British player Andrew Hills was crowned champion at the 2017 GUKPT No-Limit Hold’em Main Event collecting a prize of £46,987. The event was held at the Grosvenor Casino, located at Bury New Road, and attracted a field of 268 entries that contributed to the massive prize pool.
The event’s final day saw as many as 20 players competing for a first-place prize of £75,550. Several hours later, 11 players busted and only 9 survivors made it to the final table. Ben Jackson was the player with the shortest stack and was the first to go as he could not hold against Justin Devonport’s [Ad][Kc]. Jackson’s short stint at the final table earned him a prize of £5,400.
The next one to bust was Liam Hooks, who found himself fighting a losing battle against opponent Endrit Geci. Hooks was all in with a pair of tens only to lose against Geci’s pair of kings, settling for the eight place and a prize of £6,400.
Shortly after, Dan Charlton followed in Hook’s footsteps with pocket tens against Mark Dyson’s pocket fives. Dyson found himself holding another five on the turn, leaving Charlton no other option but to settle for the seven-place prize of £8,050.
Justin Devonport finished sixth despite having the biggest support on the rail. His [Kd][Qd] was no match for the tens of opponent Mark Dyson. The sixth place earned Devonport a cheque for £10,200 which is his first cash-in from a GUKPT Manchester Main Event despite having participated a total of ten times. Shortly after, Mark Bamber dropped out from the game and the final table was down to four survivors and over £175,000 remaining from the prize pool.
At this point, the tournament was paused for a brief period and the four finalists agreed on a four-way deal. Geci busted in fourth place, followed by Mark Dyson, who found himself powerless against the hands of Tuan Le. Andrew Hills and Le commenced a head-to-head battle for the champion title. The clash did not last for long and after several all-in bets, the board read [4s][8d][Jd][6d][7s]. Hills then crushed Tuan Le’s queen high after turning [Qd][10d] for a flush. Le mucked [Qs][10h] only to finish in second place, leaving the 2017 GUKPT Manchester Main Event’s champion title to Hills.
So far, this has been a good year for Andrew Hills as the player has four final table appearances and one outright victory. Hills secured his first major live title and his biggest live score to date with his last win.
- Author
Harry Evans
