Room Five of Grosvenor Casinos CBS Arena was absolutely packed from start to finish today, and the atmosphere was crackling, as players descended on the £550 buy-in PokerNews Cup, aiming to end their GOLIATH festival with a bang.
After 16 frantic 30-minute levels of play, a total of 746 entrants was whittled down to 179 players, but with late registration open until the start of Day 2, that figure, along with the £375,000 prize pool, is sure to increase further.
Steve Jelinek was the main beneficiary of the chips flying around, rising to the top of the standings at the close of play on 869,000. Jelinek, a long-time UK pro and a GUKPT regular, is a WSOP bracelet winner and clearly thrives here in Coventry, the scene of his triumph in the 2021 GUKPT Main Event for £105,050. He boasts a remarkable 18 recorded live tournament victories amongst total recorded earnings of just under $2,000,000.
Not far off Jelinek lie Adam Gemmell (830,000) and Henry Bibby (750,000). Gemmell is chasing his biggest career score, while Bibby's lifetime best is a £9,458 cash for a runner-up finish in a Grosvenor 25/50 event in Sheffield in March. All figures are courtesy of The Hendon Mob.
PokerNews Cup End of Day 1 Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Steve Jelinek | United Kingdom | 869,000 | 145 |
| 2 | Adam Gemmell | United Kingdom | 830,000 | 138 |
| 3 | Henry Bibby | United Kingdom | 750,000 | 125 |
| 4 | Kartik | Unknown | 612,500 | 102 |
| 5 | S.0. | Unknown | 523,000 | 87 |
| 6 | Jake Scarr | United Kingdom | 495,000 | 83 |
| 7 | Brandon Atkins | United Kingdom | 482,000 | 80 |
| 8 | Nicholas McLellan | United Kingdom | 479,000 | 80 |
| 9 | Emma Barnes | United Kingdom | 462,000 | 77 |
| 10 | Matthew Cartwright | United Kingdom | 457,000 | 76 |
Day 1 Action
Over 250 players were registered for the start of play, and the action was fast and fierce throughout proceedings. Defending champion Rhys Jones was amongst the early runners but did not make the end of the day, while Alexander Rizvi won a huge early pot in the classic confrontation, and would proceed to make the cut.
Tyler Stanger and Jodi Harley were the lucky winners of the PokerNews raffle, winning entries to the event, but neither could find a bag. Ryan Packer turned quads and got paid, and he would go through with 245,000.
Tadgh Meegan was the long-time chip leader after flopping a monster draw to then crack queens, but he fell away slightly to finish on 225,000.
Plenty of other quality players remain in the mix, including Harry Sandford (416,000), Ben Miller (278,000) Michael Rosaman (272,000), Grosvenor pro Matthew Davenport (34,000) and Sinead Davenport (224,500).
The players will return for Day 2 at noon on Sunday, August 3, with late registration closing before the start of play. The clock will be remain at 30-minute levels, and any additional entrants will receive a 50,000 starting stack. Players will return to blind level 2,500/5,000, with a 5,000 big blind ante, and play will continue until a winner is crowned.
Be sure to join us here at PokerNews to see who can take home the PokerNews Cup, in what is guaranteed to be an exciting day of poker to finish off GOLIATH 2025, with the Main Event trophy also to be lifted.
