We've already had plenty of action at the salubrious JW Marriott Grosvenor House in London, but things start to get serious today.
There are two Main Events at this stop, and today sees the start of Day 1A of the £1,100 Circuit Main Event with a whopping £1,000,000 guarantee. The £3,300 Super Circuit Main Event starts on Tuesday – the day this event will play down to a winner.
And there's even more action at the Marriott today as the $250k Triton event plays down to a winner. It means our Circuit players will be rubbing shoulders with some of the biggest names in poker, including Tom Dwan and Jason Koon.
We're focusing on the real poker action, though, where there's a Circuit Ring up for grabs and a share of the seven-figure prize pool. We're expecting to see some big names of our own rocking up over the next five days.
The action in Event #8 started at midday local time, with 50,000 starting stacks and one re-entry allowed per Day 1. Come on down!
It's always good to win the first one
Things kicked off last week with the Mystery Million. Despite only being a live pro for just over 12 months, Rafael Navas outlasted the huge field of 1,339 players to turn his £560 into £80,000 (and £15,000 in bounties), and add a significant amount to his already red-hot run of $300,000 in live tournament cashes.
Navas has already scored over $300,000 in live earnings, including a deep run in Madrid's WPT Prime Main Event. He got through a final table, including the UK’s Gary Miller, who finished third and again came shy of winning a WSOPC ring after his sixth-place finish in the WSOPC Main Event in Nottingham.
Navas would have to face off against respected UK grinder Victor Ilyukhin, who has yet to taste a first-place podium finish but has notched over $735,000 in live tournament winnings. His experience against the in-form Navas was ultimately not enough, and Ilyukhin dropped out for second-place and £48,000, with £1,000 in bounties.
Richard “Chufty” Ashby wins first WSOP ring
Richard “Chufty” Ashby took down the £1,100 Pot-Limit Omaha event to bag his first-ever WSOP Circuit ring.
Aptly nicknamed “Chufty” for the amount he says he is chuffed, he will be delighted to have outmaneuvered a tough field, win £15,430, and it adds another accolade to the storied UK poker player’s career. Ashby joined a 55-player field that had more than a few tough opponents, as he had to outlast Robert Cowen, who recently fired the $50K PLO High Roller in the World Series of Poker, and James Jeraint ‘JJ’ Hazan, who is a PLO circuit regular across Europe.
After firing two bullets at the event, Ashby would find himself dominating the event once in the money. The final hurdle for Ashby came in the form of Justin Kyriakides, a Greek pro who favors four cards over two, but that was no pressure for Ashby, who had more live tournament earnings than the final two tables combined. His experience came through, and he banked the lion's share of the £53,350 prizepool, while Kyriakides secured his best-ever cash with a £12,620 second-place finish.
The WSOP Circuit ring is another notch in a stellar career for Richard “Chufty” Ashby. The mixed game specialist has been a staple in the UK poker scene for years, and he has been at the pinnacle of the game for well over a decade now. After scooping his first WSOP bracelet in 2010 after victory in the $1,500 Seven-Card Stud event, he now adds to his trophy collection and $2.7 million in tournament winnings.
The £1,100 PLO Hi-Lo event brought in 44 entries and a prizepool of over £42,000, with only seven players able to make money. Germany’s Phillip Krieger, who found deep runs in multiple WSOP PLO events this year, would be the one to scoop a WSOPC ring and £14,000. He battled through Tron McEntee heads up, who took £8,500 for the runner-up spot, while 2019 GUKPT Luton winner Vikrum Mehta would bow out in third place for £6,180.
Hendon Mob's Ram Vaswani returns to poker
Famous member of the Hendon Mob and UK poker legend Ram Vaswani returned, making an appearance in this event but falling short of the money with a 31st-place finish. Vaswani’s return to poker after a long exodus was stoked by Barny Boatman, a fellow Hendon Mob member and a legendary UK poker figure.
Ring winners so far...
- Rafael Navas wins Event #1, £560 Mystery Million
- Richard Ashby wins Event #2, £1,100 PLO
- David Ko wins Event #3, £450 Colossus
- Philipp Krieger wins Event #4, £1,100 PLO Hi-Lo
- Laura Curry wins Event #6, £560 Seniors
- Georgina James wins Event #7, £230 Ladies
The Monster Stack is playing down to a winner tonight. Everyone's favourite motormouth Will Kassouf is still in.
