McNicholas Warms Up For GUKPT Manchester Main Event With High Roller Victory

Euan McNicholas got the job done in a Grosvenor UK Poker Tour (GUKPT) event once again, taking down the £1,650 High Roller in Manchester. With the £1,250 GUKPT Manchester Main Event underway, McNicholas will enter the fray confident of adding that title to his 2021 GUKPT London Main Event trophy.

The top 15 finishers from a field of 110 shared the £158,400 prize pool. Reigning Irish Open champion David Docherty was the first player to cash, with the likes of Thomas Clack, Andrew Hulme, and Endrit Geci banking some prize money but falling short of a final table appearance. Andy Wilson busted in ninth, narrowly missing out on playing under the watchful eyes of the Grosvenor livestream

GUKPT Manchester High Roller Final Table Results

Ninety minutes passed without an elimination before two players exited during the same hand. Brandon Sheils shoved for 565,000 with ace-eight from late position during the 40,000/80,000/80,000a level, Tuan Le called with ace-four of hearts from the small blind, only for Yucel “Mad Turk” Eminoglu to wake up in the big blind with ace-king. Eminoglu shoved for 1,200,000, and Le decided to call, putting both all-in players at risk.

Sheils took the lead after flopping an eight, but there were two hearts showing. A flush-completing seven of hearts landed on the turn, locking up the hand for Le. The inconsequential queen of hearts completed the community cards, leaving Sheils and Eminoglu void of chips.

Sixth place went to the North East’s Marc Foggin, who clashed with George Pop. Blinds were 50,000/100,000/100,000a, Le min-raised from the cutoff with five-four of diamonds from the cutoff, Pop three-bet all-in for 1,400,000 with pocket queens on the button, and Foggin called all-in for 590,000 in the big blind with a pair of eights in the hole. Le ducked out of the way. Both players improved to two pair on the flop, but Foggin was still way behind. The turn didn’t change anything, and the queen on the river saw Pop’s hand become a full house. Game over for Foggin.

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Save the dates

By the time the blinds reached 80,000/160,000/160,000a, Pop was down to 855,000 chips and in need of making a move. McNicholas had a colossal stack compared to his remaining opponents and was putting maximum pressure on them. McNicholas moved all-in for 5,300,000 from under the gun with king-eight, and Pop made his move by calling all-in with pocket fives. A king-deuce-eight flop left Pop drawing thin, and he failed to catch a five on the turn or river.

Keith Johnson came unstuck almost immediately after Pop busted. Johnson committed his 1,200,000 stack with ace-deuce from the small blind, and McNicholas called with the dominating ace-six from the big blind. Both players paired their non-ace hole card on the flop, and McNicholas’ hand held to reduce the final table to three players.

The exciting Le was the next to fall, busting in third and sending the GUKPT Manchester High Roller into the heads-up stage. With blinds of 100,000/200,000/200,000a, Matt Davenport, who was down to five big blinds at one stage, limped on the button with ace-king of hearts. Le took the bait and moved all-in with king-jack for 1,400,000; Davenport called. Davenport had the hand locked up after turning a full house.

McNicholas held a 6,300,000 to 4,500,000 chip lead over Davenport going into the one-on-one battle, and it took around ten minutes for him to press home that advantage and become a GUKPT champion again.

The final hand saw Davenport limp in with ace-ten, McNicholas jam for 8,100,000 with queen-jack, and Davenport call all-in for 2,700,000. A jack on the flop propelled McNicholas into the lead, and his hand remained best to send Davenport to the rail in second place.

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Remaining GUKPT Manchester Events

Day 1B of the £1,250 GUKPT Manchester Main Event shuffles up and deals at 12:00 p.m. on February 9, with the turbo-structured Day 1C getting underway later in the day at 9:00 p.m.

Over the weekend, the Main Event edges towards crowning its champion, while the £550 GUKPT Cup, £150 Seniors, £330 Pot-Limit Omaha 4/5/6 Card Bounty, and £200 Closer play along side it.