GUKPT Grand Final Winner
Former investment banker turned poker pro Michael Ellis has won the Grand Final of the Bl uesq poker GUKPT. He defeated fellow Londoner Sami Yusuf after a tense heads up encounter to take down the £207,000 first prize. Michael had gone into the final with a less than average chip stack and although he was not involved in many hands during the early stages of the final he moved up the gears and played a strong and aggressive game once it had become short handed. After Yusuf had eliminated long time tournament leader Mark Friedman into 3rd place Michael held a 2:1 chip advantage. However the situation reversed itself after Michael missed an up and down straight draw to Yusuf's top pair. Insurance broker Yusuf took down a pot of over 2m chips in that hand but Michael regrouped and fought back. By the time the last hand was played out Ellis had once again taken the chip lead again. The final hand was a classic coin flip in which Sami held pocket queens to Michael's AK. The flop was T-8-Q, putting Sami in good shape with trips, however the turn brought a jack, to give Michael a straight. After a harmless 6 fell on the river it was all over, bar the shouting and celebrating. Michael was delighted with his win, as were his many supporters at the Victoria casino, where he is a regular in the cash games. GUKPT Grand Final Table Result Sponsors Blue Square give an additional £10,000 to the winner plus a seat in the 2008 GUKPT Grand Final! 1st Michael Friedman £197,600 2nd Sami Yusuf £106,900 3rd Mark Friedman £71,300 4th Ben Vinson £53,500 5th Carlos Barrera £41,600 6th Dave Barnes £32,700 7th Owen Lock £23,800 8th Paul Moss £17,800 9th Simon Zach £14,800 10th John Kabbaj £8,900 11th Ross Boatman £5,900 12th Dave Colclough £4,800 13th Paul Smallwood £4,800 14th Ken Wong £4,800 15th Keith Hawkins £4,800 16th Jamie Moult Seat in 2008 Grand Final Click here to qualify for the GUKPT 2008 at Bluesq