Jamie Le Crowned King of the 888poker UKPL Coventry Main Event
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The inaugural 888poker UK Poker League (UKPL) Coventry Main Event has crowned its worthy champion, and Jamie Le is that man. The £560 buy-in No-Limit Hold'em Main Event drew in 371 entrants, and Le outlasted them all. His reward? The title of champion and £37,605.
Le has some impressive results on his live poker resume. In October 2022, he became the Grosvenor UK Poker Tour (GUKPT) Luton Main Event champion, which earned him a career-best £95,630. A month later, Le was the runner-up in the £550 GUKPT Blackpool Cup, a finish good for £27,730. His latest result prior to the victory in Coventry came in the 2023 GUKPT Luton Main Event in June; he finished second for £61,600.
The top 56 finishers in the UKPL Coventry Main Event saw a return on their £560 investment. Some stellar names found themselves heading to the cashier's desk, including James Williams, Charles Chattha, Mitch Johnson, Calogero Morreale, Christopher Johnson, Paul Haycock, and final table bubble boy Paul Rigg.
2024 UKPL Coventry Main Event Final Table Results
| Rank | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jamie Le | £37,605 |
| 2 | Dan Laidlaw | £27,880 |
| 3 | Arian Kashani | £18,980 |
| 4 | Anthony Kennedy | £12,335 |
| 5 | Archie Seaton | £8,280 |
| 6 | Alex Todd | £5,815 |
| 7 | Wendy Watson MBE | £4,670 |
| 8 | Paul O'Callaghan | £4,055 |
| 9 | Paul Whitehead | £3,435 |
Paul Whitehead's time at the final table was limited because he fell in ninth place. You need to win your flips to take down poker tournaments, but it appears Whitehead didn't get that memo. He committed his last five big blinds with ace-king, and Anthony Kennedy looked him up with pocket nines. Whitehead flopped a king, but the board ran out with four spades, and Kennedy held the nine of spades to send Whitehead home.
Kennedy then sent Paul O'Callaghan to the sidelines in another coinflip. O'Callaghan found himself all-in and at risk with pocket fours against Kennedy's ace-queen. A queen on the turn proved enough to reduce the player count once more.
Seventh place went to the popular Wendy Watson MBE. Watson three-bet shoved for 12 big blinds with ace-ten, only for Le to call with the dominating ace-jack. None of the community cards came to Watson's rescue, and the Main Event was down to six players.
Those six became five when Alex Todd ran out of steam. Todd made a play from the button that saw his 17 big blind stack on the line. Unfortunately for Todd, the reigning GUKPT Goliath champion, Arian Kashani woke up in the small blind with ace-king. A board sans jacks, and Todd toddled off to collect sixth place money.
Archie Seaton's latest final table appearance ended when he ran his pocket jacks into the kings of Kashani. A king in the window left Seaton drawing thin, and he was drawing dead on the turn. Seaton headed to the rail, while Kashani soared to the top of the chip counts with only four players remaining.
A battle of the blinds between Kennedy and Dan Laidlaw did not turn out too well for the former. Kennedy open-shoved 13 big blinds from the small blind with queen-three, and Laidlaw called from the big blind with ace-seven. Laidlaw's hand held, and Kennedy crashed out.
Heads-up was set following the demise of Kashani, who shoved 7.5 big blinds from the button with king-nine, and Laidlaw called with ace-jack in the small blind. A jack on the flop and an ace on the turn busted Kashani.
Laidlaw went into heads-up with a 32 big blind to 23 big blind advantage over Le, but Le caught up then had Laidlaw on the ropes. The final hand saw Le moved all-in with ace-king, and Laidlaw make a stand for his last six big blinds with jack-ten. An ace on the flop and another on the turn busted Laidlaw in second place for a career-best £27,780, leaving Le to get his hands on the winner's trophy and £37,605.
Other UKPL Coventry Results
Mohammed Hussain was the biggest winner outside the UKPL Coventry Main Event courtesy of coming out on top of a 103-strong field in the £1,100 High Roller. Hussain padded his bankroll with £23,800, the largest of his live career to date.
| Event | Entrants | Champion | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| £1,100 High Roller | 103 | Mohammed Hussain | £23,800 |
| £250 Voyage | 449 | Xu Hang | £20,130 |
| £400 Big Shot | 42 | Nathan Jones | £5,415 |
| £200 The Closer | 62 | Justin Devonport | £2,500 |
| £150 Seniors | 46 | Richard Cox | £2,130 |
| £150 PLO | 71 | Dryosh Rossookh | £2,000 |
888poker UK Poker League (UKPL) Schedule
The next UKPL festival is right around the corner, with the fledgling tour heading north of the border to the Grosvenor Casino Edinburgh in bonny Scotland. Online satellites are available right now on both Grosvenor Poker and 888poker.
| Dates | UKPL Festival |
|---|---|
| February 13-18 | Grosvenor Casino Edinburgh |
| March 5-10 | Grosvenor Casino Luton |
| April 16-21 | Grosvenor Casino Manchester Bury New Road |
| August 27-September 1 | Grosvenor Casino Leeds Westgate |
| September 24-29 | Grosvenor Casino Victoria, London |
| October 10-21 | Grosvenor Casino Coventry |
