The GUKPT Main Event is down to its final eight players after Ray Power's ace-queen could not overcome Nicholas Drinkwater's ace-king.
Power earned £14,320 for his efforts.
Josh Curry still holds the chip lead, but it's close at the top with four players holding more that 50 big blinds.
Day 1C of the 2025 GOLIATH is now underway, and another bumper field is expected at the Grosvenor G Casino in Coventry.
Players sit down with a 250,000 starting stack and blinds kick off at 100/100. The structure mirrors previous flights, featuring 18 levels of play, 30 minutes each for the first 14 levels, then increasing to 40 minutes from Level 15 onwards.
There are scheduled 30-minute breaks after Levels 4 and 8, with a 60-minute dinner break following Level 12. Late registration stays open until the end of that dinner break, giving players plenty of time to jump in and take their shot.
| Level | Blinds | Big Blind Ante | Clock |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 100-100 | 100 | 30m |
| 2 | 100-200 | 200 | 30m |
| 3 | 100-300 | 300 | 30m |
| 4 | 200-400 | 400 | 30m |
| 30 Min Break | |||
| 5 | 200-500 | 500 | 30m |
| 6 | 300-600 | 600 | 30m |
| 7 | 400-800 | 800 | 30m |
| 8 | 500-1000 | 1000 | 30m |
| 30 Min Break | 30m | ||
| 9 | 600-1200 | 1200 | 30m |
| 10 | 800-1600 | 1600 | 30m |
| 11 | 1000-2000 | 2000 | 30m |
| 12 | 1000-2500 | 2500 | 30m |
| 60 Min Break | |||
| 13 | 1500-3000 | 3000 | 30m |
| 14 | 2000-4000 | 4000 | 30m |
| 15 | 2000-5000 | 5000 | 40m |
| 16 | 3000-6000 | 6000 | 40m |
| 20 Min Break | 20m | ||
| 17 | 4000-8000 | 8000 | 40m |
| 18 | 5000-10,000 | 10000 | 40m |
It’s another busy day at the GOLIATH Festival in Coventry, with six events on the go and something for every kind of player.
The spotlight is firmly on the GUKPT Main Event Final Table, where nine players return to play for the £192,700 top prize. Richard Trigg is chasing a record-breaking fourth GUKPT title, while Grosvenor Poker Pro Katie Swift is bidding to become the first woman to win a GUKPT Main. Cards are in the air from 12 p.m., and you can catch the final table live on YouTube.
Also starting at noon is Flight C of the £200 GOLIATH, with another massive turnout expected. Players will get a 25,000 starting stack and face 18 levels of play as they look to join the growing Day 2 field.
Day 2 of the RedTooth Big One also kicks off at midday, as pub poker champions from around the country return to battle it out.
At 2:15 p.m., the £1,500 High Roller resumes. Zhicheng Miao leads the way, but keep an eye on Jamie Nixon, who returns inside the top ten and recently featured on the PokerNews Podcast.
Later this afternoon, players can take a shot in the £330 Super High Roller Cashout Satellite at 4 p.m., with seats into the £3K event up for grabs.
Finally, Day 1B of the £440 Cardroom Direct Mystery Bounty begins at 7 p.m.
The £1,500 GOLIATH High Roller got off to a fast start on Sunday, drawing 213 total entries and generating a £287,550 prize pool. After a full day of deep-stacked action, a talented field was narrowed down to Day 2 contenders, led by Zhicheng Miao, who bagged the top stack with 938,000 chips (156 big blinds).
Jason Green (700,000) and Masonn Kanabar (602,000) round out the top three, with several other well-known names not far behind.
Also finishing inside the top 10 is Grosvenor Poker Pro Jamie Nixon, who ended the night with 495,000 chips (82 big blinds). Nixon recently joined the PokerNews Podcast to talk all things GOLIATH, including his prep for this very event. You can listen to the full episode below.
| Place | Player | Chips | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zhicheng Miao | 938,000 | 156 |
| 2 | Jason Green | 700,000 | 117 |
| 3 | Masonn Kanabar | 602,000 | 100 |
| 4 | David Ash | 549,000 | 91 |
| 5 | Rhys Charles Keen | 534,000 | 89 |
| 6 | Chris Brammer | 533,000 | 89 |
| 7 | Jonathan Glen | 516,000 | 86 |
| 8 | Stephen Watson | 505,000 | 84 |
| 9 | Ciaran McCullagh | 501,000 | 83 |
| 10 | Jamie Nixon | 495,000 | 82 |
Late registration remains open until 2:10 p.m., with play resuming at 2:15 p.m. Players entering before the cutoff will receive a 100,000 starting stack, and the blinds will restart at 3,000/6,000 with a 6,000 big blind ante.
The £175 Ladies Event at the 2025 GOLIATH Festival drew 180 entries, generating a £30,550 prize pool and showcasing the continued growth of the women’s game in the UK.
Amber Sullivan took the title and the £5,940 top prize, marking the biggest score of her career.
Prior to this event, Sullivan had $16,913 in live tournament earnings from nine recorded cashes, according to The Hendon Mob. Her previous best came in September 2024, when she won the London Women's Championship for £2,210 ($2,902), her first recorded victory.
