Yifei Dong Takes Down the Grosvenor Behemoth For Career-Best £51,229
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Every poker player dreams of finishing a year on a high note, and Yifei Dong has certainly done that. Dong came out on top of a bumper crowd of 1,355 entrants in the £300 Grosvenor Behemoth in Coventry, a result worth a career-best £51,229 of the £334,680 prize pool.
According to The Hendon Mob Database, Dong only had a pair of live poker tournament cashes to his name before this impressive victory. He finished fourth in a $230 buy-in tournament at Aria Las Vegas in March 2017, and a 38th-place finish in the £250 No-Limit Hold'em Mini Main at the 2023 Grosvenor UK Poker Tour (GUKPT) Edinburgh festival. The prize money from those events totaled $1,825.
The top 169 finishers enjoyed a return on their investment. Team Grosvenor's Katie Swift, Lorenc Boci, Keith Littlewood, Alex Montgomery, Thomas Clack, Robert Douras, Michael Rosaman, and Jay Harwood were among the in-the-money finishers, the latter being better known for his commentary duties with Phil "The Tower" Heald during GUKPT events.
£300 Behemoth Main Event Final Table Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yifei Dong | 6,430,000 | 54 |
| 2 | Ben Liu | 6,330,000 | 53 |
| 3 | Mark Wagstaff | 5,530,000 | 46 |
| 4 | Qing Zheng | 4,650,000 | 39 |
| 5 | Ali Sarkeshik | 4,160,000 | 35 |
| 6 | Chris Balmforth | 2,140,000 | 18 |
| 7 | Craig Conway | 1,960,000 | 16 |
| 8 | Csaba Kovacs | 1,670,000 | 14 |
| 9 | Dorin Barban | 850,000 | 7 |
Dong sat down at the nine-handed final table with the chip lead, although he was only a solitary big blind ahead of Ben Liu in second place. Dorin Barban was in the unenviable position of the shortest stack, courtesy of his seven big blinds.
Craig Conway was the first of the finalists to head to the cashier's desk. Conway committed his last nine big blinds with the powerhouse hand that is pocket aces, and Dong called with pocket nines. A nine on the flop improved Dong to a set, and Conway couldn't find any of his two outs.
Romania's Barban managed to ladder one place before pushing all-in with ace-five for only three big blinds. Ali Sarkeshik called with nine-eight in the big blind, spiked an eight on the flop, which proved enough to reduce the player count by one.
Shortly after Barban's demise, Chris Balmforth got his 11 big blinds into the middle of the table holding ace-queen, and Liu called with a pair of jacks in the hole. Liu flopped a set to leave Balmforth in a world of pain. A few moments later, Balmforth was gone.
The final six were reduced to five with the elimination of Sarkeshik. The action folded to Sarkeshik in the small blind, and he ripped in 12 big blinds with pocket fives. Mark Wagstaff called with queen-jack, and it was off to the races. A jack on the flop won the flip for Wagstaff, and resigned Sarkeshik to a sixth-place finish. Sarkeshik now has over $750,000 in live earnings.
Earlier this year, Qing Zheng helped himself to the £10,720 top prize in the £250 Grosvenor 25/50 event in Birmingham Hill Street. Zhang scooped a similar £10,040 in the Behemoth after falling in fifth place. Zheng's final participation on the Behemoth was to jam all-in for nine big blinds with ace-four, only to run into Liu's pocket kings. The Cowboys held, Zheng busted, and only four players remained in contention for the title.
The final four battled for a short time before asking the tournament director to pause the clock so they could discuss a deal. Those discussions bore fruit, and play resumed with each player netting between £29,042 and £38,314, with another £15,000 reserved for the eventual champion.
Wagstaff was the deal's main beneficiary because he crashed out in fourth. Wagstaff got his last 16 big blinds into the pot with king-jack against the dominated king-seven of Dong. However, Dong was running hot and hit a three-outer on the turn to send Wagstaf to the showers.
Third place went to Csaba Kovacs. He was down to only three big blinds when he moved all-in with queen-six. Dong Liu called in the small blind with king-deuce of hearts, and Dong stuck around with ten-four of clubs. Kovacs looked set to triple up because he paired his six on the flop. The turn kept him ahead, but a king on the river busted him and saw the pot slide to Liu.
Heads-up began with Dong holding a 42 big blind to 25 big blind advantage over Liu. However, the stacks were almost immediately reversed before Dong reclaimed the lead.
The final hand saw Dong move all-in with jack-nine, and Liu call off 22 big blinds with seven-three of clubs. Dong paired his jack on the flop, with a deuce on the turn, leaving Liu drawing dead. Liu banked a career-best £38,314 for his runner-up finish, with Dong banking £51,229, also a new high for him.
£300 Behemoth Main Event Final Table Results
| Rank | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yifei Dong | £51,229* |
| 2 | Ben Liu | £38,314* |
| 3 | Csaba Kovacs | £29,042* |
| 4 | Mark Wagstaff | £31,825* |
| 5 | Qing Zheng | £10,040 |
| 6 | Ali Sarkeshik | £7,360 |
| 7 | Chris Balmforth | £5,360 |
| 8 | Dorin Barban | £4,350 |
| 9 | Craig Conway | £3,810 |
*reflects a four-handed deal
