Matthew Gray Makes Comeback to Win WSOPC UK £1,100 Main Event (£100,000)
The WSOPC UK £1,100 Main Event, running at Dusk Till Dawn as part of the World Series of Poker International Circuit, has now played down to a winner.
Matthew Gray came into the final table as one of the shorter stacks and came back from behind to win the event.
A total of 439 players entered Day 1a and Day 1b, the two starting flights of the event. Of those, 140 made it through to Day 2 and just 16 players returned to the felt for the final day. The prize pool for the tournament was £500,000.
Jonathan McCann started the day as chip leader, eventually finishing in third place for £45,500.
By the time the final table started, Hong Pham had taken the lead, and it was a lead that would only continue to grow as the final table progressed. She made impressive bluffs and steals before losing several all-ins that reduced her stack for the heads-up battle. Pham finished in second for £64,500.
In the end, it was Matthew Gray’s day. He won the heads-up battle against Pham to earn himself £100,000 and a coveted WSOP Circuit ring.
Final Table Results WSOPC UK £1,100 Main Event
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Matthew Gray | UK | £100,000 |
| 2nd | Pham Hong | Vietnam | £64,500 |
| 3rd | Jonathan McCann | UK | £45,500 |
| 4th | Paul Hizer | UK | £34,500 |
| 5th | Steven Warburton | UK | £26,500 |
| 6th | Gary Miller | UK | £20,000 |
| 7th | Jamie O'Connor | UK | £15,000 |
| 8th | John Adderley | UK | £11,500 |
| 9th | Lee French | UK | £9,000 |
Action on the Final Day
The eliminations came thick and fast during the first couple of hours of play. Gerald Mcinally, Fabio Miranda, and Ryan Otto all hit the rail before the first break. Two of those three were eliminated by Pham, as was Jack Allen in 12th and Jiaze Li in 10th. Pham would continue to chip up and had taken the chip lead by the final table.
Players across the floor and viewers on the live stream wondered who she was and why she looked so comfortable under the spotlights playing against some of the top regs in the country. She made moves suggesting she was willing to mix it up, including a bluff that would stun her opposition if they watched it back on the stream.
At one point, she was so far out in front that it seemed like nobody would catch her. That was until a huge three-way all-in completely changed the dynamics on the final table. Paul Hizer shoved, Pham isolated and Gray woke up with aces. He held up to bring his stack much closer to Pham's, later calling off her bluff to pull almost level.
McCann, the man who had entered Day 3 as the chip leader and had maintained a decent stack to the business end of the tournament, crashed out in third place after shoving and getting called by Gray. This further increased Gray's stack so he went into the heads-up battle as chip leader over Pham.
After around 20 minutes of heads-up play, it all came down to a simple all-in and call, as it so often does. Gray shoved, Pham called, and Gray paired up to win the tournament.
His friends rallied around with hugs and cheers. All that was left was for him to claim his prize.
. Pham held up on the flop. By the turn, Gray's friends on the rail were screaming for his outs. And on the river one of his outs came. The 
. Both players paired up on the flop, with Gray making the higher pair with his kings. McCann was eliminated in third place for £45,500.
, bringing no improvement for any players. Gray's pocket aces held up to give him a huge triple up to 9,700,000, second in chips. 
, which was no help for Warburton. Pham's pocket eights held and Warburton was eliminated in fifth place for £26,500.
