Endrit Geci Gets the Lot in the GUKPT Manchester Main Event
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The 2026 Grosvenor UK Poker Tour (GUKPT) Manchester Main Event has its champion, and Endrit Geci is that man. Geci sat down at the final table with a colossal chip lead, perhaps the largest ever seen in the GUKPT's 20-season history. While he relinquished that lead at one stage, Geci ultimately came out on top and scooped one of the largest live scores of his career, one weighing in at £76,710.
Thirty-eight of the 315 entrants shared the £327,920 prize pool, with the min-cash at £2,790. Bryan Taylor continued his transition from cash games to tournament poker with another GUKPT cash, while Kully Sidhu, Ankit Ahuja, Jamie Clossick, and Robert Douras all added another cash to their resumes.
By the time the nine-handed final table was set, each of the players was guaranteed £6,000 and was only eight eliminations from a £76,710 score.
2026 GUKPT Manchester Main Event Final Table Results
| Rank | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Endrit Geci | £76,710 |
| 2 | Robert McAdam | £51,550 |
| 3 | Philip Tate | £34,210 |
| 4 | Justin Devonport | £22,690 |
| 5 | Peter Stewart | £15,510 |
| 6 | Martin Hellmuth | £11,280 |
| 7 | Barry Grime | £8,760 |
| 8 | Joe Hindry | £7,150 |
| 9 | Franky Green | £6,000 |
Geci entered the final table with a massive stack of 230 big blinds. Robert McAdam was Geci's closest rival with 103 big blinds at his disposal.
Franky Green was the shortest stack at the start of the final table with 14 big blinds. Green was down to eight big blinds when she found pocket aces and pushed her chips over the line. Green found herself against the pocket queens of Barry Grime and the pocket jacks of McAdam. Unfortunately for Green, Grime flopped a set, busting her in ninth place, extending the GUKPT's run without a female Main Event champion.
Eighth place went to Joe Hindry, the 2022 GUKPT Coventry Main Event champion. Hindry three-bet all-in for 20 big blinds with pocket sevens after Geci had opened yet another pot. Geci called with ace-king, flopped an ace, and Hindry was gone.
Geci and ace-king sent Grime to the rail in seventh. Grime, down to five big blinds, jammed all-in with ace-jack and needed plenty of help from the community cards because Geci held the dominating ace-king. Both players flopped an ace, but Grime had a spade flush draw to boot. Both the turn and river were red, the latter being a king to unnecessarily improve Geci's holding. Grime banked £8,760 only a few days after collecting £10,140 for a runner-up finish in the £1,100 PLO High Roller.
Martin Hellmuth became Geci's next victim despite getting his chips in as a substantial favourite. Hellmuth chose queen-nine to commit his last 3.5 big blinds with, and Geci called from the big blind with nine-five. A five on the flop proved enough to send Hellmuth to the cashier's desk to collect the first five-figure prize of the tournament.
You must win your coinflips if you want to win poker tournaments, but it appears Peter Stewart didn't get that memo. He got 22 big blinds into the middle of the table holding pocket tens, and was racing against Justin Devonport's ace-queen. A queen on the turn was enough to resign Stewart to a fifth-place finish.
The final four became three when Devonport made an ill-timed play in a battle of the blinds with Geci. Devonport limped in from the small blind with ace-nine, Geci raised to three big blinds with a pair of jacks in the hole, only for Devonport to rip in 40 big blinds. Geci called, the jacks held, and Devonport headed into the cold Manchester night.
Heads-up was reached when Philip Tate bowed out at the hands of McAdam. Tate three-bet all-in for 14 big blinds with ace-ten after McAdam had opened. McAdam called with the inferior ace-seven, but a seven on the flop rescued him and sent Tate to the showers.
McAdam held a narrow lead over Geci at the start of heads-up play, but Geci dominated the early stages of the clash and started to forge a lead for himself. The final hand took place during the 40,000/80,000 level, with McAdam making it 200,000 to go with king-queen, and Geci calling with jack-deuce of clubs. A deuce-four-deuce flop saw Geci check, McAdam bet 175,000, and Geci click it back to 365,000. McAdam thought for a few moments before moving all-in for 975,000, and Geci snap-called. A five on the turn left McAdam drawing dead with a seven on the river confirming Geci's impressive victory.
2026 GUKPT Manchester Results
Although Geci will be remembered as the GUKPT Manchester champion, Stephen Blow was the player of the festival. Blow won the £300 buy-in G300, which served as the festival's opening event, for £25,690 and followed that up with a victory in the £1,500 High Roller for another £26,100.
Blow only has cashes on his Hendon Mob from late January 2025, but now has almost $140,000 in earnings.
| Event | Entrants | Prize Pool | Champion | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £1,250 Main Event | 315 | £327,920 | Endrit Geci | £76,710 |
| £250 Mini Main | 741 | £153,620 | Thomas Erentz | £28,335 |
| £1,500 High Roller | 85 | £109,010 | Stephen Blow | £26,100 |
| £300 G300 | 589 | £145,480 | Stephen Blow | £25,690 |
| £550 GUKPT Cup | 120 | £57,000 | Anthony Mathias | £14,040 |
| £1,100 PLO High Roller | 50 | £50,000 | S.F. | £11,160 |
| £300 Seniors | 54 | £14,140 | Nicholas Fellone | £4,900 |
| £200 Turbo | 54 | £9,230 | Wayne Watson | £3,230 |
| £200 Closer | 80 | £13,680 | Stuart Sefton | £3,185 |
Next Up On the 2026 GUKPT
The GUKPT now heads to The Victoria in London for the third leg of the 2026 tour. Players from far and wide will descend on the luxurious casino between April 9-19, where a £1,250 buy-in, £250,000 guaranteed Main Event will headline the schedule.
Earlier this year, The Victoria hosted the opening leg of the 2026 GUKPT. Brandon Sheils won the £1,250 Main Event, outlasting 367 opponents to scoop an £88,760 prize only a couple of days after triumphing in the £2,500 High Roller for £49,560.
Online satellites are available at Grosvenor Poker. PokerNews will have the full 2026 GUKPT London schedule in the coming days.
