Nick Marchington captured his first recorded live poker tournament victory by taking down the £1,500 buy-in Grosvenor UK Open Main Event in Coventry for an impressive £146,560. Marchington outlasted 619 opponents en route to collecting the second-largest score of his poker career.
Marchington is a cash game specialist who successfully dabbles with tournament poker. The British star is best known for a seventh-place finish in the 2019 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event, a fine result that bagged him $1,525,000. Marchington came close to his maiden live victory in November 2019 but fell at the final hurdle in the $1,100 Last Chance Turbo at the PartyPoker MILLIONS World Bahamas. He now has got the proverbial monkey off his back.
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£1,500 UK Open Main Event Final Table Results
| Rank | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nick Marchington | £146,560* |
| 2 | Tony Harmon | £119,240* |
| 3 | Simon Higgins | £81,820* |
| 4 | Yucel Eminoglu | £78,340* |
| 5 | Stuart McNally | £34,470 |
| 6 | Barrie Greenan | £23,220 |
| 7 | Maj Iqbal | £20,170 |
| 8 | Adriano Perez | £17,270 |
*reflects a four-way deal
Seventy-four players reached the money places from the 620 entrants, and the payout list reads like a who’s who of the British poker scene. Calogero Morreale and Brandon Sheils were the first pair to cash. The likes of Dominik Nitsche, Dean Hutchison, Sunil Mistri, Martins Adeniya, Michael Kane, Carlo Citrone, and Ben Margedze also cashed. Chris DaSilva bowed out in ninth place and burst the final table bubble.
It didn’t take long for the first finalist to fall by the wayside, Adriano Perez being the first out of the door. Down to five big blinds, Perez jammed with king-eight and failed to get there against the king-jack of Maj Iqbal. Perez had only $1,167 in live cashes before this result, meaning the £17,270 he collected is by far his largest-ever haul.
Seventh place went to Iqbal. He committed the last of his chips with king-jack, and Simon Higgins called with the dominating king-queen of diamonds Higgins turned a flush to leave Iqbal drawing dead, and he made his way to the cashier’s desk to collect £20,170.
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Scotland’s Barrie Greenan seemed comfortable until he lost a massive pot that left him with only eight big blinds. Greenan’s short stack went into the middle with ace-queen, only for that powerful hand to lose to Tony Harman‘s king-jack. Greenan, who won the £220 Opening Voyage at the 888poker UK Poker League Edinburgh stop, walked away with a career-best £23,220.
Another Scotsman, Stuart McNally, became the fifth-place finisher after a clash with Marchington didn’t go to plan. McNally opened with ace-king before calling off 25 big blinds after Marchington three-bet him. Marchington turned over jack-nine of diamonds, turned a flush, and sent McNally to the showers with £34,470 to console himself with.
The final four players decided to strike a deal that left £15,000 and the trophy up for grabs.
- Nick Marchington – £131,560
- Tony Harman – £119,240
- Simon Higgins – £81,820
- Yucel Eminoglu – £78,340
The deal was most beneficial to Yucel Eminoglu because he busted in fourth. The man affectionately known as “Mad Turk” committed his short stack with pocket fours and lost a coinflip against Marchinton’s ace-nine.
Higgins became Marchington’s next victim, losing with king-jack against the champion-elect’s ace-three, before Marchington defeated Harman heads-up to clinch the title and a first-place prize worth £146,560. Harman last played a live event eight year ago, and scooped £119,240 on his return to the baize.
2024 UK Open Results
Popular pro Kevin Allen may not have cashed in the Main Event, but he did take down the £2,000 High Roller for £42,720 to take his live earnings north of $1.2 million.
Other winners included James Broderick, Matthew Cartright, Calogero Morreale, and Michelle Bricknell-Sheils.
| Event | Buy-in | Entrants | Champion | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High Roller | £2,000 | 99 | Kevin Allen | £42,720 |
| Mystery Bounty | £440 | James Broderick | £22,000* | |
| Mini UK Open | £330 | 682 | Matthew Cartright | £21,516 |
| PLO 4/5/6 Card | £150 | 130 | Calogero Morreale | £3,650 |
| Ladies | £115 | 63 | Michelle Bricknell-Sheils | £1,550 |
Next up for the Grosvenor fans is the GUKPT Blackpool festival that runs from March 10 through March 17. Blackpool is always a popular stop, so much so that the GUKPT heads there in March before returning in late October for the penultimate stop of the 2024 tour.