The penultimate stop of the 2024 888poker UK Poker League (UKPL) saw the fledgling tour head to the Grosvenor G Casino in Reading from September 24, and everything was wrapped up six days later. The final champion of the seven-event festival was that of the £560 UKPL Reading Main Event. Robin Gue is that man.
The 888poker UKPL Reading Main Event drew in 327 entrants, meaning the top 51 finishers bagged a cash prize. Callum Gordon was one of the first in-the-money casualties, while the likes of Michael Rosaman, Robert Douras, Matthew Davenport, and 888poker's Nick Eastwood all seeing a return on their investment.
Eastwood was the 11th place finisher, narrowly missing out on a final table berth. That final table was set after Elliott Lambourne bowed out in tenth.
| Rank | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Robin Gue | £33,030 |
| 2 | Lorenc Boci | £24,580 |
| 3 | John Bousfield | £16,800 |
| 4 | Dalius Balciunas | £10,950 |
| 5 | Daniel Knapp | £7,370 |
| 6 | Stefan Voudouri | £5,230 |
| 7 | David Buckley | £4,250 |
| 8 | Calogero Morreale | £3,580 |
| 9 | Muhamed Mia | £3,030 |
Muhamed Mia, who finished third in the 888poker UKPL Luton Main Event earlier this year, was the first of the Reading finalists to find themselves void of chips. Mia committed his last four big blinds with king-queen, and John Bousfield called with queen-seven. A seven on the flop halted Mia in his tracks.
Eighth place went to Calogero Morreale, who is hunting down the National Poker League (NPL) title. Morreale three-bet all-in for seven big blinds with ace-eight and ran into the dominating ace-king of Lorenc Boci. Surprisingly, there was no eight on the board for the usually hot-running Italian, and he fell by the wayside.
Local player David Buckley was the next player heading to the cashier's desk. Buckley looked down at ace-queen of hearts, and promptly moved all-in for his last nine big blinds. Dalius Balciunas called with pocket eights, and it was off to the races. The eights remained best on the flop, and although Buckley picked up a plethora of outs on the turn, the river bricked and he couldn't melt his opponent's snowmen.
Stefan Voudouri's live cashes only date back to January 2023, but he already had nine cashes and two final tables under his belt going into the UKPL Reading Main Event. He's added another one to each total, but, unfortunately, couldn't add a victory. He came unstuck after three-betting all-in with king-nine suited after Gue had opened. Gue quickly called with ace-king, the five community cards didn't come to Voudouri's rescue, and he fell in sixth.
888poker LIVE and UKPL Double Header: Your Complete Coventry Festival Schedule
The last four-figure prize of the UKPL Reading Main Event went to fifth place finisher Daniel Knapp. His last 14 big blinds were in the middle of the table and his tournament life depended on his pocket fours holding against the ace-queen of Gue. The fours remained true until the appearance of an ace on the river, sending Knapp home with a new career-best score of £7,370.
The river came to Gue's rescue again as he sent Balciunas to the rail in fourth. Balciunas looked set for a timely double when his pocket jacks were up against Gue's sevens. Similar to the Knapp elimination, the jacks were best on the flop and turn, but a seven on the river gifted Gue a hand-winning set. Balciunas' impressive run earned him £10,950, the largest recorded live cash of his career so far.
Heads-up was set when Bousfield got his last 20 big blinds into the pot with king-queen, and Boci looked him up with ace-jack. Ace-high would have been good enough to win the pot, but an ace on the river made sure Bousfield was gone. The £16,800 that Bousfield won takes him ever closer to $500,000 in live poker tournament earnings.
Gue got the job done in the heads-up battle with Boci. Boci was all-in with second pair and a flush draw, but the top pair of Gue faded outs galore. Boci busted in second for £24,580, leaving Gue to enjoy the first live victory of his career and a new personal best score of £33,030.
The final UKPL event of the 2024 season takes place as part of a double-header in Coventry. The 888poker UKPL Coventry event is part of an 11-day series running from October 10-20.
