Aleksandrs Golubevs Grabs WPT500 UK Main Event Title (£100,000)
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Dusk Till Dawn Poker Club in Nottingham, United Kingdom, played host to the 2023 WPT500 UK festival, which includes a £560 buy-in £500,000 guaranteed Main Event. That Main Event attracted 895 entrants, of which 135 received a slice of the £500,000 prize pool, with Aleksandrs Golubevs claiming the lion's share, namely £100,000.
Plenty of familiar names and faces navigated their way into the money places in the WPT500 UK Main Event. These included Waheed "Wadey" Ashraf, Timothy Chung, Bash Mahmood, Antonius Samuel, Matthew Davenport, and Nick Hicks.
Nineteen of those Day 2 players made it through to the final day's play, and the nine-handed final table was set when Jonathan Sibley bowed out in tenth place.
WPT500 UK Main Event Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aleksandrs Golubevs | £100,000 |
| 2 | Dale Hancock | £60,000 |
| 3 | Ihor Haliuk | £40,000 |
| 4 | Andrei Dusu | £24,000 |
| 5 | Adeniji Sonde | £15,000 |
| 6 | Mihail Popa | £10,000 |
| 7 | Radu Lita | £7,500 |
| 8 | Chris Da-Silva | £6,000 |
| 9 | Anonymous | £5,000 |
The final table lost a player early doors when an anonymous player fell by the wayside.
The 2019 Battle of Malta High Roller champion Chris Da-Silva was next out of the door, followed by Radu Lita, Mihail Popa, and Adeniji Sonde.
Fourth place and a career-best £24,000 went to Andrei Dusu, whose only recorded cash prior to this event was a 41st place finish in the £440 Mystery Bounty at the Grosvenor UK Poker Open in February 2023.
There was also a new career-high for Ihor Haliuk, who finished in third for an impressive £40,000. Haliuk's previous largest score weighed in at £610!
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Heads-up pitted Dale Hancock against Golubevs. Hancock finished second in a £200 buy-in event in January for £9,000, and he had to make do with another runner-up finish this time around, although this one tipped the scales at £60,000.
Hancock's elimination meant Golubevs was the last player standing and, therefore, the WPT500 UK Main Event champion, an accolade that came with the first six-figure prize of his career, namely £100,000.
High Roller Ends in a Three-Way Chop; Foggin Claims Title
The £1,100 buy-in WPT500 UK High Roller drew in 159 entrants, who created a £154,230 prize pool that the top 15 finishers shared. A min-cash weighed in at £3,000, with the nine finalists locking in at least £5,000 for their efforts.
Dutch veteran Marcel Luske was the ninth-place finisher, and he was joined on the rail by Gary Miller who you may recall won the 2018 WPT500 UK in London.
Popular grinder Charles Chattha bowed out in seventh before Jonathan McCann crashed out in sixth, and got his hands on the tournament's last four-figure sum.
The 2022 888Live London Festival Main Event champion Bhavin Khatri clinched the £10,000 fifth place prize, with Matthew Davenport warming up for the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas with a fourth-place finish worth £13,230.
With Davenport out of the way, the final three heroes first discussed then agreed upon a deal for the remaining prize pool. Charles Akadiri picked up £29,420 before busting in third, then Marc Foggin defeated Phil Clarke heads-up to get his hands on the trophy and £29,615; Clarke collected £25,965 for his runner-up finish.
WPT500 UK High Roller Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marc Foggin | £29,615* |
| 2 | Philip Clarke | £25,965* |
| 3 | Charles Akadiri | £29,420* |
| 4 | Matthew Davenport | £13,230 |
| 5 | Bhavin Khatri | £10,000 |
| 6 | Jonathan McCann | £8,000 |
| 7 | Charles Chattha | £7,000 |
| 8 | Gary Miller | £6,000 |
| 9 | Marcel Luske | £5,000 |
*reflects a three-handed deal
Next Up at Dusk Till Dawn
Tournament players do not have long to wait before the next major live event takes place at Dusk Till Dawn, the home of British poker.
The £120 buy-in £100,000 guaranteed DTD100 Live runs from June 7-11, with five starting flights taking place between those dates.
Did You Know the World Poker Tour is Online?
The launch of WPT Global means that poker players around the world now have the chance to win their way to WPT events, win prizes and enjoy exciting games such as Poker Flips. As one of the world's largest cash game poker networks, WPT Global is available in over 50 countries and territories around the world.
WPT Global offers a large deposit match bonus: 100% on deposits up to $1,200 (using any payment method). New players depositing a minimum of $20 automatically receive this match bonus which is unlocked in $5 increments (credited straight to the cashier) for every $20 of rake contribution.
Both tournaments and cash games count towards bonus unlocking; new players have 90 days from the date of first deposit to unlock and claim their full bonus amount.
Images courtesy of Dusk Till Dawn and the excellent Mickey May
