Tuan Le Wins PokerStars Open Manchester Main Event
Table Of Contents
After four starting flights and three further days of action, Tuan Le of the United Kingdom has emerged as the outright winner of the PokerStars Open Manchester £1,100 Main Event, which ran at the The Manchester Deansgate Hotel.
Le topped a field of 927 entries on his journey to becoming champion, eventually overcoming Christopher Brammer after the pair made a deal heads-up. Le walked away with a total of £149,200 from the £1,000,000 prize pool, as well as the coveted PokerStars trophy.
Le came into the heads-up match with the chip lead before Brammer pulled it back. Once the chips were close to even, Brammer proposed an equal split, leaving £15,000 and the trophy. There was no resistance from Le, who agreed to the deal without any qualms.
Although this took the financial edge off the heads-up match, both players were still very much serious about getting their hands on the trophy. The battle went back and forth for more than two hours, the intensity momentarily interrupted by an emergency alarm that forced an evacuation of the building. Brammer and Le casually finished the hand they were in before taking a hiatus until the building was cleared.
When they returned, Brammer took and lost the lead twice more before Le delivered the final blow to win the tournament and the top prize. Brammer earned almost as much following the deal, taking £134,200 for second, but the trophy belonged to Le.
PSO Manchester £1,100 Main Event Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tuan Le | United Kingdom | £149,200* |
| 2 | Christopher Brammer | United Kingdom | £134,200* |
| 3 | Hasmukh Khodiyara | United Kingdom | £77,860 |
| 4 | Adam Andersson | Sweden | £59,890 |
| 5 | Mohamed Kerkeni | France | £46,070 |
| 6 | Sinead Davenport | United Kingdom | £35,440 |
| 7 | Iulian-Petrut Petrache | Romania | £27,260 |
| 8 | Ravi Sheth | United Kingdom | £20,970 |
| 9 | John Adderley | United Kingdom | £16,130 |
*Denotes heads-up deal
Winner's Reaction
Le isn't a professional player, but he certainly holds his own. This is his second PokerStars shard trophy after he won the 2023 UKIPT Blackpool Main Event and, as it was back then, Le looked completely comfortable on the final table and during the heads-up match with prolific pro Brammer.
"I enjoy being here, so I slept fine (last night)," says Le. "It's my time to relax, so I can get away from the wife and kids."
"It was tough playing against a pro," said Le. "I've got four kids, so I've got no time. I'm not technically good, I can't think numbers. These guys talk about how many big blinds have you got — I've got no idea! The hijack, stuff like that, I just don't know where that is," continued Le to the amusement of his friends on the rail.
Speaking on the alarm drama, Le said, "I was in a hand, I was about to bluff and the fire alarm went off. So I was deciding whether to bluff now or when we get back. I applied a bit of pressure with a bluff."
On what the money and trophy mean to him, Le said, "I'm going to pay off my debts, take this trophy home to the missus and tell her I'm going pro."
For the record, he was joking. Le's missus is not keen on him playing poker, which he describes as his "vice". Still, he plans to play bigger events across the United Kingdom following the win.
Tournament Recap
Of the 927 entries, 381 players returned for Day 2 looking to make the money. At that stage, Le was already inside the top ten counts. The bubble burst when Alex Todd ran his kings into aces, and the remaining 135 players were ITM.
By the end of Day 2, 49 players were left standing, including chip leader Ravi Sheth, who eventually made the final table and crashed out in eighth place, as well as PokerStars ambassador Kenny Hallaert, who fell in 24th place on Day 3.
At the start of Day 3, Le and Brammer were both top ten contenders, showing just how consistent the pair played and ran throughout the tournament. Play continued and the final table was formed whenn Hamza Nasir fell in tenth place.
First to go on the final table, was John Adderley, followed by Sheth and then Iulian-Petrut Petrache, who was the last to be eliminated to bring Day 3 to a close and set the final six.
When the finalists returned, Brammer and Le were very close at the top of the counts and held nearly two-thirds of the chips in play.
Sinead Davenport returned as the short stack with just 10 big blinds and was eliminated in sixth place when Brammer spiked a pair on the river.
Next to go was Mohamed Kerkeni, out in fifth place to Le after a valiant effort spinning up his stack. Le claimed another victim moments later when he knocked out Adam Andersson in fourth place.
Hasmukh Khodiyara was the only short stack left standing, but he soon bust out in third place to Brammer, setting the heads-up match that would eventually lead to Le's victory.
