The Grosvenor UK Poker Tour rolled into Reading on Sunday, with the 2015 GUKPT Reading Main Event kicking off just hours ago at the Grosvenor Casino Reading South. Players took to their seats this afternoon to kick off Day 1A after paying the £550 buy-in for a shot at the guaranteed £100,000 prize pool.
When the Main Event first got underway, 30 players took their seats around the felt. With late registration open until 8:00pm, that number has already doubled to 60 going into the dinner break. Don’t let the seemingly low entry levels fool you, though.
The GUKPT made its Reading debut in 2013 and drew 165 players, increasing to 268 the following year. With the first leg of Day 1 occurring on a Thursday, the tournament’s organizers are expecting a much larger crowd to enter Day 1B on Friday.
Another incentive that’s sure to draw extra players at the tables tomorrow is the fact that today’s eliminations will be afforded a chance to buy back into the tournament once more for a 1x reentry.
Last year’s GUKPT Reading guaranteed the same £100k prize pool, but the heightened entries boosted that figure to £134,000. The end result was an impressive £29,200 reward, and free entry to the Grand Final, for Paul Vas Nunes, the eventual winner of the 2014 GUKTP Main Event in Reading.
Nunes skill carried on throughout the Grosvenor UK Poker Tour. His performance in the Grand Final was immaculate, landing him in 2nd place for an even more impressive £94,775 cash.
In general, the 2015 GUKPT has been incredibly popular as it travels its way around the region, but this time of year always sees relatively lower fields of play. Many of the UK’s most prominent poker pros are overseas at the moment, taking their place on the poker realms largest stage of all – the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas.
Up and Coming Poker Players Lead 2015 GUKPT Reading Main Event
In the same token, with the more dominant veterans on US soil at the moment, it presents a perfect opportunity for up and coming poker stars to present their skillsets. And that’s exactly what we’ve been seeing throughout the first few hours of play at the 2015 GUKPT Reading Main Event.
Just before the dinner break, Alex Bounsall, who has collected £16,506 across 6 live poker tournament cashes since 2013, is currently holding a comfortable lead of 48,000 after eliminating Symon Solomon with a trio of Kings.
Likewise, Sidney Oppong, a regular face on the UK’s poker tables since 2012 with £14,770 in winnings among 12 cashes, has built his stack up to 43,000.
Players can still enter Day 1A of the 2015 GUKPT Reading Main Event until 8:00pm tonight. The £500+£50 entry fee grants players a seat at the tables with 20,000 chips (and access to the complimentary buffet, of course).
Those who survive tomorrow’s action will move on to Day 2 of the GUKPT Reading Main Event on Saturday, with the final day of action slated for Sunday. The winner will receive a 1st place prize relative to the overall prize pool once all entries are in, plus a free seat in the 2015 GUKPT London Grand Final in November.