, however when he does money, he has a outstanding report. Previous to this match, Lee had 16 outcomes on his Hendon Mob profile, 13 of which have been final-table appearances and seven of which have been victories. He can add a ninth-place end price £1,000 from this occasion to his spectacular CV.
Native participant Jamie Wilkinson crashed out in eighth earlier than Chrissy Taylor bowed out in seventh. In November 2023, Taylor gained a £250 Mini Fundamental Occasion throughout the Grosvenor UK Poker Tour (GUKPT) Blackpool leg at this identical on line casino for a career-best £37,000.
Edward Burke bowed out in sixth for a career-high £1,750 and was joined on the rail by on line casino common Lilian Welch, the latter scooping £2,370 for her efforts.
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Fourth-place and £3,410 went to Chun Ho, who is usually known as Harry Regulation, earlier than the elimination of Bryan Taylor in third despatched the match into the heads-up stage. Taylor has been in unbelievable type since switching from money video games to tournaments, nd has rapidly change into one of many most-feared gamers on the UK poker scene.
Heads-up pitted Grosvenor Poker ambassador Katie Swift towards Paul Newman. The ultimate hand of the one-on-one battle noticed Swift all-in with ten-nine, which misplaced to the dominating queen-nine of Newman. Swift banked £7,600 for her runner-up end, her largest rating of 2026, whereas Newman collected £11,280, the second five-figure prize of his profession.
Consideration Turns to the Excessive Curler and Fundamental Occasion
With the Opening Voyager out of the way in which, the main focus switches to the £1,100 Excessive Curler. Forty-two gamers purchased in on Day 1, with 14 progressing. Late registration remained open till the beginning of Day 2 on Might 8, leading to one other 10 gamers coming into late and becoming a member of the fray with 16 huge blinds.
Helder Casaca-Sena was the chip chief at the beginning of play with 800,000 chips (133 huge blinds). Bryan Taylor (596,000) and Stephen McCabe (540,000) rounded out the rostrum locations.
Day 1a of the £560 buy-in, £150,000 assured UKPL Blackpool Fundamental Occasion noticed solely 27 gamers flip up, and simply two punched their Day 2 tickets. Frankie Mok (659,000) and Louis Shields (644,000) have been the 2 surviving gamers.
The second of 5 flights shuffled up and dealt at 12:00 p.m. BST on Might 8. Twenty-two gamers have purchased in to this point.
Please word that in the event you play within the UKPL Blackpool Fundamental Occasion and progress to Day 2, the beginning time has modified. Play now resumes at 2:00 p.m. BST, not 12:00 p.m. BST as beforehand marketed. That is as a result of promenade being closed for the Blackpool Enjoyable Run.
Matthew Pitt
Senior Editor
