Rapinder Cheema Wins UKIPT5 London Main Event for £78,825 ($119,211)
Coming into the PokerStars sponsored United Kingdom and Ireland Poker Tour (UKIPT) 5 London Main Event, England's Rapinder Cheema had just one career score on his Hendon Mob page, a fourth-place finish in the 2012 Christmas Cracker in Luton for a modest £320 ($513).
On Jan. 25, Cheema added some zeroes to his career live tournament cash total thanks to a victory in the UKIPT5 London Main Event following a two-way chop for £78,825 ($119,211).
The final day of play saw the 726-player field whittled down to just eight players, including last year's winner Brett Angell. Early in the day, Angell's dreams of winning back to back titles were dashed when he shoved his short-stack with Q♠8♣ from the button and didn't improve against Cheema, who called with A♥10♣ from the small blind. Although Angell was unable to get another title, his seventh-place finish awarded him £13,300 ($20,114).
After many more hours of play, the two chip leaders entering the final table, Fernando Marin and Rapinder Cheema, found themselves playing heads-up and agreed to chopping up the remaining prize pool.
After a long battle for the prize pool money left after the chop as well as the honor of being declared the UKIPT5 London Main Event champion, Cheema felted Marin when his A♦2♦ bested Marin's A♠7♦ on a 9♣8♦2♠3♦K♣ board. Thanks to the chop the duo agreed on before they faced each other in heads-up play, Marin took home £74,275 ($112,330) for his runner-up finish.
UKIPT5 London Main Event Results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rapinder Cheema | £78,825* |
| 2 | Fernando Marin | £74,275* |
| 3 | Martin Hanham | £41,000 |
| 4 | Lawrence Bayley | £31,000 |
| 5 | Christopher Yong | £24,600 |
| 6 | Paul Simmons | £18,600 |
| 7 | Brett Angell | £13,300 |
| 8 | Joakim Sorensen | £9,138 |
*Reflects heads-up deal
GUKPT Returns to London
As the UKIPT5 London Main Event came to a close, the 2015 Grosvenor UK Poker Tour (GUKPT) kicked off its ninth season on Monday in the UK capital with a reasonable £100 + £10 buy-in event at The Poker Room, formerly known as the Vic.
The GUKPT London series runs from Jan. 26 to Feb. 1 featuring a £1,000+£90 buy-in four-day Main Event with a healthy £200,000 guaranteed prize pool. The two opening days for the tournament are on Jan. 29 and Jan. 30 with action resuming on Jan. 31 before a winner is declared on Feb. 1.
There are plenty of live satellites taking place at The Poker Room between now and the start of day 1b on Jan. 30 for anyone looking to get into the Main Event without paying the full buy-in. To add to the excitement this series also includes many lower buy-in events, providing something for just about every poker player looking for serious action.
2015 GUKPT London Schedule
| Date | Time | Tournament |
|---|---|---|
| Jan. 26 | 7:30 pm | £100+£10 No Limit Hold'em |
| Jan. 27 | 7:30 pm | £300+£30 No Limit Hold'em |
| Jan. 28 | 7:30 pm | £200+£20 No Limit Hold'em 6-Max |
| Jan. 29 | 1:00 pm | £1,000+£90 Main Event Day 1a |
| Jan. 29 | 6:00 pm | £150+£15 Omaha 4/5/6 |
| Jan. 30 | 1:00 pm | £1,000+£90 Main Event Day 1b |
| Jan. 30 | 7:30 pm | £150+£15 No Limit Hold'em Bounty |
| Jan. 31 | 1:00 pm | Main Event Day 2 |
| Jan. 31 | 6:00 pm | £200+£20 No Limit Hold'em |
| Feb. 1 | 1:00 pm | Main Event Final Day |
| Feb. 1 | 4:00 pm | £100+£10 No Limit Hold'em |
Lead image courtesy of Mickey May and the PokerStars blog.
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