Career-Best Score For Mariusz Czech As He Wins the Grosvenor UK Open
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Perennial National Poker League (NPL) chaser Mariusz Czech helped himself to a career-best £160,862 score and the title of Grosvenor UK Open Main Event champion over the weekend. Czech is a serial casher in Grosvenor Poker events, with the bulk of his $313,497 earnings stemming from them. Until the 2026 UK Open, Czech had never won a Grosvenor Poker tournament, but he has now, and in some style.
The £1,500 UK Open Main Event drew in 669 entrants, which meant a £46,408 overlay on the £1 million guaranteed prize pool. While overlays aren't what operators want, they add value to those who ponied up the buy-in.
Eighty-four places were paid. The likes of Brandon Sheils, Jamie O'Connor, Yucel Eminoglu, and Andrew Hulme were among the early in-the-money casualties. Others who finished in the money but short of a final table berth included Wendy Watson OBE, Ravi Sheth, Carlo Citrone, Robert Cowen, Tom Middleton, Conor O'Driscoll, Keith Johnson, and Adam Neal.
Neal waited until the last minute to register late, spun up a ten big blind stack, and ultimately finished 11th for £9,060.
2026 Grosvenor UK Open Main Event Final Table Results
| Rank | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mariusz Czech | £160,862* |
| 2 | Rhys Keen | £78,780* |
| 3 | Andrew Mapp | £107,800* |
| 4 | Keith Littlewood | £95,160* |
| 5 | Luke Tatum | £88,110* |
| 6 | David Ledden | £30,610 |
| 7 | Philip Clarke | £22,500 |
| 8 | Donald Jones | £17,170 |
| 9 | Calogero Morreale | £13,540 |
*reflects a five-way deal, then a heads-up deal
Calogero Morreale was the first finalist to fall by the wayside. He committed his short stack with pocket eights and found himself in a flip against the king-queen of Rhys Keen. A king on the flop and another on the river melted Morreale's snowmen, and the UK Open Main Event was down to eight hopefuls.
Those eight became seven after Donald Jones' ace-queen lost to Czech's king-jack, and then six when Philip Clarke's three-big blind jam with king-five lost to Keen's ten-deuce courtesy of a deuce on the river.
Czech claimed another scalp: David Ledden. Ledden, who finished third in the 2025 GUKPT Manchester Main Event, got his last 10 big blinds into the middle of the table with ace-jack. Czech looked him up with pocket tens, which held, to send Ledden home in sixth, a finish good for £30,610.
The final five players paused the tournament clock and discussed a deal. Those discussions resulted in them winning between £78,781 and £113,237, with the eventual champion banking an additional £47,600.
Luke Tatum was the first post-deal bust-out. Tatum, who won the £1,100 Pot-Limit Omaha High Roller earlier in the week for £17,890, lost a chunk of his stack when his ace-jack couldn't get there against pocket queens. He then lost the rest of his chips with ace-deuce against ace-queen. Tatum took home £88,110 from this event, which, when added to his PLO victory, doubled his lifetime live poker earnings.
Next to fall was Keith Littlewood, another Grosvenor regular. Littlewood's pocket nines fell foul to Keen's ace-jack after Keen flopped a jack. Littlewood collected £95,160 for his efforts, a new career-best for the devoted Manchester United Fan.
The 2026 UK Open progressed to the heads-up stage when Andrew Mapp busted. Mapp's final action in this tournament was to get 18 big blinds in with king-jack and lose to Czech's ace-seven of clubs, which improved to a flush. The £107,800 that Mapp won was five times larger than his previous best.
Czech went into the heads-up battle with Keen holding a 50 big blind to 31 big blind advantage. He also had more experience than Keen, having cashed in 83 tournaments compared to Keen's ten.
The chip lead changed hands several times, with several hands seeing all-in bets. The all-important hand came after the heads-up pair chopped the leftover money all but £7,000. That second deal led the duo to play even faster and looser.
Neither player looked at their hole cards and agreed to flip. Keen held five-deuce of diamonds, and Czech turned over ten-six. A ten on the flop proved enough to bust Keen in second-place and hand the title and £160,862 to Czech.
2026 Grosvenor UK Open Results
The table below shows all of the results from the 2026 UK Open, including a £2,500 High Roller victory for Timothy Chung, which saw the talented pro walk away with £46,440.
| Event | Entrants | Prize Pool | Champion | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £1,500 UK Open Main Event | 669 | £1,000,000 | Mariusz Czech | £160,862 |
| £2,500 High Roller | 65 | £142,020 | Timothy Chung | £46,440 |
| £340 Mini Open | 719 | £203,410 | Anonymous | £42,690 |
| £300 G300 | 616 | £150,650 | Anonymous | £26,930 |
| £550 UK Open Cup | 274 | £130,140 | Pranav Agarwal | £23,411 |
| £1,100 PLO High Roller | 46 | £50,000 | Luke Tatum | £17,890 |
| £220 8-Game | 79 | £15,010 | Suketu Patel | £4,730 |
| £220 Seniors | 77 | £14,940 | Matthew Cartwright | £4,510 |
| £200 Closer | 69 | £11,800 | Aqueel Butt | £3,720 |
| £115 Ladies UK Championship | 74 | £7,180 | Lydia Cugudda | £2,260 |
The GUKPT Heads to Manchester From February 25
Players don't have long to wait until the next major Grosvenor event takes place, with the 2026 GUKPT Manchester festival running from February 25 through to March 8 at the Grosvenor Casino Bury New Road.
This festival features a £1,250 buy-in Main Event carrying a £250,000 guarantee on its prize pool. Last year, Junxian Du outlasted 436 opponents in the Manchester Main Event and took home the winner's trophy plus a bankroll-boosting £84,700.
