Poker Legend John Duthie Victorious at 888LIVE London

Matthew Pitt
Senior Editor
3 min read
John Duthie

The Grosvenor Victoria Casino in the heart of London is hosting the 2026 edition of the 888LIVE London festival, where a handful of tournaments have already crowned their worthy champions.

The £550 Big Shot wrapped up on October 13, and there was a familiar name at the top of the payout table: the legendary John Duthie.

A compact field of 98 entrants built a £47,020 prize pool, which far exceeded the £30,000 guarantee. The nine-handed final table awarded its players prizes ranging from £1,300 to £12,470, and Duthie took home the largest sum.

£550 Big Shot Final Table Results

RankPlayerPrize
1John Duthie£12,470
2Rafael Robles£10,500
3Ernst Soederkvist£6,450
4Michael O'Brien£4,370
5Henry Fulcher£3,010
6Norman Butterfield£2,160
7Joe Hindry£1,670
8Max Winberg£1,410
9Philippe Souki£1,300

Philippe Souki, a player with over $2.5 million in live tournament cashes, fell in ninth before Max Winberg fell in eighth, his first recorded live score in four years.

Seventh place went to Joe Hindry, with Norman Butterfield crashing out in sixth place.

Henry Fulcher's £3,010 fifth-place prize represented a new career-high for him, and when Michael O'Brien and Ernst Soederkvist bowed out, Duthie locked horns and butted heads with Rafael Robles in a heads-up battle for the title, trophy, and top prize.

Robles fell at the final hurdle and earned £10,500, leaving Duthie to capture the title and £12,470.

Maksims Uksovs Wins the £250 PLO 4-Card Event

Maksims Uksovs
Maksims Uksovs

The £250 PLO 4-Card tournament drew 61 entrants, creating a £12,750 prize pool that the final eight players shared.

After Sebastien Jung, Howard Smith, Fabio Esposito, and Hussani Alkhuzai fell by the wayside, the remaining four players locked in more than £1,200 for their efforts.

Frenchman Aurelien Martin collected £1,270 for his fourth-place finish. The 2023 WPT500 UK champion, Aleksandrs Golubevs, busted in third for £1,850 before Maksims Uskovs defeated Lin Chen heads-up. Chen scooped £2,740, leaving Uskovs, who won a similar tournament at this venue earlier in the year, to bank £4,170.

£250 Pot-Limit Omaha Final Table Results

RankPlayerPrize
1Maksims Uskovs£4,170
2Lin Chen£2,740
3Aleksandrs Golubevs£1,850
4Aurelien Martin£1,270
5Hussani Alkhuzai£920
6Fabio Esposito£720
7Howard Smith£570
8Sebastien Jung£510

Mini Main Reaches Its Final Table

The £340 Mini Main has reached its nine-handed final table after two days of intense poker action. The bulk of the £114,560 prize pool remains to be won, including a first-place prize of £26,220.

At the start of the final table, an anonymous player going by the initials "P.C." is the player to catch. They sit down with 1,615,000 chips.

Two other players, Guang Yang (1,295,000) and Richard Broda (1,180,000), return to their seats as chip millionaires and will fancy their chances of Mini Main glory.

Lithuanian Tomas Dailidonis (965,000) lurks just outside the top three, while in-form Indian Pranav Agarwal (640,000) sits down sixth in chips at the restart.

£340 Mini Main Final Table Chip Counts

RankPlayerChip Count
1P.C.1,615,000
2Guang Yang1,295,000
3Richard Broda1,180,000
4Tomas Dailidonis965,000
5Michael Long955,000
6Pranav Agarwal640,000
7Greg Hawes620,000
8Hanyang Shi585,000
9Artin Bazai185,000

£340 Mini Main Final Table Payouts

  1. £26,220
  2. £17,530
  3. £11,490
  4. £7,580
  5. £5,170
  6. £3,730
  7. £2,860
  8. £2,300
  9. £1,900

PokerNews Coverage of the High Roller and Main Event Begins October 14

Gang Wang
Gang Wang: Reigning 888LIVE London Main Event champion

The PokerNews live reporting team has arrived in London and is gearing up to bring you live and exclusive coverage of the £2,000 High Roller and the eagerly anticipated £1,250 Main Event.

Last year, Nuno Duarte took down the High Roller, which had a £1,650 buy-in, for £43,510 after leaving a trail of 114 foes in his dust.

Gang Wang is the reigning 888LIVE London Main Event champion. Wang topped a 367-strong field, including defeating Calogero Morreale heads-up, to win £86,600.

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Matthew Pitt
Senior Editor

Matthew Pitt hails from Leeds, West Yorkshire, in the United Kingdom, and has worked in the poker industry since 2008, and worked for PokerNews since 2010. In September 2010, he became the editor of PokerNews. Matthew stepped away from live reporting duties in 2015, and now concentrates on his role of Senior Editor for the PokerNews.

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