Whereas the buy-in for the Grosvenor Poker Goliath could also be a humble £200, it is arguably the centrepiece of the UK’s poker scene. Every year, gamers from everywhere in the UK and the world journey to Coventry, England, for one of many best-value tournaments round.
Regardless of a £50 improve on the buy-in, a record-breaking subject of 11,749 entries created a £1,879,840 prize pool, making this 12 months’s instalment the largest Goliath ever. It was the third successive 12 months that the entry file was shattered, highlighting the continued progress of British poker.
Will Watkins, whom his buddies contemplate one of many ‘finest pub poker gamers,’ swapped his traditional beer-drenched felts for the brilliant lights of Grosvenor On line casino, Coventry, the place he went the gap to be topped champion.
Watkins withstood Gilbert Black’s heads-up comeback to say the winner’s spoils, whereas Steven Ricketts took third place.
2024 Grosvenor Poker Goliath Remaining Desk Outcomes
*signifies nine-way ICM deal
Justin Tsui Banks £100K and the GUKPT Principal Occasion Title in Coventry
Remaining Day Motion
Day 3 began with 36 gamers, and after barely greater than 5 hours of play, the Goliath reached its closing desk bubble. The elimination came about on the outer desk, with Zhivko Zhikov all-in and in danger with Massive Slick. Zhikov was flipping in opposition to Black’s pocket nines and failed to attach on the runout to arrange the finale.
As soon as the gamers convened across the nine-handed closing desk, intensive deal negotiations came about. After a number of minutes, the ultimate tablists agreed on a nine-handed ICM chop and would then play for the title and trophy. Chip leaders Black, Watkins and Ricketts all took six-figure payouts, whereas the rest of the sector locked up prizes between £55,580 and £91,655.
Center stack James Brown was lowered to fumes after his ace-king whiffed the board in a three-way all-in that noticed Ben Miller triple up whereas Alexandru Abalasei took the aspect pot. On the next hand, Brown was compelled all in with nine-three from the massive blind and was despatched after Rickett’s ace-ten.
Ricketts bagged one other knockout, sending Lance Connolly to the rail in eighth place. Watkins then sprung into life, notching his first closing desk casualty. The eventual champion’s ace-king had Abalasei’s ace-deuce dominated and introduced the event to six-handed play.
James Hearty, a Grosvenor Poker on-line qualifier, booked his spot on the desk for simply £5. His deep run yielded a $91,655 windfall after he fell in sixth. Reece Ling and the aforementioned Miller exited in fifth and fourth place. It was fairly the week for Miller, whose £55,580 prize was additionally topped up by £40,000 from his displaying within the Thriller Bounty occasion.
With three nonetheless in rivalry for the title, Watkins was the runaway chief, and he grew to become the larger favorite when he noticed off Ricketts. The latter picked up ace-queen however bumped into ace-king and couldn’t discover the three-outer to maintain his Goliath hopes alive.
Watkins entered heads-up with greater than a 5:1 chip lead, however Black did not make it simple, scoring two double-ups to attract stacks near even. The ultimate hand of the Goliath noticed Watkins decide up A♣Ok♣. Black defended with Q♦9♣ and made two pair on the Q♠J♣9♠ flop, whereas Watkins had a Broadway draw. Black check-raised and was referred to as, bringing the A♠ in on the flip. The chips piled in with Black barely lined. The J♠ peeled off on the river, giving Watkins a greater two pair to seal the victory.
“I am a bit misplaced for phrases, actually,” stated a shocked Watkins to the Grosvenor Poker media group after the win. “It is a life-changing sum of money for a £200 buy-in. There’s nothing else prefer it.”
Editor & Reside Reporter
