The 2024 Amateur Poker Association & Tour (APAT) explodes into life over the weekend of January 12 when the APAT UK Team Championship take place at the home of British poker, Dusk Till Dawn. Although registration for the Team Event is closed, four side events and a UK Poker Championship (UKPC) satellite are open to all players.
The APAT UK Team Championship is one of the most popular events on the APAT calendar. Forty teams, consisting of eight players, take to the felt in the £120 buy-in APAT UK Team Championship event, hoping to earn points based on their finishing position.
APAT distributes the prize pool on a 75/25 basis to the top five teams and the top 15 individual players in the UK Team Championship. In addition, the top three teams and top trio of individuals captured coveted APAT Gold, Silver, and Bronze medals.
Points are awarded to all players on Day 2 using a reverse position scoring system. For example, a 100th place finish would earn 1 points, while finishing in first-place would award 100 points.
Read how Scotsquad won the title in 2023
Leigh Wiltshire, CEO of APAT, is looking forward to what is the 15th edition of this ever-popular event.
“This will be the 15th running of our UK Team Championship. Bringing together recreational poker groups, clubs, and communities for the first event of our year has become a bit of a tradition that we know the players look forward to just as much as we do. A few of the teams have never missed a year, but whether players are part of an experienced team or it’s their first time competing, we always hope everyone experiences a great weekend of poker at Dusk Till Dawn.”
Last year, 360 players across 45 teams entered the 2023 APAT UK Team Championship, creating a £36,000 prize pool. “Scotsquad,” consisting of Rab McCarroll, Colin Napier, William Higgins, James Marriott, Nicholas Howat, Donald Sloss, and Clare Duffy, came out on top and banked £8,000 to share between them.
“Scotsquad” finished 39 points ahead of “Bishops Cleeve Bar 9” in second and 63 points ahead of bronze medallists “LV22.”
Wayne Tinnion (Geordie Poker) came out on top in the individual standings, winning £2,500 plus an APAT Gold medal. Jon Young (Carterton Poker Club) and Ryan Houghton (Angies Room) were the second and third-place finishers, respectively.
APAT UK Team Championship Schedule
| Date | Time | Event | Buy-in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fri 12 Jan | 6:00 p.m. | Bounty Hunter APAT Special | £60 |
| Sat 13 Jan | 2:00 p.m. | APAT UK Team Championship Day 1 | £120* |
| 7:00 p.m. | APAT NLHE 50 Side Event | £60 | |
| Sun 14 Jan | 1:00 p.m. | APAT UK Team Championship Day 2 | |
| 1:00 p.m. | APAT PLO Championship | £120 | |
| 3:00 p.m. | APAT NLHE 100 Side Event | £120 | |
| 5:00 p.m. | UKPC Main Event Sat: 5 seats GTD | £30 |
Plenty of side action takes place during the APAT UK Team Championship; the side events are open to everyone, not only APAT members and UK Team Championship players.
January 12, at 6:00 p.m. GMT, there is a £60 buy-in Bounty Hunter to kick things off. Some 295 players turned out for this tournament in 2023, so expect a similar crowd this time around.
While Day 1 of the UK Team Championship is in full swing on January 13, a £60 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em tournament runs alongside it from 7:00 p.m. GMT. Waheed “Wadey” Ashraf took this tournament down last year, bulldozing his way through 77 opponents.
If Pot-Limit Omaha is your thing, and you have £120 burning a hole in your pocket, head to Dusk Till Dawn from 1:00 p.m. GMT on January 14. Follow in Vahid Amirzahiri‘s footsteps to become this tournament’s champion. A field of 75 resulted in a £2,550 top prize in 2023.
The final side event is a £120 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em affair a 3:00 p.m. GMT on January 14.
Those of you still in Nottingham at 5:00 p.m. GMT on January 15 can get involved in a £30 buy-in satellite for the UK Poker Championships Main Event. Dusk Till Dawn guaranteesfive £560 seats will be won, which means there is likely to be an overlay for the club, but value for you!
Two More APAT Stops Announced
Don’t worry if you can’t get down to Dusk Till Dawn for the first stop of the 2024 APAT season because you won’t have long to wait to get in on the action. From February 9-11, APAT heads to Asch, Czech Republic for the German Team Championship. Like the UK edition, there are open events complementing the team-based tournament.
Then, from February 21-24, the European Championship Of Amateur Poker (ECOAP) takes place at Apsers Stratford, London. A bustling schedule is on the cards, and PokerNews will let you know all about it in the coming weeks.