The 16th season of the Grosvenor UK Poker Tour (GUKPT) concluded in London over the weekend with the crowning of the £2,000 GUKPT Grand Final champion. Rugby’s Daniel Bedson is that champion after he outlasted 327 opponents to scoop £105,000 of the £576,480 prize pool.

The tournament paid out 31 places, and several star names littered the payouts. Euan McNicholas was the first player heading to the cashier’s desk to collect his reward. Others that cashed included Leon Louis, WSOP Main Event finalist Jack Oliver, Daniel Laidlaw Philippe Souki, GUKPT Coventry champion Joe Hindry, Barny Boatman, Nick Marchington, and Robbie Bull.

Mitch Hynam popped the final table bubble, leaving only nine players in the hunt for the title of champion.

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2022 GUKPT Grand Final Main Event Final Table Results

*reflects a four-way deal leaving £10,000 more for second and £20,000 more for first

Gerald Ringe was the final table’s first casualty; he fell victim to the run-good of Alli Mallu. Ringe limped in from the small blind, Mallu moved all-in from the big blind, and Ringe called off his last 20 big blinds with ace-try of diamonds. Mallu flipped over ten-five offsuit, yes really, but was rewarded for his ballsy play by flopping trip fives. Neither the turn nor river came to Ringe’s rescue and he busted in ninth having been “Mallued”.

Eighth place went to Nicholas Lee, who sat down at the final table with the shortest stack. Lee moved all-in for 14 big blinds with pocket four, only to run into the superior pocket queens in the hand of Iwan Jones. The queen held, and Lee busted.

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George Pop fell in seventh at the hands of Mallu. Pop riped in his last 12 big blinds from the small blind with ace-jack, and Mallu looked him up with queen-five of hearts. Pop paired his jack on the river, but the same card improved Mallu to a flush.

The final seven became six with the elimination of Gunmeet Dhingra. Mallu limped in, Gary Miller raised to 145,000, Dhingra three-bet to 350,000, prompting a rare fold from Mallu and a call from Miller. Dhingra moved all-in for his last 250,000 on the sx-queen-ten flop, which showed two clubs, and Miller instantly called. Miller revealed jack-ten of clubs, and Dhingra a pair of black eights. The king of clubs on the turn improved Miller to a flush and locked up the hand.

Andrew Seabright secured his largest live score in April when he finished fifth in the £2,000 888poker LIVE London High Roller Festival Main Event for £12,700. Seabright finished fifth in the GUKPT Grand Final for a new career-best of £26,240. Seabright committed his short stack with ace-ten of diamonds, and Miller looked him up with the jack-six of diamonds. Seabright looked set for a timely double, especially because he flopped an open-ended straight draw. However, it was Miller that made a straight on the river to reduce the player count by one.

The remaining four players struck a deal that lessened the pay jumps. The deal saw Jones lock in £70,000, Miller £80,000, Mallu £80,000, and Bedson £85,000. As part of the del, the runner-up would bank an additional £10,000, with the champion adding another £20,000 to their coffers.

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Jones bowed out in fourth when his pocket kings could not hold against the ace-nine of Mallu, courtesy of an ace on the turn.

Mallu’s crazy style was ultimately his downfall. First, he lost a huge pot with ten-trey of clubs against Bedson’s pocket queen, then the rest of his stack went into the middle with ten-nine of diamonds against Miller’s dominating ace-nine. No miracle run out for Mallu this time, and heads-up was set.

The one-on-one battle was a short-lived affair that ended when Miller was all-in with pocket eights against Bedson’s ace-ten. A ten on the turn left Miller drawing to two outs, which never appeared on the river. Still, Miller walked away with £90,000, the second-largest score of his career behind his 2018 WPT500 victory.

Bedson’s impressive victory came with £105,000, which blows his previous best haul of $4,150 out of the water.

17th GUKPT Season Starts January 12

Players do not have long to wait for the next GUKPT season, the 17th, to shuffle up and deal because GUKPT London at The Vic begins on January 12. Bedson will likely be there riding the crest of wave, as will Matt Davenport, who walked away with the National Poker League title, and by some distance, which awarded him a £40,000 sponsorship package. Davenport will deservedly be flying the Team Grosvenor flag throughout 2023.

Euan McNicholas rejoins the team for 2023, once again linking up with Katie Swift, Rick Trigg, Jamie Nixon, and Andy Hills.