GUKPT Heads to Manchester From February 1; Bumper Main Event Expected

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GUKPT Manchester

Manchester brought you iconic bands such as The Stone Roses, The Smiths, and Oasis, but did you know it is also the city that has hosted one of the longest-running stops of the popular Grosvenor UK Poker Tour (GUKPT)?

GUKPT Manchester has taken place every year since 2007, including during the COVID-19 hit 2020 when live poker ground to a halt globally. The 2020 edition of the GUKPT Manchester Main Event was the last event that Grosvenor ran that year.

The latest edition of GUKPT Manchester takes place at Grosvenor Casino Bury New Road from February 1 through February 11, and the £1,250 buy-in Main Event is expected to have a bumper crowd in attendance.

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Each of the last three GUKPT Manchester Main Events have awarded their champion a six-figure sum thanks to over 440 players turning out in force. The 2022 edition broke through 500 entrants, with 526 players fighting it out for a £141,000 top prize, the largest ever awarded at this stop. Trevor Reardon got his hands on that record-breaking sum.

After the recent GUKPT London Main Event saw 529 player buy in, a 13% increase on 2022, everything points to this latest edition of the GUKPT Manchester Main Event being huge.

Day 1A shuffles up and deals at 12:00 p.m. GMT on February 8, with Day 1B commencing at the same time on February 9. There is a Day 1C with a turbo blind structure taking place at 9:00 p.m. on February 9. It is possible to buy in before the start of Day 2, but those super-late entrants will enter the fray armed with a sub-10 big blind stack.

Several side events adorn the schedule and compliment the Main Event. The festival kicks off with a £330 buy-in Mystery Bounty tournament, with a £250 Mini Main Event following on from that. Grosvenor Casinos calls it a Mini Main Event, but last year's equivalent tournament attracted 759 entrants and awarded Marian Dumitrache £38,140 when they emerged victoriously after three days of grinding.

2024 GUKPT Manchester Schedule

DateTimeEvent
Thu 1 Feb7:00 p.m.£330 NLHE Mystery Bounty Day 1A
Fri 2 Feb7:00 p.m.£330 NLHE Mystery Bounty Day 1B
Sat 3 Feb2:00 p.m.£330 NLHE Mystery Bounty Day 1C
 8:00 p.m.£330 NLHE Mystery Bounty Day 1D Turbo
Sun 4 Feb12:00 p.m.Mystery Bounty Day 2
 3:00 p.m.£250 NLHE Mini Main Event Day 1A
Mon 5 Feb3:00 p.m.£250 NLHE Mini Main Event Day 1B
Thu 6 Feb12:00 p.m.£250 NLHE Mini Main Event Day 1C Turbo
 4:30 p.m.Mini Main Event Day 2
 7:00 p.m.£250 Pot-Limit Omaha
Wed 7 Feb3:00 p.m.£1,650 NLHE High Roller Day 1
 4:00 p.m.£200 NLHE Turbo
 5:00 p.m.Mini Main Event Day 3
Thu 8 Feb12:00 p.m.£1,250 NLHE GUKPT Main Event Day 1A
 12:30 p.m.£1,650 NLHE High Roller Day 2
Fri 9 Feb12:00 p.m.£1,250 NLHE GUKPT Main Event Day 1B
 9:00 p.m.£1,250 NLHE GUKPT Main Event Day 1C Turbo
Sat 10 Feb12:00 p.m.£1,250 GUKPT Main Event Day 2
 2:30 p.m.£550 NLHE GUKPT Cup Day 1
Sun 11 FebGUKPT Main Event Day 3 
 12:30 p.m.£550 GUKPT Cup Day 2
 1:00 p.m.£150 NLHE Seniors
 3:00 p.m.£330 PLO 4/5/6 Card Bounty
 7:00 p.m.£200 NLHE Closer

In addition to regular tournaments, four £110 buy-in cashout satellites are scheduled, which award a £1,000 GUKPT voucher for every £1,000 in the prize pool. Online satellites are also available at Grosvenor Poker.

Past GUKPT Manchester Main Event Champions

Calogero Morreale
Reigning GUKPT Manchester champion Calogero Morreale

Plenty of household names have left Manchester with the GUKPT Main Event trophy under one arm and a bank balance boosted by some chunky prizes over the years.

The late Dave "El Blondie" Colclough won the inaugural event all the way back in 2007. Such luminaries as Marc Goodwin, Simon Moorman (Chris Moorman's dad), Kully Sidhu, Rhys Jones, Ali Mallu, World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner Ben Dobson, former Team Grosvenor member Richard Trigg, and the sun-runner that is Calogero Morreale can all call themselves GUKPT Manchester champions.

It was his victory in the 2023 GUKPT Manchester Main Event that gave Morreale a platform on which to build a National Poker League-winning run. The Italian finished top of the pile and won a £40,000 sponsorship package plus the Grosvenor Casinos Player of the Year trophy.

YearBuy-inEntrantsPrize PoolChampionPrize
2023£1,250445£460,950Calogero Morreale£106,700
2022£1,250526£578,600Trevor Reardon£141,000
2021£1,250472£519,200Richard Trigg£134,250
2020£1,100317£310,600Ben Dobson£75,510
2019£1,100302£301,840Benard Margedze£69,470
2018£1,10024£241,000Adam Lulat£68,930
2017£1,100268£268,000Andy Hills£46,988
2016£1,100232£232,000[Removed:474]£58,300
2015£1,090198£200,000Ali Mallu£59,000
2014£1,080192£200,000Rhys Jones£42,000
2013£1,070180£200,000Sunny Chattha£35,000
2012£1,070171£171,000Anonymous£49,600
2011£1,070207£207,000Peter McAdams£58,100
2010£1,070192£192,000Kully Sidhu£54,850
2009£1,070298£298,000Simon Moorman£88,630
2008£1,060309£309,000Marc Goodwin£90,420
2007£1,050285£285,000Dave Colclough£88,300
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