Grosvenor Poker Ambassador Ludovic Geilich is Loving Life on the GUKPT
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At the beginning of the year, Ludovic Geilich was unveiled as the latest ambassador to join Grosvenor Poker and the popular Scottish grinder has kicked off the new partnership in fine fashion after taking down the £1,100 GUKPT Blackpool Main Event over the weekend for £56,150.
The triumph marks Geilich's second major title on the tour and also follows his recent High Roller victory at 888poker LIVE Coventry, all coming within the last ten months.
On his successful string of results, Geilich put it down to building momentum as the event plays out; he said, "I think when you start to get a stack going and your confidence builds, that helps a lot, and you just turn the focus switch on full max. [Also] I just start drinking a lot of coffee, which helps me stay alert and sharp!"
Geilich also spoke highly of his new ambassadorial role and why the GUKPT is such a staple of the British poker scene.
"It's good to be on board with Grosvenor; the sponsorship is great! Everyone who follows the tour is very close-knit and we all chat away like one big family. The banter is class, and everyone just gets along very well, which is great to see."
£1,100 GUKPT Blackpool Main Event Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ludovic Geilich | United Kingdom | £56,150 |
| 2 | Callum Gordon | United Kingdom | £42,080 |
| 3 | Andrew Hulme | United Kingdom | £29,500 |
| 4 | Keith Johnson | United Kingdom | £19,620 |
| 5 | Kevin Houghton | United Kingdom | £13,870 |
| 6 | Peter Visnyovszki | United Kingsom | £10,380 |
| 7 | Paul Rigg | United Kingdom | £8,380 |
| 8 | Matthew Davenport | United Kingdom | £7,120 |
| 9 | Michael Clarke | United Kingdom | £6,250 |
Scotland's Ludovic Geilich Takes Down GUKPT Edinburgh Main Event
Final Table Action
The Main Event attracted 207 entries, and the top 25 players made the money, each getting a slice of the £250,000 prize pool. Notable names to make the money included GUKPT Main Event winner Timothy Chung, Chris Maguire, £1,500 High Roller champ Endrit Geci, and the 'Mad Turk' Yucel Eminoglu.
Glen Gaines was the unlucky participant to miss out on the final table, bowing out in tenth place after his big slick was outflopped by the queen-ten held by Keith Johnson, which turned into a rivered full house.
Geilich secured the first final table casualty, ousting Michael Clarke. The latter picked up ace-jack in the small blind and moved all-in only to be snap-called by the eventual champion, who woke up with pocket aces. A jack on the flop provided some hope for the at-risk player but found no help on the turn or river.
Grosvenor pro Matthew Davenport was next to depart after his ace-king could not leapfrog Callum Gordon's pocket queens in a crucial 57.5 big blind pot. Geilich looked down at ace-king soon after and stacked Paul Rigg after he jammed preflop with a dominated ace. Ace-king continued to appear in players' hole cards. This time, it was Andrew Hulme who was gifted with the premium hand, and he put it to good use and saw off Peter Visnyovszki, who three-bet shoved his last nine big blinds with queen-nine.
Gordon won another flip to stay among the upper echelons of the chip counts. His pocket tens remained best against Kevin Houghton's ace-jack. Gordon continued his hot form and eliminated Keith Johnson following another all-in preflop confrontation. Johnson was more than happy to rip in his 16 big blind stack with ace-queen, but Gordon had the ladies once again and continued to avoid his opponent's overcards.
Heads-up was determined after another coin toss. Hulme had his chips in the middle with sevens, but an ace on the turn saw Geilich and his ace-jack make top pair.
Geilich had the chip lead ahead of the final showdown with a stack of 125 big blinds. Gordon was also deep, with 75 of his own.
Neither play gave up too much ground during heads-up, but a river bluff from Gordon handed Geilich the victory. With the blinds at 15,000/30,000, Gordon opened to 60,000 with 5♥5♦, and Geilich defended with K♣9♠.
The 8♥7♦6♥ flop kept Gordon ahead, while Geilich had an open-ended straight draw to go along with his higher pair outs. Gordon check-called for 45,000, which brought in the 3♠ turn. Geilich continued for 185,000 and was called.
The river was the 10♥, giving Geilich the straight. He fired out a third barrel of 185,000 before Gordon moved in for 950,000. Geilich thought over his options for around a minute before making the tournament-winning call.
Ludovic Geilich Joins Team Grosvenor in Time for the Inaugural UK Poker League Event
GUKPT Blackpool Side Event Results
| Event | Entries | Prizepool | Winner | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £220 Mini Main Event | 379 | £75,040 | Peter Flynn | £14,610 |
| £225 PLO | 59 | £12,735 | Christopher Paraskeva | £2,609 |
| £1,500 High Roller | 43 | £61,920 | Endrit Geci | £22,960 |
| £180 Turbo | 103 | £17,800 | Calogero Morreale | £4,330 |
| £500 GUKPT Cup | 58 | £27,840 | Keith Littlewood | £7,520 |
| £130 Seniors | 113 | £14,390 | Paul Garg | £2,877 |
| £300 PLO 4/5/6 Bounty | 19 | £2,736 | Mohammed Bhatti | £1,380 |
| £180 Closer | 57 | £9,850 | Ben Lambert | £2,305 |
Calum has been a part of the PokerNews team since September 2021 after working in the UK energy sector. He played his first hand of poker in 2017 and immediately fell in love with the game. Calum's proudest poker achievement is winning the only tournament he has ever played in Las Vegas, the prestigious $60 Flamingo evening event.
