Following London Success UKIP Tour Now Heads to Nottingham
Professional poker player Gaspare Sposato has won the UK & Ireland Poker Tour’s £1,100 entry Main Event staged at London’s Hippodrome Casino. The Italian started the final day as chip leader. He held his position throughout the decisive final table to emerge with a £107,660 prize after a heads-up deal with second-placed Atanas Pavlov from Bulgaria.
The London UKIPT generated a £696,000 prize pool, but £1 million-plus is the promised pot for the tour’s next stop in Nottingham. ©PokerStars
2024’s UKIPT London Main Event was extremely popular and featured a significant increase in last year’s participation numbers. While the 2023 Main Event saw 375 entries (236 unique players) and produced a £359,040 prize pool, this year’s tournament attracted 725 entries (420 unique players). The field generated a £696,000 purse, which was distributed amongst the top 108 finishers.
A Birthday Trophy for the Winner
“I was only playing for the trophy. I was really close last year in Paris, but I lost heads-up, and many times tonight, I thought the same thing was going to happen again,” said Sposato after collecting his prize. “This trophy is a present for my wife, it was her birthday yesterday. It’s a great moment to be all together with friends and enjoy it.”
Main Event Final Table Result:
1. Gaspare Sposato (Italy) £107,660
2. Atanas Pavlov (Bulgaria) £99,340
3. Alessandro Pichierri (Italy) £56,700
4. Candido Cappiello (Italy) £43,600
5. Saigokul Kannan (UAE) £33,600
6. Artús Giménez (Spain) £25,900
7. Colin MacAndrew (UK) £19,900
8. Conor O’Driscoll (Ireland) £15,350
9. Joe Hindry (UK) £11,800
Described by PokerStars as the “crown jewel of the UKIPT side events”, the £330 London Cup was won by Norway’s Kent Roed after a dramatic heads-up battle with England’s David McConachie. The 376-entry event paid out £108,288 in prizemoney, distributed amongst the 55 players that reached Day 2. Taking third was the 2013 UKIPT London champion, Robbie Bull.
UKIPT Cup Final Table Result:
1. Kent Roed (Norway) £21,498
2. David McConachie (England) £13,510
3. Robert Bull (Scotland) £9,650
4. Elliott Panyi (England) £7,420
5. Ivonne Montealegre (Costa Rica) £5,710
6. Gonzalo Gonzalez Guy (Spain) £4,390
The ten-day UK & Ireland Poker Tour London stop was a truly international affair, and it was a Belgian, Mallory Frere, who emerged as champion in the £2,200 High Roller event. One hundred twenty-two entries saw this competition generate a £234,240 prize pool. The winner took a £59,940 share. Runner-up Alex Romero from Spain collected £37,600 for his efforts.
A Million on the Line in Nottingham
Just one leg of 2024’s PokerStars UKIPT remains this season, the UKIPT Nottingham. Scheduled for November 8-18 at the Dusk Till Dawn card room, previous incarnations of this festival have been a highlight of the UK poker calendar. As it did in 2023, this year’s competition will feature a £1 million guaranteed prize pool.
Last year, Frenchman Vincent Meli and German Patrice Brandt shared £327,750 when finishing first and second in the Nottingham Main Event. Meli, a London resident, scored again in February 2024 when landing Manchester’s Grosvenor UK Poker Tour Main Event for a £83,897 prize.
