Litman wins first GUKPT Main Event of the season
Published on 20 January 2009
The 2009 season of the Grosvenor UK Poker Tour (GUKPT) has got underway with its first leg, the GUKPT Brighton, which concluded last Sunday. This year’s GUKPT will consist of 9 legs across the UK, the Grand Final and the Champion of Champions event just like last year. Some new events have also been added to the GUKPT season such as two high-roller tournaments taking place in March and November. An extra £150,000 has been added by tour organisers Grosvenor Casinos and Blue Square Poker to this season’s tour.
A total of 235 poker players took part in the £1,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em Main Event in Brighton but there could only be one winner and the honours went to 53 year-old Essex businessman, Bernard Litman. Litman’ s reward was a plaque, a place in the end of season Champion of Champions event, 125 GUKPT ranking points and £70,520 prize money.
Litman fought his way through a final table that consisted of Ramsey Ajram, Nick Holbrook, Andreas Hoivoid, Nathan Lee, Richard Lewdon, Keir Ratcliff, Matt Perrins and James Sudworth. Andreas Hoivoid held the chip lead in the early part of the final table action right up until there were only four players left.
Hoivoid was then eliminated by James Sudworth to finish in fourth place. Hoivoid’s reward was £18,560. Nick Holbrook was the next player to go this time at the hands of Litman, which meant the heads-up would be between Litman and Sudworth. Holbrook’s prize for third place was £28,790.
Litman had double the number of chips of his opponent at the beginning of the heads-up final. The heads-up lasted half an hour in which time Sudworth made a bit of a comeback but in the end Litman sealed victory with his jacks proving too strong for Sudworth’s sevens. James Sudworth picked up a cheque for £43,480 for his runners-up spot.
In the other events at the GUKPT Brighton leg, Shana Casaletto became the first player to win back-to-back GUKPT events as she was victorious in the £100 No Limit Hold’em Freezeout event and the £250 event. Elsewhere, poker pro Dave Colclough won the £100 Omaha rebuy event.
The second leg of the 2009 GUKPT will be in Walsall starting in late February.
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