UK Spotlight: Who Are The UK’s Best Poker Players?
Whatever the game or sport, people want to know who the best in that field is. In football, soccer to our American cousins, the debate on who is better, Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi has been running for what seems like forever, for example; it’s Messi in case you were wondering.
Poker is a game where it is difficult to label someone as the best player. By its very nature, the game of poker makes it almost impossible to classify someone as being the best because of the element of luck playing a major role.
That said, ranking sites such as the Global Poker Index and PocketFives do a sterling job of making the best out of a bad situation, and those are the two systems that the UK & Ireland PokerNews site uses on a weekly basis to compile the current top 20 live and online poker players.
Online Poker Rankings from PocketFives
| UK Rank | Player | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Conor “1_conor_b_1” Beresford | 7565.17 |
| 2 | Phil “philroyal888” Mighall | 6629.71 |
| 3 | Jamie “EzGame89” O’Connor | 6186.23 |
| 4 | Chris “moorman1” Moorman | 5915.32 |
| 5 | Oscar “MendaLerenda” Serradell | 5619.56 |
| 6 | Matas “bebaimis777” Cimbolas | 5308.92 |
| 7 | Rick “TheClaimer” Trigg | 5035.99 |
| 8 | Owain “sngwonder” Carey | 5017.98 |
| 9 | “FouEnculePL” | 5006.42 |
| 10 | Sam “The Squid” Grafton | 4844.79 |
| 11 | Paul “Fold Machiii” Dando | 4813.13 |
| 12 | Stephen “woody1234321” Woodhead | 4726.05 |
| 13 | Vicent “vicenfish” Delgado | 4633.12 |
| 14 | Daniel “lucky_scrote” Carter | 4568.29 |
| 15 | Joel “Crackdel29” Visa Jordana | 4553.59 |
| 16 | Lucas “Show3rs4u” Blanco | 4428.25 |
| 17 | Sergio “trujustrus” Cabrera | 4362.87 |
| 18 | Rhys “floppinhel” Jones | 4307.46 |
| 19 | Andy “andyh26” Holman | 4263.70 |
| 20 | “luckyfish89” | 4243.52 |
The first thing you may notice about the top 20 UK online poker players is there are several names who are not British. In fact, at least eight of them are foreign nationals who now call the UK home. The majority of those players moved to these shores to continue their online careers, having previously lived in countries where online poker is either unavailable, or heavily regulated.
For example, currently occupying fifth place is Oscar “MendaLerenda” Serradell of Spain, but who resides in Bristol. He’s joined in the UK top 20 by fellow countrymen Vicent “vicenfish” Delgado, Joel “CrackdeI29” Jordana, Lucas “Show3rs4u” Blanco, and Sergio “trujustrus” Cabrera.
Current UK number one, Conor “1_conor_b_1” Beresford also happens to be ranked second in the world for online poker tournaments. Should he secure top spot, he’ll join the likes of Chris Moorman, Christopher Brammer, and Patrick Leonard as British players who have been ranked number one in the world.
Live Poker Rankings from GPI
| UK Rank | World Rank | Player | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 14 | Stephen Chidwick | 3683.19 |
| 2 | 15 | Jack Salter | 3645.56 |
| 3 | 34 | Niall Farrell | 3194.70 |
| 4 | 44 | Max Silver | 3059.80 |
| 5 | 69 | Kuljinder Sidhu | 2723.63 |
| 6 | 73 | Simon Deadman | 2712.98 |
| 7 | 94 | Charlie Carrel | 2564.75 |
| 8 | 119 | Ben Heath | 2380.32 |
| 9 | 124 | Liv Boeree | 2367.80 |
| 10 | 125 | Ludovic Geilich | 2362.34 |
| 11 | 142 | Senh Man Ung | 2290.64 |
| 12 | 158 | Oliver Price | 2195.88 |
| 13 | 163 | Iaron Lightbourne | 2179.05 |
| 14 | 195 | Craig McCorkell | 2079.92 |
| 15 | 205 | David Vamplew | 2045.94 |
| 16 | 233 | Alex Goulder | 1983.51 |
| 17 | 242 | Scott Margereson | 1957.07 |
| 18 | 251 | Ben Dobson | 1945.31 |
| 19 | 258 | Keith Johnson | 1935.09 |
| 20 | 273 | Tom Middleton | 1918.68 |
The Global Poker Index is the go-to page for all poker rankings, and it is here that you find Stephen Chidwick occupying first place, albeit by the narrowest of margins from Jack Salter. Chidwick is regarded as one of the best all-round poker players in the world, not only the UK, thanks to his ability to play almost all poker variants, and until recently, Chidwick was the only UK player to reside in the top 10 in the worldwide GPI rankings.
Who do you consider to be the best British poker player, and why? Let us know in the comments box below.
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