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2025 Grosvenor GOLIATH
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The biggest live poker tournament in Europe is back
Over the next week, PokerNews will be bringing you daily coverage from the 2025 GOLIATH, held at the Grosvenor G Casino in Coventry.
If you're not familiar with the GOLIATH, here’s what you need to know:
It’s a £200 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em tournament (£160 + £40) that has grown into a true behemoth. Last year’s edition drew a record 11,749 entries, and this year’s figure could crack 12,500, continuing to make it the largest live poker tournament in the world outside of Las Vegas.
What to Watch For
The GOLIATH Main Event runs from July 26 to August 3 and features eight starting flights. Players can enter as many as they like, with unlimited re-entries permitted while late registration is open. Each Day 1 flight ends after 18 levels, with the field playing down to 10% on Day 2 before a champion is crowned on Day 3 (August 3).
This year’s prize pool is expected to exceed £2 million, with thousands of players hoping to turn a £200 shot into a life-changing payday.
2025 Goliath Main Event Schedule
| Date | Time (BST) | Location | Event | Levels |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat 26 Jul | 12:00 p.m. | Hall 3&4 | Goliath Flight A | 18 |
| Sun 27 Jul | 12:00 p.m. | Hall 3&5 | Goliath Flight B | 18 |
| Mon 28 Jul | 12:00 p.m. | Hall 3&4 | Goliath Flight C | 18 |
| Tue 29 Jul | 12:00 p.m. | Hall 3&5 | Goliath Flight D | 18 |
| Wed 30 Jul | 12:00 p.m. | Hall 3&5 | Goliath Flight E | 18 |
| Thu 31 Jul | 11:00 a.m. | Hall 3&5 | Goliath Flight F | 18 |
| Fri 1 Aug | 11:00 a.m. | Hall 3&5 | Goliath Flight G | 18 |
| 6:00 p.m. | Hall 4&5 | Goliath Flight H Turbo | 18 | |
| Sat 2 Aug | 11:00 a.m. | Hall 3&4&5 | Day 2 | To 10% of field |
| Sun 3 Aug | 11:00 a.m. | Hall3&4&5 | Day 3 | To Finish |
More Than Just One Tournament
The GOLIATH festival isn’t just about the Main Event. Running from July 24–August 3, it features over a dozen side events and satellites, including:
- £1,250 GUKPT Main Event
- £1,500 High Roller
- £3,000 Super High Roller
- £440 Mystery Bounty
- £200 Ladies Event
- £550 PokerNews Cup
- £225 “The Giant”
Follow Along with PokerNews
We'll be updating our live blog daily with chip counts, event recaps, and PokerNews will also have its live reporting team on the ground for the £550 PokerNews Cup .
Bookmark the blog, and don’t miss a minute of the action from Europe’s biggest poker party.
Full 2025 Goliath Schedule
Although the £200 Goliath and its estimated £2 million prize pool is the crown jewel of the Goliath festival, there are more than a dozen tournaments and satellites for grinders to get involved in.
Expand the table below to reveal the full 2025 Goliath schedule.
GOLIATH Champions
The 2025 GOLIATH is officially underway, and after 18 levels of play on Day 1A, just 111 players made it through from a starting field of 1,384 entries. This has contributed £221,440 into the £2 million estimated prize pool.
Leading the way is Hertfordshire’s Luke Tatum, who bagged an impressive 928,000 and holds a clear chip lead heading into Day 2. Tatum, who has $18,120 in live tournament earnings according to The Hendon Mob, is no stranger to the felt, but this could be the start of the biggest run of his poker playing exploits.
His previous best live cash came back in 2013, when he finished 33rd in the £1,100 UKIPT Main Event at EPT London for £2,970 ($4,815).
More recently, he’s found success on the European circuit, taking down a €150 Pot-Limit Omaha event in June 2025 at the Ola Poker Tour in Rozvadov, banking €3,180 ($3,664) for the win and his first recorded tournament victory.
Tatum has been busy in 2025, with seven live cashes so far, including a pair of results this summer in Las Vegas. He placed 153rd out of 5,667 entries in the PokerNews Deepstack Championship at the WSOP, good for $2,302, and also picked up a cash in a $600 Turbo at the Wynn Summer Classic.
Top 10 Chip Counts – GOLIATH Day 1A
| Player | Chip Count |
|---|---|
| Luke Tatum | 928,000 |
| Adam Bone | 873,000 |
| Richard Howard | 838,000 |
| Sonya Kirkley | 719,000 |
| David Jenks | 668,000 |
| Minvydas Kersulis | 668,000 |
| Laura Davison | 658,000 |
| Joseph Sepede | 645,000 |
| Josh William Bell | 628,000 |
| Lukman Islam | 620,000 |
Day 1B gets underway Sunday at noon, with another massive field expected to descend on Coventry’s Grosvenor G Casino.
From a field of 1,023 entries, just 36 players remain in the hunt for the GUKPT Main Event title at the 2025 GOLIATH festival. The action resumes at 1:00 p.m. BST on Sunday, with players set to battle it out until a final table is reached.
At the top of the Day 3 chip counts is Iman Sarkeshik, who leads the field with 1,507,000 chips. He’s closely followed by Jay O’Leary (1,426,000) and John Bousfield (1,243,000), with several other big stacks well positioned for a deep run, including Ravi Sheth (1,100,000) and former GUKPT champ Richard Trigg (860,000).
The tournament will crown its champion on Monday, July 28, but for those who can’t make it to Coventry, the action will be live streamed starting at 1:20 p.m. today on the Grosvenor Poker channels.
This year’s Main Event generated a £1,070,070 prize pool, with the top 121 players making the money. A min-cash was worth £2,670, and all remaining players have now locked up £3,630.
Reaching the final table guarantees £14,320, but all eyes are on the £192,700 top prize that awaits the winner.
Chip Counts Heading into Day 3
It’s a stacked Sunday at the Grosvenor G Casino in Coventry as the GOLIATH festival rolls into its second official day of main event action.
Whether you’re hunting mystery bounties, chasing High Roller glory, or taking your shot at GUKPT fame, there’s something for everyone taking place today.
| Date | Time | Event |
|---|---|---|
| Sun 27 Jul | 11:00 a.m. | £100 RedTooth Open |
| 11:00 a.m. | £164 High Roller Cashout Turbo Satellite | |
| 12:00 p.m. | £200 Goliath Flight B | |
| 12:00 p.m. | £200 Ladies Event | |
| 1:00 p.m. | GUKPT Main Event Day 3 | |
| 4:00 p.m. | £1,500 High Roller Day 1 | |
| 7:00 p.m. | £125 RedTooth Big One Day 1 | |
| 7:00 p.m. | £440 Cardroom Direct Mystery Bounty Day 1A |
Day 1B of the 2025 GOLIATH is officially underway, and another huge crowd is expected to pack out the Grosvenor G Casino in Coventry.
Players will start with a 250,000 chip stack, with blinds beginning at 100/100. The structure features 18 levels of play, with the first 14 levels lasting 30 minutes, and levels 15–18 stretched to 40 minutes each.
There will be 30-minute breaks after Levels 4 and 8, and a 60-minute dinner break at the end of Level 12. Late registration will remain open until the dinner break is over, so if you’re running late, you’ve still got time to get in the mix.
Day 1 Flights Structure
| 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 | 5000-10k | 10000 | 40m |
