James Mitchell wins the Grosvenor United Kingdom Poker Tour Main Event in Edinburgh after beating Colin Wu, in heads-up action, to take the £33,930 first prize.
It was the fifth time Mitchell had appeared in a GUKPT Main Event final table. The Londoner finished third behind David La Ronde and Sam Trickett in Luton back in 2008, ninth in Walsall two years later, fifth in the Grand Final in 2011, and fourth in last seasons event in Blackpool.
The 2010 Irish Open Champion is now a rat’s tale away from $1.7m in live tournament earnings. He only needs a United Kingdom & Ireland Poker Tour (UKIPT) Main Event victory to win all three of the major British events.
The event drew 180 unique entries, and 54 re-entries, and that was more than enough to ensure the £100,000 guarantee was met. The reigning champion, and Edinburgh resident, Andrew Teng, delivered a reasonable defense of his trophy going out in 19th place. Teng took the heat of his 2014 GUKPT Edinburgh victory into Las Vegas and came away with a half a million dollar score. Mitchell will be hoping for a similar result.
Mitchell’s heads-up opponent was no slouch. In 2009, Wu defeated 125 entrants to top the field in the GUKPT Tournament of Champions, for a score of £25,000, and has a GUKPT side event victory on his resume.
The pair would go into their heads-up battle even in chips. Wu would then take a 2:1 chip lead before a cooler left him on life support. The pair got it in with Mitchell’s AQ ahead of Wu’s AJ. They both flopped a pair, but Mitchell rivered trips to put him in control. The match would end after Mitchell flopped a set of treys on a eight high flop. Wu was holding pocket jacks, and the money went in on a [9c] turn. There was no jack in the box. Wu would have to settle for £22,230.
The GUKPT now heads to the Welsh capital of Cardiff, May 24-31, where the Main Event will carry a £550 buy-in.
Final Table Results
1st. James Mitchell – £33,930
2nd. Colin Wu – £22,230
3rd. Paul Strachan – £13,920
4th. Mindaugas Kriauciunas – £9,130
5th. Richard Clyde – £6,320
6th. Stephen Wood – £4,560
7th. Usman Ulhaq – £3,740
8th. David Maclean – £3,160
9th. Gary Bertram – £2,690
10th. Steven Duncan – £2,230
