Sober as a Judge: Dan Charlton is the WSOPC UK Main Event Champion
Dan Charlton, known for his "judgedredd13" online alias, was a self-proclaimed party animal; was being the operative word. Six months ago, Charlton gave up the booze and rock and roll lifestyle, and he is already reaping the rewards. Charlton will forever be known as the 2024 World Series of Poker International Circuit UK Main Event champion.
Charlton has enjoyed some deep runs of late, finishing 12th in the £550 GUKPT Cup at GUKPT Manchester, 13th in the £1,250 GUKPT Blackpool Main Event, and fourth in the £250 GUKPT Blackpool Mini Main. Charlton got the job done in his latest event, outlasting 461 opponents in the £1,100 WSOPC UK Main Event at Dusk Till Dawn, a finish worth £73,295 plus a coveted gold WSOP Circuit ring.
£1,100 WSOPC Main Event Final Table Results
| Rank | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dan Charlton | £73,295* |
| 2 | Arian Hassankahani | £71,820* |
| 3 | Paul Allen | £57,385* |
| 4 | Anonymous | £30,500 |
| 5 | Charles Chatta | £22,500 |
| 6 | Yannick Seabrook | £17,500 |
| 7 | Mark Hayes | £12,500 |
| 8 | Patrice Brandt | £10,000 |
| 9 | George Constantin | £7,500 |
*reflects a three-way deal
The final day's play began with 12 players in the hunt for the title. Charlton lost all but a single 25,000 chip with 12 players remaining and looked dead and buried. However, with a little luck, he began rebuilding his stack and found himself at the nine-handed final table following the eliminations of Dhruv Doshi, an anonymous player, and final table bubble boy Michael Burnett.
George Constantin was the first finalist to bow out, his ninth-place finish coming with a career-best score worth £7,500. The remaining eight players had locked up five-figure prizes.
Patrice Brandt fell in eighth for £10,000. Brandt found himself all-in preflop for 22 big blinds with pocket kings against the ace-king of Charlton. The ace of spades was the door card, and it proved enough to bust Brandt and send Charlton's stack skyward.
Seventh place and £12,500 went to Mark Hayes. A short-stacked Yannick Seabrook jammed for six big blinds from under the gun with king-jack of clubs, and Mark Hayes called all-in from the small blind for a shade over one big blind with ace-seven of clubs. A jack on the flop proved enough to send Hayes to the cashier's desk.
The final six became five when Seabrook fell by the wayside. According to the Hendon Mob Database, this was Seabrook's first live score, one weighing in at £17,500. Seabrook's last action was to get his last four-and-a-half big blinds into the middle from the big blind with ace-king. That Big Slick was up against the black pocket jacks of Paul Allen, and those jacks held to reduce the player count by one.
The dangerous Chaz Chattha crashed out in fifth place in a cooler spot. Charlton min-raised to 240,000 in the cutoff with pocket eights, Chattha woke up on the button with pocket tens and ripped in his 16 big blinds. Unfortunately for Chattha, Allen was sat in the small blind with pocket queens. Allen called, Charlton ducked out of the way, and an ace-high board ended Chattha's tournament; he banked £22,500 for his efforts.
Fourth place went to a player wishing to remain anonymous; Mr. Anonymous is now £30,500 richer than a few days ago. Anon's participation in the WSOPC UK Main Event ended at the hands of Arian Hassankahani. Anon had resorted to open-shoving when entering pots, and did so again for 25 big blinds with ace-queen of clubs in the small blind. Hassankahani called with pocket nines, and won the coinflip to leave only a trio of grinders in the mix to become the tournament's champion.
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The final three players struck a deal that left £9,700, the WSOPC ring, and Tournament of Champions entry for the eventual winner.
The £1,100 Main Event progressed to heads-up when Allen bowed out in third at the hands of Charlton. Allen was all-in for 6.5 big blinds with queen-jack of spades, and Charlton looked him up with the dominating ace-jack. Charlton's ace-kicker played, and Allen was out in third for £57,385.
Charlton held a two-to-one chip lead over Hassankahani and it proved too much of a gap to bridge. The final hand took place during the 125,000/250,000 level, and saw Charlton open to 500,000 with queen-three of diamonds Hassankahani called with ace-seven with the ace of diamonds. A four-three-queen flop gave Charlton top and bottom pair. Hassankahani check-called a 400,000 continuation bet, leading to the seven of diamonds on the turn. Hassankahani check-called another bet, this time 875,000.
The river was the king of diamonds, improving Charlton to a flush. Hassakahani checked for a third time, and Charlton moved all-in for 5.2 million effective. Hassankahani went into the tank before emerging with a call, only to discover his pair of sevens were no good. Hassankahani busted in second for £71,820, and Macclesfield Town's biggest fan, Charlton, captured the title, the WSOPC ring, entry to the WSOP Tournament of Champions, and a £73,295 score.
