Keith Johnson Spoils the Charlie Waters Party in the GUKPT Luton Main Event
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The wait for the first female Grosvenor UK Poker Tour (GUKPT) Main Event champion continues after Keith Johnson denied Charlie Waters in the £1,250 GUKPT Luton Main Event. Every GUKPT Main Event champion since the inaugural GUKPT Bolton stop in January 2007 has been male. Several ladies have come close to writing themselves into the tour's history books, but none have managed to lift the coveted winner's trophy.
Waters is the latest female poker player to finish in the bridesmaid position after Johnson spoiled the party at the Grosvenor G Casino on Park Street West over the weekend.
2025 GUKPT Luton Main Event Final Table Results
| Rank | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Keith Johnson | £56,890 |
| 2 | Charlie Waters | £38,250 |
| 3 | Jonathan Schuman | £25,530 |
| 4 | Harry Sandford | £17,120 |
| 5 | Mark Wagstaff | £11,840 |
| 6 | Horatiu Cont | £8,720 |
| 7 | John Bousfield | £6,920 |
| 8 | Daniel Rudd | £5,830 |
| 9 | Jack Benson | £5,120 |
The GUKPT Luton Main Event drew in 231 entrants who created a £240,140 prize pool that the top 29 finishers shared. A min-cashed weighed in at £2,710, with that prize increasing to £5,120 by the final table; the champion would clinch a £56,890 score.
Jack Benson was the first of the nine finalists to find himself void of chips. Benson shoved on the turn with second pair only to discover Jonathan Schuman had turned two pair with his king-five. A brick on the river and Benson, the £2,000 GUKPT London High Roller fourth-place finisher, was gone.
Eighth place and £5,820 went to Daniel Rudd, who lost a crucial coinflip for his tournament life. Down to only seven big blinds, Rudd pinned his hopes on a pair of threes, and Johnson called with ace-five. An ace on the flop left Rudd chasing two outs, which never arrived.
GUKPT regular John Bousfield was the next player to fall by the wayside. Bousfiueld committed his last eight big blinds with pocket eights and was flipping against Mark Wagstaff's ace-king. A king on the flop was enough to melt Bousfield's snowmen, and the GUKPT Luton Main Event was down to only six hopefuls.
Those six became five when Horatiu Cont bowed out. Cont only had £735 in live tournament earnings before this event, but now boasts a score worth £8,720. Cont was second in chips at the start of six-handed play, but crashed out when he ran the second nut straight into the stone cold nuts of Waters. Cont exited in sixth while waters soared to the top of the chip counts.
The surviving five players locked in a five-figure score, and Wagstaff was the first of them to collect such a sum. Wagstaff got his chips in with a combo draw on the turn only to see Johnson snap-call, having turned a straight. No drama on the river meant Wagstaff was the fifth-place finisher, his best result in a GUKPT Main Event, and the recipient of £11,840.
Harry Sandford continued his impressive run of form with a fourth-place finish. Having won the £560 888poker UKPL Edinburgh Main Event for £23,960 in June and then the £340 GUKPT London Mini Main Event for £46,060 in July, Sandford busted fourth here for £17,120. His final action in this tournament was to get his last 17 big blinds into the middle with pocket sixes, which ran into the ace-queen in Johnson's hand. An ace on the flop ended Sandford's latest deep run.
The 2016 UKIPT Marbella champion, Jonathan Schuman, crashed out in third for £25,530, sending the GUKPT Luton Main Event into the heads-up stage. Schuman took the high-variance line of three-betting with ace-ten then calling off 30 big blinds against Waters, who revealed the dominating ace-king. Waters' Big Slick held, and Schuman was gone.
Johnson went into heads-up holding a 66 to 50 big blind lead over Waters. An epic one-on-one battle ensued, one spanning almost two hours, with the chip lead exchanging hands several times.
The final hand took place during the 40,000/80,000/80,000 level, the 213th hand of the final table. Johnson woke up with pocket jacks on the button, and he min-raised to 160,000. Waters, holding ace-five of clubs, three-bet all-in for 2,135,000, and Johnson called. Johnson flopped a set, leaving Waters with just a 3% chance of staying in the event. A five on the turn improved Water,s but left her drawing dead at the same time. An inconsequential six on the river busted Waters in second place, a finish worth £38,250, leaving Johnson to capture the title and a £56,890 top prize.
2025 GUKPT Luton Results
Michael Rosaman finished third in the £250 GUKPT Luton Mini Main Event in April 2025, but went two places deeper in the latest instalment. Rosaman added another trophy to his cabinet, plus £31,730 to his bankroll.
There was also a career-best live score for Adam "IT5PAYDAY" Neal, courtesy of the popular grinder taking down the £1,650 High Roller. Neal walked away with £31,470 for this victory.
| Event | Entrants | Prize Pool | Champion | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £250 Mini Main | 765 | £158,630 | Michael Rosaman | £31,730 |
| £1,650 High Roller | 62 | £95,350 | Adam Neal | £31,470 |
| £300 Opener | 423 | £103,230 | Freddie Bogie | £17,684 |
| £550 GUKPT Cup | 118 | £56,040 | Robert Douras | £13,280 |
| £250 PLO | 107 | £22,360 | Matthew Cartwright | £5,300 |
| £200 Closer | 77 | £13,160 | Caraalos Preciado | £3,330 |
| £200 Turbo | 32 | £5,470 | W.T. | £2,740 |
| £330 PLO Bounty | 37 | £5,270 | Luke Tatum | £2,640 |
| £150 Seniors | 80 | £10,090 | Joanne Cox | £2,215 |
GUKPT Edinburgh Begins October 9
GUKPT regulars have some time to rest and recuperate before the seventh leg of the 2025 tour. The long-running tour heads north of the border to bonny Scotland, Edinburgh to be exact, from October 9-19.
The equivalent stop ran in April in 2024. Among its many results was a victory in the £1,250 GUKPT Edinburgh Main Event for Paul Mcaulay, who outlasted 183 opponents to clinch a £34,810 prize and the title of champion.
Head online to Grosvenor Poker if you want to win your way into the 2025 edition of the GUKPT Edinburgh Main Event for mere pennies.
