Tuan Le Crowned PokerStars UKIPT Blackpool Main Event Champion (£53,630)
Table Of Contents
The PokerStars UKIPT Blackpool Main Event, running at Grosvenor Casino at The Sandcastle, has reached its conclusion.
A total of 262 entries were recorded across three starting flights, which made for a £258,990 prize pool. Of those, 40 players made it through to Day 2 to lock up the £1,710 min-cash.
Those 40 players were then whittled down to the last six players, who returned to the felt for the third and final day.
Tuan Le of the United Kingdom started Day 3 as chip leader and continued to add to his stack to emerge as the outright winner. He won the top prize of £53,630.
Ali Zia held on throughout the day and laddered up when Teodor Evstratiev clashed with Le for mountains of chips. Zia came second for £23,730 and Evstratiev finished third for £33,230.
UKIPT Blackpool Main Event Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Tuan Le | United Kingdom | £53,630 |
| 2nd | Ali Zia | United Kingdom | £33,230 |
| 3rd | Teodor Evstratiev | Bulgaria | £23,730 |
| 4th | Jacob Mulhern | United Kingdom | £18,260 |
| 5th | Beihao Wang | China | £14,040 |
| 6th | Daniel Jackson | United Kingdom | £10,800 |
| 7th | Robert Boon | United Kingdom | £8,660 |
| 8th | Fraser Bellamy | United Kingdom | £7,220 |
| 9th | Maz Bako | United Kingdom | £6,010 |
Final Day Recap
Although stacks were relatively deep, the Final Day of the Main Event was over in the blink of an eye. None of the final six players seemed scared to get involved in pots, and so the tournament concluded within just three hours of restarting.
Daniel Jackson was the first to bust. Zia eliminated him to finish in sixth place after his ace-ten got there against Jackson's pocket nine.
Within the first hour and a half, Evstratiev chipped up to take the lead and then eliminated Beihao Wang in fifth place. Jacob Mulhern soon followed after his flush draw didn't come in after Le flopped top pair.
As the action went three-handed, Zia was sitting on a short stack, while Evstratiev and Le were close to even.
It looked like Zia would be next to go until the two big stacks clashed for all of their chips. After a blind versus blind raising war, Evstratiev got his flush draw in on the flop against Le's pocket aces. Le held to eliminate Evstratiev and enter heads-up with a significant chip advantage.
It was an advantage he would soon capitalize on. The first 20 hands of heads-up were uneventful, consisting mostly of single raises and bet-folds on the flop. Zia then took a hit to his stack before shoving from the button with a dominated ace. Le had ace-king and held out to win the tournament.
Tuan Le "Winging It" All the Way to the Win
Manchester-based Le works full-time as a beautician and finds time to play live poker four to five times a year.
"I'm a family man," said Le. "I'd love to play poker professionally, but I know I'm not good enough. Also, I'd miss the kids too much".
Despite playing a solid game and coming out on top, Le said, "I'm not as good as the players here. I feel like I'm winging it all the time!"
Le has had a second-place finish in a GUKPT event, but this is his first win in a major event. He will use the prize money to "get the Missus something" and has booked a trip to London. "That's as far as I can see right now," said Le.
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