Rhys ‘Floppinhel’ Jones defeats Simon Deadman to take the first prize of £42,000 at the Grosvenor United Kingdom Poker Tour (GUKPT) Main Event in Manchester.
Rhys ‘Floppinhel’ Jones is scratching the belly of $400,000 in live tournament earnings after taking first place and £42,000 from the GUKPT Main Event leg in Manchester.
Jones, who is more known for his online exploits where he plays under the pseudonym Floppinhel, picked up his first live tournament title after defeating Simon Deadman in heads-up action.
192 players entered the event, which was a lot lower than the GUKPT expected, and cost them around £8,000 in free money after the British outfit stamped a £200,000 Guarantee on the event.
By all accounts it was one of the best GUKPT final tables in the history of the tour, and a deal was stuck when the play reached the final three players with Rhys Jones, Simon Deadman and Steve Warburton all taking £39,000 each with £5,000 left in the kitty for the eventual winner and runner-up, and £1,000 of that going into the dealers tip jar.
Warburton would finish third when he got his chips into the mixer holding pocket sixes. Rhys Jones was his opponent holding [Ah] [Js] and an ace on the flop gave Jones the slight advantage going into heads up (2.1m v 1.7m)
When it comes to the final tables of GUKPT Main Events the sight of Simon Deadman is about as common as a pigeon in Trafalgar Square, but he does seem to have a bit of a problem putting them away, and unfortunately this event was no different.
Jones taking the additional £4,000, and the GUKPT Grand Final seat, after the short stacked Deadman called a Jones shove holding [Kd] [2d]; Jones turned over [Jh] [9d] and a nine on the flop handed Jones the first title of his career, and Deadman his 18th runner-up finish in the past five years.
“I am happy. I am playing really well and didn’t do a lot wrong heads up, but I didn’t win again! We have played quite a few times together and so the deal was a no brainer…. obviously I knew I was just going to come second anyway.” Said Deadman after his loss.
An excited Jones chimed in: “It’s awesome to win. When I am playing online I am sat at home finishing at 4 or 5 in the morning all bleary eyed and heading straight to sleep. This is my first proper live win and it feels really good.”
Final Table Standings
1st – Rhys Jones – £42,000
2nd. Simon Deadman – £40,000
3rd. Steve Warburton – £39,000
4th. Richard Kellett – £15,000
5th. Nathan Jackson – £11,500
6th. Dahe Liu – £9,500
7th. Karl Mahrenholz – £7,500
8th. Graeme Crozier – £5,500
9h. Mark Harding – £4,000
