While those fancy-pants Americans were playing in some over-hyped poker game across the pond, the PokerStars-sponsored UK and Ireland Poker Tour (UKIPT) arrived in Brighton for the weekend and, although not quite reaching the life-changing prize funds witnessed in Las Vegas, saw an entry of 603 contest the UKIPT plaque and first place prize of £71.100.
Victory went to Chris O´Donnell, who had been amongst the flip-flopping chip leaders on Day 1 and who was partly responsible for a brutal second day on which the field was reduced from 169 down to just 11. When Day 3 started O´Donnell was in ninth position but, amongst a swathe of early eliminations, took out David Trigg in seventh, crushed Senim Melin (she eventually finished fifth) and moved into the chip lead when eliminating Jeff Duval in third.
The Heads Up against Richard Hasancebi lasted more than three hours despite O ´Donnell having an 8:1 chip advantage early in the proceedings. The deciding hand came when the two chip stacks were just about level – O´Donnell´s A♦ K♦ proving too strong for Hasancebi´s A♥ 7♥ – giving online pro “Bobby BigHead” his first major live victory.
UKIPT Brighton final table payouts:
| Player | Nationality | Prize (£) | ||
| 1 | Chris O´Donnell | GB | 71,100 | |
| 2 | Richard Hasancebi | GB | 41,300 | PokerStars Player |
| 3 | Jeff Duval | GB | 25,300 | |
| 4 | Rudi Johnsen | Norway | 18,600 | PokerStars Qualifier |
| 5 | Sinem Melin | GB | 14,900 | |
| 6 | David Rudling-Smith | GB | 11,400 | PokerStars Player |
| 7 | David Trigg | GB | 8,950 | PokerStars Player |
| 8 | Jaroslav Horak | Czech | 6,900 | PokerStars Qualifier |
| 9 | Alex Ferguson | GB | 4,930 | PokerStars Qualifier |
Next on the Itinerary – UKIPT Edinburgh
Last year´s UKIPT winner, Jamie Burland, had intended to defend his crown but was still competing in the WSOP Main Event and had to re-schedule his flight back home after running deeper than he had anticipated. Jamie is expected to participate in the next leg of the PokerStars sponsored UKIPT at the Corn Exchange in Edinburgh from 11th-14th August, and you can join in the fun as well! For full details see our UKIPT Edinburgh schedule.
Satellite qualifiers for the £500.00 Main Event are running on PokerStars.co.uk (review) right now from as little as $1.10 and, with a guaranteed prize fund of £200.000, the return to your investment of time and money could be fantastic. The event also coincides with the opening of the Edinburgh Festival, so the event also provides poker players with an opportunity to enjoy a little bit of culture in the Scottish capital.
