Ludovic Geilich is the latest player to enjoy the sweet taste of success on the Grosvenor UK Poker Tour (GUKPT) after the popular Scotsman triumphed in the £1,000 GUKPT Edinburgh Main Event over the weekend.
Geilich’s first major live victory since he took down the €1,100 No-Limit Hold’em Open event at the PartyPoker LIVE MILLIONS Barcelona festival in April 2018 came with £79,590 in prize money, cementing third place in Scotland’s all time money listing, and closing the gap on David Vamplew in second.
£1,000 GUKPT Edinburgh Main Event Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ludovic Geilich | £79,590 |
| 2 | Abdul Mukit | £55,840 |
| 3 | Lin Chen | £34,130 |
| 4 | Craig Smith | £21,710 |
| 5 | James McLean | £14,270 |
| 6 | Michael Kane | £10,550 |
| 7 | Timothy Chung | £7,760 |
| 8 | Robbie Bull | £6,510 |
| 9 | Geoff Kearney | £5,580 |
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The £1,000 GUKPT Edinburgh Main Event drew in a 366-strong crowd, who created a £310,220 prize pool that the top 34 finishers shared.
Team Grosvenor’s Katie Swift cashed in the Main Event, her 32nd place finish yielding £2,230.
Others who finished in the money places included Matthew Eardley, Brandon Sheils, Yucel “Mad Turk” Eminoglu, Colin Gillion, and John Bousfield, the latter falling in 13th place for £4,030.
Six of the nine finalists saw their £1,000 investment swell into five-figure scores. Ireland’s Geoff Kearney went into the final table as the shortest stack, and was the first player eliminated from it. The last of Kearney’s chips went into the middle with pocket eights, and he lost a coinflip against Geilich’s king-queen courtesy of a queen on the flop. Kearney collected a career-best £5,580.
Robbie Bull was the next to fall when his 35 big blind four-bet jam with king-jack of hearts lost to the dominating ace-queen in the hands of Craig Smith. Bull had to make do with a £6,510 score, which pushed him over the $450,000 in live career earnings.
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Seventh place and £7,760 went to Timothy Chung, who you may recall won the £1,250 GUKPT London Main Event for £185,560 in February 2022. Chung’s last 14 big blinds were committed with ace-jack, but Smith found ace-queen and called. As it did in Bull’s exit, Smith’s ace-queen held, and the final table lost a dangerous player.
The surviving six players locked in at least £10,550 for their efforts, but Michael Kane would not collect any additional funds. Kane three-bet shoved with pocket tens for 22 big blinds, only for Geilich to wake up with pocket kings and make the cold call. The five community cards provided no drama, and Kane was out of there.
James McLean busted in fifth for £14,270 in an exciting hand involving Abdul Mukit. With blinds at 15,000/30,000, McLean jammed for 500,000 with ace-eight, and Mukit called with pocket nines. McLean soared into the lead with an ace on the turn, only for the nine of clubs to gift Mukit a set on the river!
Smith’s tournament ended in a fourth-place finish worth £21,710, a career-best for the Edinburgh native. Smith attempted to apply maximum pressure to Geilich by four-betting all-in with pocket fives. Ordinarily, the move could have worked, but Geilich was holding pocket queens and going nowhere. An ace-high board all but eliminated Smith, and he busted a few hands later, while Geilich improved to a commanding chip lead.
The heads-up stage was reached when Lin Chen bowed out in third for £34,130. Chen has been in incredible form of late, and won the £1,250 GUKPT Blackpool Main Event for £65,310 in March. Perhaps his confidence got the better of him because he ran a huge bluff against Mukit, but Mukit was having none of it. A short-stacked Chen then pushed with king-ten and lost a coinflip against Geilich’s pocket sevens.
Geilich wasted little time in brushing aside Mukit, resigning the runner-up to a £55,840 score, and claiming the £79,590 top prize and winner’s trophy for himself.
2023 GUKPT Edinburgh Side Event Results
It was not only the GUKPT Edinburgh Main Event that took place at the festival because there were several key side events.
Arian Hassnkashani banked £43,800 by being the last player standing in the £1,500 High Roller event. There was also an outright victory for Team Grosvenor’s Jamie Nixon in the £550 GUKPT Cup, a result that added £23,480 to Nixon’s coffers.
| Event | Entrants | Prize Pool | Champion | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £330 NLHE Mystery Bounty | 357 | £51,410 | Patrick Bell | £6,560 |
| £250 NLHE Mini Main Event | 518 | £110,630 | Chris Williams | £24,590* |
| £1,500 NLHE High Roller | 109 | £147,150 | Arian Hassankashani | £43,800 |
| £200 NLHE Turbo | 73 | £12,615 | laurynas Jakutis | £4,035 |
| £550 NLHE GUKPT Cup | 163 | £78,420 | Jamie Nixon | £23,480 |
GUKPT Heads to Luton From May 26
GUKPT regulars do not have time to rest on their laurels because the fifth leg of the 2023 schedule kicks off on May 26 at the Grosvenor G Casino in Luton.
Luton has always been a popular stop for the GUKPT, and some of the United Kingdom’s best-known players have returned home with the Main Event title in tow. Stay tuned to PokerNews to discover if another superstar walks away with the GUKPT Main Event trophy.