Blackpool GUKPT Result

Entrants: 287
Buy-in: £1,000
Prizepool: £287,000

1. Priyan de Mel, £84,900
2. James Williams, £52,400
3. Ben Vinson, £34,400
4. Mark Taylor, £22,400
5. Jeff Hemmerman, £16,600
6. Steve Talbot, £13,800
7. Mark Jones, £10,900
8. Wasim Akhtar, £8,000

36-year-old Priyan de Mel has won the 9th leg of the 2009 Grosvenor UK Poker Tour, held in Blackpool. The victory must have been all the sweeter for de Mel as he had previously bubbled the final table of the GUKPT Grand Final in 2007. The £84,900 de Mel picked up here is the biggest score of his career and takes his total tournament winnings to nearly $500k.

The final three players were an accomplished group, Ben Vinson being the third place finisher. Ben, his father Alan and brother Adam have a remarkable family record on the GUKPT circuit, making six final tables between them! Runner-up James Williams is another player who is sure to increase his burgeoning reputation with this result. An online pro, he previously came 7th in the GUKPT Luton earlier this year.

The heads-up match didn’t last long but ended in explosive fashion. On a J-J-7-5 board Williams attempted an audacious all-in bluff holding only 3-6 for a gutshot straight draw – he was quickly called by de Mel who held J-8 for trips. The river was a harmless Q to gift de Mel his first major title.

The GUKPT had to be happy with the 287 player turnout at this leg after a number of slightly worrying fields earlier in the season. The previous two events in Thanet and Cardiff drew only 132 and 120 players respectively but the Blackpool event has been an excellent return to form.
With the exciting new PokerStars UK And Ireland Poker Tour announced for 2010 British poker looks set to go from strength to strength.

Next up for the GUKPT is the much-anticipated Grand Final, held every year at the Vic casino in London. The £3,000 main event gets started on November 26th.