An Emotional Night: Local Lad Ali Ayub Wins Inagural EAPT UK Main Event
Ali Ayub has become the first-ever EAPT UK Main Event champion and bagged a cool £67,400 for his troubles at Dusk Till Dawn
The local hero outlasted 857 players and, after agreeing to an ICM chip-chop, beat Ionut Dumitrana heads-up to take the crown.
The DTD regular and commentator was a popular victor with a dozen players in his winner’s photograph including Waheed Ashraf, James Clarke, and the infamous Will Kassouf.
The winning moment came when Ayub shoved with an open-ended straight draw and flush draw. Dumitrana made the call with a pair of threes.
Ayub had two overcards with the five-four of clubs and had 20 outs to take down the championship. He hit the eight of clubs for a flush to lift the light-up EAPT trophy.
EAPT UK Main Event Final Table Results
| Rank | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ali Ayub | United Kingdom | £67,400* |
| 2 | Ionut Dumitrana | United Kingdom | £59,600* |
| 3 | Jason Riley | United Kingdom | £33,500 |
| 4 | Yanwen Li | United Kingdom | £23,250 |
| 5 | David Langsdale | United Kingdom | £16,500 |
| 6 | Longmao Fan | United Kingdom | £11,000 |
| 7 | Trevor Pearson | United Kingdom | £8,000 |
| 8 | Yinchuan Liu | China | £6,000 |
| 9 | Ben Clark | United Kingdom | £5,000 |
*denotes ICM chop
Winner’s Reaction
When the dust settled, Ayub spoke to PokerNews about his victory and thanked Jon McCann, Waheed Ashraf, and Tony Samuel, who had supported him throughout his career.
Ayub is a regular cash game player and commentator at the Dusk Till Dawn cash game streams and was asked if that experience helped him on the final table.
“Yes, I am used to playing under the lights, and I know it can have a strange effect on some players who are mindful of what they are going to say, but it helps when you have been there and done that and feel comfortable in the environment.”
Ayub clashed with Dumitrana for the majority of the day. PokerNews asked Ayub if he respected his game. “Without sounding arrogant, I believe the best two players made it heads-up and I said to him that I respected him and I wouldn’t be too fussed if I lost to him. Fortunately for me, I pipped him on the line.”
PokerNews asked if this win would be a catalyst for playing any more events in the future. “To be honest with you, I am actually winding down playing as I have been playing a long time. I will probably stick to the same level and enjoy the win with friends and family.”
Finally, Ayub wanted to heap praise on the EAPT: “It was a fantastic tournament and well run with a great structure and price point, and the trophy is beautiful!” Ayub was ecstatic when he discovered that there was an in-built light in the trophy!
Highlights of the day
Eighteen players returned to compete for the EAPT UK Main Event trophy. The action got off to a flying start, with Jorge Palomino and Lewis Nuttall both eliminated within 30 minutes of the first level of the day.
It was a frustrating start for the eventual champion, Ayub, who came into the day 13th in chips. He bemoaned about the lack of hands he was receiving and chastised Foad Sattarzadeh for picking up hands on a regular basis.
Soon, Ayub’s fortune was starting to turn, and he won three confrontations in a row against the unfortunate Ryan Cooper, who finished in 14th place.
Sattarzadeh’s purple patch soon fizzled out and was eliminated cruelly when he was all in preflop with king-queen and was cracked by Dumitrana’s king-nine.
Ayub went into the final table fourth in chips and ramped up the aggression to dominate proceedings. He climbed to the top of the chip standings with seven players remaining after making a full house against Dumitrana.
The undisputed hand of the day occurred when the final table was six-handed, and Yanwen Li raised under the gun with pocket kings. Li was called by four of her five opponents.
On a ten-high flop, Li shoved and was called by Ayub and Longmao Fan. Ayub shoved on the turn with ace-ten, which got Fan to fold. A brick came on the river, and Li quadrupled up to take her from last place to second place.
Li was one of the brightest stars in the tournament and had only recently discovered poker. Li started playing regularly at local comps at Luton before moving to Nottingham and has become a regular at Dusk Till Dawn.
Before the EAPT UK Main Event Li had only three recorded cashes to her name for total live earnings of $2,897. Li was devastated to finish in fourth place for £23,250, but this experience has certainly whetted her appetite for future success.
The final three were Ayub, Dumitrana, and Jason Riley, who was the significant short stack. This did not deter Riley, who came out all guns blazing and moved all in regularly to the annoyance of his opponents.
Riley managed to claw back into second place, but a mistimed triple-barrel against Dumitrana decimated his stack to eight big blinds. Riley was dispatched by Ayub shortly after when the champion made a pair of kings.
With only two big blinds separating the final two, both players agreed to do an ICM chop. Ayub was guaranteed £55,900, and Dumitrana £56,600. Play continued for the trophy and an additional £7,500.
Ayub took the initiative after a four-bet shove on the flop with a flush draw, which gave him a two-to-one chip advantage. Shortly after, Ayub hit one of his twenty outs to put his name in the history book.
This concludes the exclusive coverage of the EAPT UK Main Event at Dusk Till Dawn, Nottingham. Stick with PokerNews for more live reporting content from tours around the world.