October 11 is your first chance to build a stack in the £560 UKPL Coventry Main Event, with additional flights running throughout the weekend before Day 2 on October 13.
| Date | Time | Entry Fee | Event |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 10 | 14:00 | £200+£30 | UKPL Opening Voyage 1A |
| Oct 10 | 18:00 | £180+£20 | UKPL Turbo Dash |
| Oct 10 | 20:00 | £200+£30 | UKPL Voyage 1B Turbo |
| Oct 10 | 20:00 | £56+£9 | UKPL Main Event CashOut Sat |
| Oct 11 | 14:00 | £200+£30 | UKPL Opening Voyage 1C |
| Oct 11 | 16:00 | £500+£60 | UKPL Main Event 1A |
| Oct 11 | 16:00 | £100+£10 | UKPL Mini Shot |
| Oct 11 | 20:00 | £200+£30 | UKPL Opening Voyage 1D Turbo |
| Oct 12 | 12:00 | £200+£30 | UKPL Opening Voyage Day 2 |
| Oct 12 | 14:00 | £500+£60 | UKPL Main Event 1B |
| Oct 12 | 16:00 | £111+£9 | 888poker LIVE Main Event Cash Out Turbo Sat |
| Oct 12 | 21:00 | £500+£60 | UKPL Main Event 1C Turbo |
| Oct 12 | 21:00 | £100+£10 | UKPL High Roller Cash Out Sat Turbo |
| Oct 13 | 12:00 | £500+£60 | UKPL Main Event Day 2 |
| Oct 13 | 13:00 | £1,000+£100 | UKPL High Roller Day 1 |
| Oct 13 | 16:00 | £200+£20 | UKPL Mid Shot |
| Oct 13 | 17:00 | £100+£10 | UKPL PLO 4/5/6 |
| Oct 13 | 20:00 | £111+£9 | 888poker LIVE Main Event Cash Out Turbo Sat |
| Oct 14 | 13:00 | £1,000+£100 | UKPL High Roller Day 2 |
| Oct 14 | 15:00 | £200+£100+£30 | UKPL The Mega KnockOut |
| Oct 14 | 17:00 | £130+£20 | UKPL Seniors |
| Oct 14 | 20:00 | £111+£9 | 888poker LIVE Main Event Cash Out Turbo Sat |
| Oct 15 | 12:00 | £200+£200+£40 | Mystery Bounty 1A |
| Oct 15 | 15:00 | £300+£30 | The Big Shot |
| Oct 15 | 20:00 | £200+£200+£40 | Mystery Bounty 1B - Turbo |
| Oct 15 | 20:00 | £111+£9 | 888poker LIVE Main Event Cash Out Turbo Sat |
| Oct 16 | 12:00 | £800+£88 | 888poker LIVE Main Event Day 1A |
| Oct 16 | 14:00 | £200+£200+£40 | Mystery Bounty Day 2 |
| Oct 16 | 15:00 | £1,888+£112 | High Roller Day 1 |
| Oct 16 | 18:00 | £180+£20 | The Rumble Turbo |
| Oct 16 | 20:00 | £111+£9 | 888poker LIVE Main Event Cash Out Turbo Sat |
| Oct 17 | 12:00 | £1,888+£112 | High Roller Day 2 |
| Oct 17 | 13:00 | £800+£88 | 888poker LIVE Main Event Day 1B |
| Oct 17 | 17:00 | £220+£30 | The Mayhem |
| Oct 17 | 18:00 | £100+£10 | 888poker LIVE Main Event Cash Out Turbo Sat |
| Oct 17 | 21:00 | £800+£88 | 888poker LIVE Main Event Day 1C Turbo |
| Oct 18 | 12:00 | £800+£88 | 888poker LIVE Main Event Day 1D |
| Oct 18 | 20:00 | £800+£88 | 888poker LIVE Main Event Day 1E Turbo |
| Oct 18 | 21:00 | £100+£10 | 888poker LIVE Main Event Cash Out Turbo Sat |
| Oct 19 | 11:00 | £800+£88 | 888poker LIVE Main Event Day 1F Turbo |
| Oct 19 | 17:00 | £800+£88 | 888poker LIVE Main Event Day 2 |
| Oct 19 | 17:00 | £500+£50 | The Dragon Day 1 |
| Oct 19 | 18:00 | £150+£150+£30 | PLO 4/5/6 Bounty |
| Oct 20 | 13:00 | £800+£88 | 888poker LIVE Main Event Day 3 |
| Oct 20 | 13:00 | £500+£50 | The Dragon Day 2 |
| Oct 20 | 17:00 | £220+£30 | Beat the Ambassadors |
| Oct 20 | 19:00 | £180+£20 | 888poker LIVE Closer |
Satellites from $0.01 eventually feed into the $109 buy-in 888poker LIVE Coventry Festival 2024 ME Qualifier, where at least one $2,000 package is guaranteed, with more added for every $2,000 in the prize pool. These packages award their winner:
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