Stephen Barnes captured the first major title of his career on Sunday, closing out the win in the finale of the 2024 888poker LIVE Manchester £1,100 Main Event at Grosvenor Casino. Barnes topped a 279-entry field to win after a strong performance that saw him near or at the top of the counts during the entire final table that was also streamed by 888poker LIVE.
Barnes earned a career-best £58,000 after a two-way deal with eventual runner-up Zhicheng Miao. The chop gave Barnes £48,000 and Miao £44,000 and left another £10,000 for the champion, which Barnes quickly claimed soon after he won a major collision with Miao early in heads-up action. The big hand left Barnes with roughly 95% of the chips in play, and though Miao doubled up once, he got no closer, and the tourney concluded when Miao got his last chips in with K-7 against Barnes's Q-7, only to see Barnes spike a queen on the turn that sealed the win.
Third place and £30,000 went to Jamie Walden, while David Gee, who led the final table when Sunday's action began, finished fourth for £20,000.
Only two years of experience for Barnes
For the 27-year-old Gateshead resident, it's been a quick climb to major poker success. He began playing poker only two years ago, after discovering the game on a casino trip with a friend. It's been only a little over a year since Barnes began appearing at live events, and he logged his first live win in April. He's so new to live poker that both of the largest poker-results databases have his cashes mixed up with another 'Stephen Barnes', a US player, who's logged occasional cashes in Las Vegas over the last decade.
This Barnes is from the UK, and though he's a newcomer to the game, he's taken his poker seriously from the start, studying hard, receiving coaching, and testing the waters in ever-larger tournaments. His win on Sunday was his first five-digit score, exceeding by several times his live career earnings prior to the Manchester main event.
"I got very lucky, as you can see by the last hand," Barnes told 888poker LIVE commentator Phil Heald, referring to his spiking the three-outer to seal the win. Yet Heald focused on Barnes's seeming maturity and table presence on his way to the dominating win. Barnes chalked it up to his hard work and studying, including more than the poker strategy itself. He also acknowledged that he'd been playing more of late. "This is just the beginning," he told Heald.
Final-table results for 2024 888poker LIVE Manchester Main Event:
- Stephen Barnes - £58,000*
- Zhicheng Miao - £44,000*
- Jamie Walden - £30,000
- David Gee - £20,000
- Aram Ramadan - £13,900
- Robert Boon - £10,200
- Man Li - £8,150
- Mark McDade - £7,020
- Qasim Zia - £6,100
* Two-way deal reflected in payouts, including $10,000 for winner following deal
Images courtesy of 888Poker
