Richard Baker is a long-standing member of the vibrant Amateur Poker Association & Tour (APAT) community, and has tasted plenty of success on the amateur circuit. Baker added his first APAT gold medal to his collection this weekend, which now keeps his six other medals company, after taking down the £50,000 guaranteed UK Amateur Poker Championship Main Event.
After an online Day 1 at GGPoker, and four flights at the home of British poker, Dusk Till Dawn, 475 players bought into the Main Event. Seventy-two of those starters navigated their way to Day 2, having locked in a min-cash of £200 for their efforts.
APAT regulars, including Paul Haycock, Peter Wigglesworth, Tristan Chaplin, and Andrea King cashed in the £120 buy-in Main Event, although they fell short of a final table appearance.
APAT UK Amateur Championship Main Event Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Richard Baker | £7,500 |
| 2 | David Collier | £4,750 |
| 3 | Tahir Ahmed | £3,000 |
| 4 | Zsolt Burkus | £2,400 |
| 5 | Dan Owston | £2,000 |
| 6 | Warwick Brindley | £1,700 |
| 7 | Ben Burnhill | £1,500 |
| 8 | Gaurav Gupta | £1,300 |
| 9 | Michael Simpson | £1,100 |
Each of the nine amateurs that sat down at the final table secured at least £1,100 for their efforts, but each of them had an eye on the top three finishing places where the coveted APAT medals awaited.
Michael Simpson (£1,100) and Gaurav Gupta (£1,300) were the first two finalists to find themselves in the wrong side of the rail. Ben Burnhill (£1,500) and Warwick Brindgley (£1,700) joined the ever-growing list of eliminated players before Dan Owston, champion of the 2022 World Championship of Amateur Poker Main Event, fell in fifth (£2,000).
The final four locked horns knowing the next player heading to the showers would be doing so, having narrowly missed out on an APAT medal. Zsolt Burkus was that unfortunate soul, although their fourth-place finish did pad their bankroll to the tune of £2,400.
APAT Announces Partnership with GGPoker
Third place, £3,000, and a bronze medal went to Tahir Ahmed, who got his stack in with ten-nine, having improved to a queen-high straight on the all-club flop. David Collier looked up Ahmed with a pair of black aces in the hole and proceeded to hit a flush on the river.
Collier and Baker fought tooth and nail one-on-one for 20 minutes before something finally gave. A huge pot went Baker’s way when both he and Collier made two pair but Baker’s king-kicker played. That hand gifted Baker a monster-sized advantage of 45 million to 2 million chips.
Collier three-bet all-in on the next hand with king-eight, only to discover Baker was sat there with pocket kings; Baker made one of the easier calls of his career. The five community cards failed to come to Collier’s rescue, and he consoled himself with a £4,750 second place prize, plus a silver APAT medal. A delighted Baker reeled in £7,500 in prize money plus the all-important gold APAT medal.
Other APAT UK Amateur Poker Championships Results
Sophie Clarke was the biggest winner in the non-Main Event tournaments this weekend, courtesy of triumphing in the £340 APAT High Roller. The event attracted 82 entrants, and Clarke outlasted them all.
The High Roller ended in a four-way ICM deal that saw Clarke finish in first place for £5,720, William Kang finish second for £5,325, an anonymous player receiving £4,240 for their third-place exit, and Shiram Subramanian banking £3,900 for a fourth-place exit.
| Event | Buy-in | Entrants | Prize Pool | Champion | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| APAT High Roller | £340 | 82 | £24,600 | Sophie Clarke | £5,720 |
| UK HORSE Championship | £120 | 55 | £5,500 | Vahid Amirzahiri | £1,980 |
| UK Bounty Championship | £60 | 116 | £5,800 | Mark Arkley | £1,880 |
| UK PLO Championship | £60 | 96 | £4,800 | Daniel Rogers | £1,560 |
| APAT Deep & Steep | £60 | 103 | £5,150 | Ben Whitaker | £1,365 |
| UK ROE Championship | £60 | 66 | £3,300 | Haresh Thaker | £1,155 |
| UK Triple Stud Championship | £60 | 51 | £2,550 | Gary Johnston | £955 |
APAT Heads to Bonny Scotland
A trip to the Grosvenor Maybury Casino in Edinburgh, Scotland, is next up for APAT players, the venue for the Scottish Amateur Poker Championship. It marks the first time since March 2020 that APAT has headed north of the border for the Scottish Amateur Poker Championship.
Back then, the Main Event commanded a £90 buy-in, and saw Michel Yacoub come out on top of a 132-strong field to bank £2,800 of the £9,900 prize pool. Will Yacoub be in town to defend his title? We only have until June 9 to wait.