The 18th GUKPT Season Shuffles Up in London From January 3
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It seems like only minutes ago that Paul Vas Nunes was crowned the 2023 Grosvenor UK Poker Tour (GUKPT) Grand Final champion, but here we are at the start of the long-running tour's 18th season. The Poker Room, formerly The Vic, will be awash with poker players from up and down the country from January 3 through January 14, each vying to get 2024 off to the best of starts.
The first GUKPT Main Event is scheduled to run from 12:00 p.m. GMT on January 11 through January 14. Each of the three flights, including the turbo-structured Day 1C, commands a £1,250 buy-in, and you receive 20,000 chips. Levels are 60-minutes in length through the Main Event, with Day 1s ending after the completion of Level 10, the curtain coming down on Day 2 after Level 20, and Day 3 lasting as long as it takes to crown the worthy champion.
Jonathan McCann is the reigning GUKPT London Main Event champion, having outlasted 458 opponents in January 2023. McCann padded his bankroll with a career-best £89,600, and went on to enjoy his best year at the live poker tables.
The first GUKPT Main Event of 2024 aside, there are some other eagerly anticipated tournaments on the bustling schedule. A £440 No-Limit Hold'em Super Mystery Bounty kicks off the festival, while events such as the £340 No-Limit Hold'em Mini Main Event, £2,000 No-Limit High Roller, and a £550 Pot-Limit Omaha 4/5/6 card are sure to capture players' imaginations.
2024 GUKPT London Schedule
National Poker League Winners Will Be In Attendance
Calogero Morreale is one player guaranteed to show up for the £1,250 GUKPT London Main Event, and someone who will likely play all the side events, too. Morreale finished top of the National Poker League in 2023 after amassing 645.27 points, over 144 points more than Robbie Bull in second place.
Morreale cashed in two side events at the 2023 GUKPT London stop before finishing as runner-up to the aforementioned Jonathan McCann and collecting £65,950. The Italian followed his bridesmaid finish with an outright victory in the GUKPT Manchester Main Event worth £106,700.
Other impressive results included winning the £340 Mini UK Open in Coventry for £58,480, a runner-up finish worth £15,250 in the £550 GUKPT Cup in Edinburgh, and third place for £19,830 in the GUKT Blackpool High Roller.
Amazingly, Morreale finished third in the National Poker League in 2023, earning himself a £20,000 Diamond Package. His incredible resulted throughout 2023 mean he is part of the Team Grosvenor stable throughout 2024, and he heads into the New Year with a £40,000 sponsorship package.
National Poker League 2023 Final Leaderboard
| Rank | Player | Points | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Calogero Morreale | 645.27 | £40,000 sponsorship package |
| 2 | Robbie Bull | 501.09 | £20,000 Diamond Package |
| 3 | Lin Chen | 480.30 | £20,000 Diamond Package |
| 4 | Robert Douras | 458.20 | £15,000 Diamond Package |
| 5 | Arian Hassankashani | 423.55 | £15,000 Diamond Package |
| 6 | Brandon Sheils | 422.48 | £10,000 Diamond Package |
| 7 | James Williams | 325.55 | £10,000 Diamond Package |
| 8 | Min Ji | 321.67 | £10,000 Diamond Package |
| 9 | John Bousfield | 313.00 | £10,000 Diamond Package |
| 10 | Christopher Johnson | 294.51 | £10,000 Diamond Package |
| 11 | Matt Davenport | 282.24 | £10,000 Diamond Package |
| 12 | Callum Gordon | 277.49 | £10,000 Diamond Package |
| 13 | Navdeep Singh Chopra | 277.03 | £10,000 Diamond Package |
| 14 | R.S. | 259.23 | £10,000 Diamond Package |
| 15 | Michael Howard | 257.07 | £10,000 Diamond Package |
| 16 | Alex Montgomery | 252.15 | £10,000 Diamond Package |
| 17 | Longmao Fan | 240.53 | £10,000 Diamond Package |
| 18 | Tim Chung | 230.79 | £10,000 Diamond Package |
| 19 | Hang Xu | 229.20 | £10,000 Diamond Package |
Stay tuned to PokerNews throughout the 2024 GUKPT London festival and, indeed, during the entire season, as we bring you the busy schedules, biggest results, and all the news from the United Kingdom's longest-running tour.
