Double Delight For Sheils as He Takes Down GUKPT London Main Event

Lower than per week in the past, Brandon Sheils emerged victorious from the £2,500 No-Restrict Maintain’em Excessive Curler on the 2026 Grosvenor UK Poker Tour (GUKPT) London competition, and helped himself to the £49,560 high prize. At this time, Sheils is making his approach again residence with the winner’s trophy and £88,760 high prize from the £1,250 GUKPT London Primary Occasion.

A discipline of 368 entrants created a £383,060 prize pool that the highest 44 finishers shared. Sheils jumped into the Primary Occasion instantly after being topped the Excessive Curler champion, and bagged up the fourth-largest stack. The grinder constructed on that early momentum and have become a preferred and worthy GUKPT champion.

A number of high drawer gamers cashed on the Primary Occasion, however fell in need of the nine-handed remaining desk. Jack Hardcastle, Ali Sarkeshik, Mariusz Czech, Jamie O’Connor, Lorenc Boci, John Bousfield, Jamie Walden, and Longmao Fan all crashed out within the cash place.

Gary Fisher, a fifth-place finisher within the $1,000 Tremendous Seniors on the 2024 World Sequence of Poker (WSOP), busted in tenth, and the ultimate desk was set.

2026 GUKPT London Primary Occasion Ultimate Desk Outcomes

Yorkshireman Jacob Mulhearn was the primary finalist to search out himself heading to the cashier’s desk. Mulhearn dedicated his final 15 large blinds with pocket tens, which have been flipped towards the ace-queen in Mehdi Chaoui‘s hand. An ace on the flop proved sufficient to cut back the participant depend once more.

Eighth place went to Joseph Area, who had his aces cracked by the lowly seven-deuce. All of the chips went piling into the center on the flip of a ten-queen-seven-five board that confirmed two hearts. Area held a pair of crimson aces, and Vitalie Grecul held the seven-deuce of hearts. The 9 of hearts landed on the river, enhancing Grecul to a flush, and leaving Area with a nasty beat story, albeit one which additionally got here with £7,970.

The harmful Paul Vas Nunes bowed out in seventh after dropping a coin flip towards Vikram Mehta. Van Nunes’ final 9 large blinds went into the pot with pocket nines, which wanted to carry towards Mehta’s ace-jack. They remained one of the best hand on the flop, however a jack on the flip left Vas Nunes needing a miracle two outer on the river. No such miracle occurred, and Vas Nunes headed for the exits.

Romania’s Grecul crashed out in sixth place and obtained his fingers on the event’s first five-figure prize. Having earlier busted Area with seven-deuce, Grecul obtained a style of his personal medication when he clashed with Cypriot Giorgos Onisiforou. Grecul obtained his stack in with king-queen on the flip of a four-king-six-seven board, just for Onisiforou to snap-call and present a straight with a flush redraw along with his eight-five of diamonds. A queen on the river improved Grecul to 2 pair, however it wasn’t robust sufficient to avoid wasting his event life.

The ultimate 5 turned 4 when Mehta’s ten large blind shove with ace-ten misplaced to the pocket fives of Mehdi. Had Mehta come out on high on this event, he would have turn out to be a two-time GUKPT Primary Occasion champion, having triumphed in Luton in 2019. Nevertheless, the Poker Gods weren’t with him on this event, and he needed to make do with a £17,550 haul as a substitute.

Paul Stewart was the subsequent participant to be showered. Stewart moved all-in for 12 large blinds with ace-six, and Sheils appeared him up with king-queen of diamonds. Sheils improved to a flush, and Stewart was eradicated, leaving solely three gamers within the hunt for the title.

Third place and £39,030 went to Onisiforou after a conflict with Sheils did not go to plan. Onisiforou min-raised with ace-king of spades earlier than calling off his remaining 17 large blinds when Sheils jammed on him with ten-nine of golf equipment. A 9 on the flip was sufficient to ship the Primary Occasion into the heads-up phases.

Sheils held a 64 to 31 large blind benefit going into heads-up, however a victory was removed from assured. Chaoui is a vastly skilled participant, one with over $3.5 million in winnings, and he was not about to go down with no struggle. Certainly, Mehdi drew degree a few occasions, and a stalemate ensued, with neither participant in a position to shake off the opposite.

One thing lastly gave throughout the 60,000/120,000 degree, round ten hours into the ultimate day’s motion. Chaoui min-raised with five-trey of golf equipment, Sheils referred to as with seven-five, and the seller fanned the seven-ace-ace flop, which had tw golf equipment. Sheils check-called a continuation wager on the flop earlier than check-calling a chunky wager on the flip when one other seven double-paired the board. The river was a non-club 9, and Sheils checked once more. Chaoui jammed all-in for a pot-sized wager, giving Sheils a call to make. Sheils deduced his opponent did not have an ace and made the decision. Chaoui confirmed the bluff, and Sheils gained his second title within the house of some days.

2026 GUKPT London Outcomes

Subsequent Up on the GUKPT: The Grosvenor UK Poker Open

Gamers haven’t got lengthy to attend earlier than the subsequent cease of the 2026 GUKPT as a result of the Grosvenor UK Poker Open kicks off in Coventry from February 1. Working till February 17, the UK Poker Open contains a bustling schedule, together with a £1,500 buy-in Primary Occasion that has a cool £1 million assured prize pool.

Final 12 months, Andrew “Stato_1” Hulme outlasted 950 opponents on his technique to banking £219,720 of the £1,219,660 prize pool.

Satellites can be found on the Grosvenor G On line casino in Coventry from February 1, or proper now on-line at Grosvenor Poker.

Matthew Pitt hails from Leeds, West Yorkshire, in the UK, and has labored within the poker business since 2008, and labored for PokerNews since 2010. In September 2010, he turned the editor of PokerNews. Matthew stepped away from dwell reporting duties in 2015, and now concentrates on his function of Senior Editor for the PokerNews.