Brandon Sheils Kicks Off 2026 With a GUKPT High Roller Victory
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The Grosvenor UK Poker Tour (GUKPT) is currently in London for the first leg of its 2026 tour. Several events have crowned their champions, including the £2,500 No-Limit Hold'em High Roller. Seventy-two players entered the mix, and Brandon Sheils emerged victorious, taking home £49,560.
Sheils, a high-volume and popular grinder, entered 2026 full of confidence, having enjoyed his best year in terms of prize money. According to The Hendon Mob Database, the man from Birmingham amassed $696,389 last year, an impressive sum, helped by his fifth-place finish in the $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em 6-Handed event at the 2025 World Series of Poker (WSOP).
This latest victory pushes Sheils' live earnings ever closer to the $2.5 million mark.
£2,500 GUKPT London High Roller Final Table Results
| Rank | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brandon Sheils | £49,560 |
| 2 | Ryan Fronda | £33,030 |
| 3 | Medhi Chaoui | £22,030 |
| 4 | James Mitchell | £15,260 |
| 5 | S.S. | £11,320 |
| 6 | Conor O'Driscoll | £8,500 |
| 7 | Bryan Taylor | £6,610 |
| 8 | Adria Dalmau | £5,820 |
| 9 | Keith Johnson | £5,190 |
Only the final nine players received a share of the £157,310 prize pool. Seasoned pro Keith Johnson was the first player to cash after his ace-jack lost to the once-dominated ace-ten of James Mitchell, courtesy of a ten on the flop.
Spaniard Adria Dalmau bowed out in eighth place after a battle of the blinds didn't go as planned. Conor O'Driscoll open-shoved from the small blind with the lowly ten-five, and Dalmau called off his eight big blind stack with ace-jack. Dalmau paired his ace, but O'Driscoll improved to trip tens on the river.
Next to fall was Scotland's Bryan Taylor, the champion of the GUKPT Edinburgh Main Event in October 2025. Taylro was down to six big blinds when he pushed all-in with ace-eight. Sheils called with king-ten and proceeded to spike a ten on the river to leave the Scotsman void of chips.
Ireland's O'Driscoll headed to the exits in sixth place and was the last player not to receive a five-figure payday. O'Driscoll needed the luck of the Irish when his seven big blind shove with ten-nine of diamonds was called by Mitchell holding pocket tens. No such luck arrived, and O'Driscoll was gone.
A player wishing to remain under the shroud of anonymity crashed out in fifth before the dangerous Mitchell fell foul of Sheils. Mitchell got his last 14 big blinds into the middle of the felt while holding ace-queen, only for Sheils to turn up with the dominating ace-king. Sheils improved to trips, and Mitchell headed to the cashier's desk to collect £15,260 to go with the £47,700 he scooped earlier in the week for triumphing in the inaugural G500 event.
The £2,500 GUKPT London High Roller progressed to heads-up following the demise of Morocco's Mehdi Chaoui. The Moroccan continued his impressive vein of form, one that saw him win more than $1.9 million in 2025 alone. Chaoui came unstuck when he committed his last 6.5 big blinds with queen-ten, which couldn't get there against Ryan Fronda's ace-eight.
Heads-up pitted Sheils against the veteran Fronda, the latter having cashed in the first-ever GUKPT season and now racking up a cash in the 20th season. Unfortunately for Fronda, he couldn't mark the occasion with a win, and had to console himself with a £33,030 runner-up prize, the second-largest of his career, after his king-eight failed to beat Sheils' ace-eight when it mattered.
Sheils immediately entered Day 1a of the £1,250 buy-in, £250,000 guaranteed GUKPT London Main Event. The 83-strong crowd was whittled to only 26 by the close of play, and Sheils found himself near the top of the chip counts. He bagged and tagged 135,400, trailing only Joseph Bold (187,000), Maximilian Sanders (162,500), and Longmao Fan (136,300).
Remaining 2026 GUKPT London Schedule
