Sergio Aido Wins 2013 UKIPT London Main Event for £144,555

March 11, 2013

Pamela Maldonado

Spaniard Sergio Aido won the UKIPT Season 3 London Main Event on Sunday, collecting £144,555 after aggressively playing the final table.

Having won the World Poker Tour National Series in Barcelona last October, Aido had some experience in pursuing the top prize at a final table. He started the final table sixth in chips but used his skill and know-how to spring himself to his first UKIPT title.

Aido’s aggression set the tone early on after Philippe Souki opened to 80,000 in the cutoff (blinds 20,000/40,000). Aido three-bet to 175,000 on the button and Souki called to see a king-high flop. Aido fired a continuation bet worth 180,000, and that was enough to take the pot.

A short time later, Aido was in another large pot to double his stack after his A♦K♦ held against Chris Downling’s 10♦10♥, leaving the Irishman severely short-stacked. Dowling got the last of his chips in from under the gun with Q♦7♦ resulting in a call from Patrick Simcoe from the big bling holding K♥9♣. The board ran A♠9♠5♥10♣8♣ to eliminate Dowling in eighth. In the very next hand, Simcoe busted Cesar Garcia when his K♠K♦ held against J♣J♥, boosting his stack to 5,700,000.

It soon became the Aido show as he busted Guy Goossens in sixth place when his 5♠3♠ bested Goossens' pocket twos. Aido then eliminated Wim Neys, who three-bet shoved for 1,475,000 with A♠9♦. Aido called with 7♦7♥ and collected Ney’s chips after the cards fell Q♠8♦J♥Q♣5♠. Neys earned £33,680 for fifth place.

With the blinds at 50,000/100,000/10,000, Philippe Souki was the shortest stack among the final four players. He attempted to gain some momentum after he three-bet shoved his remaining stack with 10♦9♦ and was called by Thomas Ward who flipped over 7♣7♥. Ward’s pocket sevens held up, sending Souki home with a fourth-place finish.

With three players left fending for the title, the aggression intensified when Simcoe attempted a creative play post-flop. Simcoe raised on the button with A♦3♦ and Aido called from the big blind with K♣10♦ to see a flop of K♥3♥5♦. Aido checked and Simcoe pushed his chips to the middle, which resulted in a call from Aido. The turn Q♥ turn and the 2♣ river brought no help to Simcoe, and he busted in third place.

Aido held a nearly 2-to-1 chip lead over Ward going into heads-up play. A major moment came when Ward put in a five-bet preflop with K♣Q♣ to put the Spaniard all in. Aido called with A♦J♥ and won the massive pot with only ace-high. Ward was all-in on the very next hand and fell short for a second straight time. Aido five-bet with A♠J♠ and Ward called with 10♦10♠, putting his tournament life at risk. The A♥ on the flop kept Aido in the lead and his victory was sealed when the A♣ was dealt on the river.

After a deal was made before heads-up action began, Aido was awarded a grand prize of £144,555, while Ward collected £116,845 for second place. Aido was also awarded the opportunity to compete in the UKIPT Champions of Champions tournament, which started early on Monday, for a chance to win a package to next season’s UKIPT Main Events.

UKIPT London Main Event Final Table Results

Place	Player	Prize
1	Sergio Aido	£144,555*
2	Thomas Ward	£116,845*
3	Patrik Simcoe	£63,560
4	Philippe Souki	£44,870
5	Wim Neys	£33,680
6	Guy Goossens	£22,490
7	Cesar Garcia	£15,050
8	Chris Dowling	£12,691