GUKPT Leg 10 Winner Crowned
Paul Bracken (Credit: GUKPT)
Leg 10 of the Grosvenor UK Poker Tour was held in Blackpool. Approximately 170 folks played in Day 1A (over 315 players signed up for the tournament) including British Poker luminaries such as Lucy Rokach, Dave Colclough, Charalambos “Bambos” Xanthos and Julian Gardner. Rokach hit the rails early on in the day when her pocket eights came up against the flopped flush of her opponent. Around dinner time, 115 players remained. Gardner busted Paul Mendes, a finalist at the 2007 EPT London Main Event, near the end of the fourth level. About 50 players survived to make it to Day Two. About 200 people played in Day 1B including Julian Thew. Thew was the winner of the eighth leg of this tournament series in Plymouth. Despite his early departure in this event – he hit the rails within the first few hours of the day – Thew will be ready for the GUKPT Grand Final starting on November 29, 2007. Barny Boatman of the Hendon Mob, Surinder Sunar and Willie “Diceman” Tann were also in attendance on Day Two. More than 70 people survived the eight levels of Day 1B play. Sunar, winner of the WPT Grand Prix de Paris in season three, didn't make it too far into Day Two. The Indian-born resident of Wolverhampton ran his pocket nines into the pocket rockets of an opponent and busted around 60th position. Paul Bracken made a great all-in move with pocket kings against Julian Gardner, who had A,K in the hole. The first card was the gut-wrenching Ace, giving Gardner the lead. However, the turn turned the tables, yielding a king and providing Bracken with a much-needed chip infusion to the tune of 210k. With 29 players left, the bubble was about to burst. Neil Channing and Julian Gardner were among the top chip holders with Paul Bracken just behind. Chef Leo Kam, a protégé of Gordon Ramsey and winner of the ninth league of the GUKPT, was in the middle of the pack with a shade under 100k. Professional player, Praz Bansi, was close to the felt with a mere 27,500 remaining; however, the distinction of 'bubble boy' went to Jeff Kimber. His 28th place finish was the last to receive no cash. The players began to drop like flies at this point. Katherine Hartree (20th), Julian Gardner (19th) and Marty Wilson (18th) went down one after the other. By the end of the day only fourteen players remained to play later in the day in preparation for the final table. Jason Shellom narrowly missed the final table as Neil Channing caught a pair of jacks on the turn. Shellom earned £5,300 but wouldn't get any TV time. As the final table got underway, Paul Murrell had the chip lead with 691k. On the very first hand, Leo Kam, on a short stack, goes all-in with A,K and is called by Mike Williams with his pocket cowboys. Kam is eliminated in ninth place. On hand three, Ben Herron moved all-in with his A,Q in direct response to Lee Biddulph's all-in bet. Biddulph held the A,K. The turn brought top pair for both players, but the kicker played and Lee hit the rails in eighth, earning £10,600 for his efforts. At this point, the remaining players tightened up a bit. Most pots were won uncontested and not a lot of flops were seen. Level 21 bumped the blinds up to 12k/24k and a 2000 ante. Lee Biddulph had been nursing the shortest stack at the table for about 40 hands. He pushed all-in from the small blind on hand #47. Paul Murrell asks for a chip count and decides to chance it. He flips over A,A. Lee watched dejectedly as the board brought no help for his computer hand (Q,7). After Biddulph's departure, Vinson was at the top of the leaderboard with 849k. In second was Paul Bracken. Bringing up the rear was Paul Gardner. However, he would make it all the way to heads-up play. Finishing in sixth was Mike Williams. Following Wiliams out the door was Neil Channing. He hit the rails in fifth place. His K,10 was no match for Vinson's pocket eights. Channing, a regular at the Gutshot Poker Club who has cashed in three WSOP Main Events, took home £21,200. The guys took a short break and came back strong. Paul “Muzza” Murrell got quite active. Unfortunately, Muzza wasn't always on the winning end of the pot. Hovering around 500k, the short stack went all-in with 6,9 after the flop hit his top pair. Bracken called and had Murrell dominated with a K,9. Muzza received £28,250 for fourth. Only a little while thereafter, Ben Vinson went all-in with a Jh,10d against Paul Bracken and his Ad,8d. The board was 8s,Ac,Ks,4s,kc, giving Paul two pair, the win and a massive pot, adding to his chip lead. Vinson, for his part, pocketed £38,850 for his third place finish. As heads-up play began, Bracken had 2.153 million chips to Gardner's 1.3 million. The blinds were 25k/50k. The antes were removed. Both players began their heads-up contest slowly. Few flops were played; check-calls were the name of the game. At one point, Gardner had edged closer to the 2 million mark. Despite his best efforts, he just couldn't take the lead away from Paul Bracken. On the final hand, Bracken pushed all-in after the flop came down 9,10,6 and showed his bottom two pair. Gardner held 10,5 and would need some help to stay in the match. The turn was a queen and the river a seven, giving Gardner a second-place finish. Paul Bracken earned over £100,000 plus a watch, a GUKPT trophy and a seat to the Grand Final. Here are the final results: 1) Paul Bracken - £109,700 2) Paul Gardner - £56,500 3) Ben Vinson - £38,850 4) Paul Murrell - £28,250 5) Neil Channing - £21,200 6) Mike Williams - £17,650 7) Lee Biddulph - £14,100 8) Ben Herron - £10,600 9) Leo Kam - £8,800