This win is her second live title and solidifies her position as a rising talent within the UK’s women’s poker scene.
| Place | Player | Payout |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Amber Sullivan | £5,940 |
| 2 | Xinying Zhang | £4,470 |
| 3 | Grace Walsh | £3,380 |
| 4 | Chelsie Glynn | £2,590 |
| 5 | Gemma Thomas | £1,980 |
| 6 | Emma Barnes | £1,530 |
| 7 | Tanyth Gatley | £1,200 |
| 8 | Caroline Cove | £970 |
| 9 | Silvia Matamoros | £800 |
Day 1B of the £200 GOLIATH drew 1,434 entries, six more than the same flight last year. After 18 levels of play, 110 players advanced to Day 2.
Rikard Johansen ended the day as chip leader, becoming the first player of the GOLIATH to bag over one million chips. He finished with 1,028,000, equal to 103 big blinds.
Johansen, from Norway, has $45,823 in live tournament earnings, according to The Hendon Mob. His largest recorded cash is $15,244, which came in September 2024 when he won a £250 Grosvenor Poker event in Cardiff, Wales. That was also his first recorded win. All 23 of his live cashes have come in the UK.
Not far behind were Michael Agg (893,000) and Aram Ramadan (780,000), both in great shape heading into the weekend.
Unfortunately for Daniel Sumile, he's not one of those who made it over the Day 1B hurdle, seeing his kings cracked on the final hand of the night.
Sumile got in his stack against another player's ace-king. There was an ace on the flop and Sumile couldn't find his one outer to bag a stack.
He left the tournament room in an expletive rant, and quickly headed for the exit.
| Place | Player | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rikard Johansen | 1,028,000 | 103 |
| 2 | Michael Agg | 893,000 | 89 |
| 3 | Aram Ramadan | 780,000 | 78 |
| 4 | Lukasz Sobczyk | 736,000 | 74 |
| 5 | A B | 693,000 | 69 |
| 6 | Michael Logan | 690,000 | 69 |
| 7 | Tuan Anh Nguyen | 686,000 | 69 |
| 8 | Anthony Eland | 683,000 | 68 |
| 9 | R S | 663,000 | 66 |
| 10 | Chris Machin | 652,000 | 65 |
| Day | Entries | Qualified | Prize Pool Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1A | 1,384 | 111 | £221,440 |
| 1B | 1,434 | 110 | £229,440 |
More flights, more chips, and more drama still to come, keep it locked on PokerNews for everything GOLIATH.
Welcome back to PokerNews’ daily coverage of the 2025 GOLIATH Festival, live from the Grosvenor G Casino in Coventry.
Today marks the final day of the biggest GUKPT Main Event in history, with 1,023 total entries creating a £1,070,070 prize pool. Just nine players remain in the hunt for the £192,700 top prize, and history is on the line for more than one finalist.
Leading the charge is Josh Curry, who starts the day with 3,315,000 chips (55 big blinds), but much of the spotlight will be on Richard Trigg and Katie Swift.
Trigg, already a three-time GUKPT Main Event champion, is chasing an unprecedented fourth title. He begins second in chips with 3,025,000 (50 big blinds) and could solidify his legacy as one of the tour’s all-time greats.
Swift, a familiar face as a Grosvenor Poker Pro, enters the day seventh in chips (1,785,000 / 30 big blinds) and is looking to make her own history by becoming the first woman to win a GUKPT Main Event. She came painfully close at GUKPT Luton last September, where she finished runner-up to Seb Crane.
Also in contention is Ravi Sheth, the GUKPT Blackpool Main Event champion, who returns with 2,490,000 chips (42 big blinds) and plenty of final table experience.
Day 3 saw the field cut from 36 to the final nine. The final table bubble burst when Roni Tal’s jack-eight couldn’t overcome Nicholas Drinkwater’s king-eight or Swift’s ace-jack. The board ran out ace-high, and Swift’s aces and sixes won the pot after she and Drinkwater checked it down.
All nine remaining players are guaranteed at least £14,320, but one of them will walk away with nearly £200,000 and a GUKPT trophy. Play resumes at 12 p.m. and will be live streamed on Grosvenor Poker’s YouTube channel for fans to follow every hand of the action.
| Place | Player | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Josh Curry | 3,315,000 | 55 |
| 2 | Richard Trigg | 3,025,000 | 50 |
| 3 | Jay O'Leary | 2,850,000 | 48 |
| 4 | Ravi Sheth | 2,490,000 | 42 |
| 5 | Simon Willson | 2,185,000 | 36 |
| 6 | Iman Sarkeshik | 1,875,000 | 31 |
| 7 | Katie Swift | 1,785,000 | 30 |
| 8 | Nicholas Drinkwater | 1,430,000 | 24 |
| 9 | Raymond Power | 1,330,000 | 22 |
| Place | Payout |
|---|---|
| 1st | £192,700 |
| 2nd | £140,580 |
| 3rd | £102,420 |
| 4th | £74,400 |
| 5th | £53,670 |
| 6th | £38,480 |
| 7th | £27,480 |
| 8th | £19,670 |
| 9th | £14,320 |
Looking for a Sunday poker fix?
The GUKPT Main Event is being livestreamed on the Grosvenor Poker Youtube Channel. You can also view the stream by going to the PokerNews live stream tab.
As it stand, 19 of the 1,023 entrants remain, with Day 3 ending when the final table is determined.
