Adam Wilkinson has finally won a GUKPT Main Event. The Englishman took down the £1,250 GUKPT Blackpool Main Event for £55,035, plus an extra £5,504 for buying in through his GGPoker account, according to PokerNews. The field of 190 players created a £237,500 prize pool with the top 25 paid. For a player who finished 11th at GUKPT Walsall in February 2007, only the second Main Event the tour had ever run, it was a victory almost two decades in the making.
A 19-year wait
Wilkinson's story is the kind that makes live tournament poker special. PokerNews reports that he has played nearly 200 GUKPTs since that Walsall cash, winning many side events along the way but never a Main Event. His previous deepest run in a Main Event was seventh at Newcastle in July 2007. "I ran like God," Wilkinson told Phil "The Tower" Heald after the win. He also joked about retiring after a GUKPT Main Event victory, comparing it to the time he parred nine holes of golf and never played again.
Final table results
| Rank | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Adam Wilkinson | £55,035 |
| 2 | Michael Whitehead | £42,435 |
| 3 | Chris Guertin | £26,580 |
| 4 | Christopher Wood | £17,790 |
| 5 | Jon Kalmar | £12,210 |
| 6 | Chris Cox | £8,880 |
| 7 | Benjamin Hill | £6,980 |
| 8 | Trevor Reardon | £5,920 |
| 9 | Peter Charalambous | £5,200 |
David Docherty was the final table bubble, and other notable cashers included John Bousfield, Matthew Davenport, Jamie Dale, Justin Devonport, Fraser Bellamy and Yucel Eminoglu.
Veteran stories at the final table
This final table was packed with players whose careers span the history of UK poker.
- Peter Charalambous (9th) first cashed in a live event in 2005 and recently passed $1 million in lifetime earnings.
- Trevor Reardon (8th) flopped trips with king-high, but Christopher Wood also flopped trips and filled up with a ten on the river. Reardon had cashed in the inaugural 2007 GUKPT season.
- Benjamin Hill (7th) moved all-in for about 15 big blinds with pocket queens. Jon Kalmar called with ace-nine, hit a flush and eliminated him.
- Chris Cox (6th) earned his largest live score. His previous best was £3,635 for a runner-up finish in a £110 side event at UKIPT Bristol in 2012.
- Jon Kalmar (5th) finished fifth in the 2007 WSOP Main Event for $1,255,069. He got 20 big blinds in with ace-king against Wilkinson's pocket eights, and Wilkinson made a full house.
- Christopher Wood (4th) finished fifth in this tournament in 2017. He jammed 12 big blinds with pocket nines, was called by Michael Whitehead (pocket fours, flopped a set) and Chris Guertin (ace-king), and was eliminated.
- Chris Guertin (3rd) shoved with second pair and lost to Wilkinson's top pair.
Heads-up and the deal
Wilkinson held a two-to-one chip lead when the final two players made a deal. The agreement left £9,747 to play for, and Michael Whitehead was guaranteed his largest live score. Whitehead, who qualified online at Grosvenor Poker for just £5, doubled up with a set of nines against Wilkinson's pocket jacks. Wilkinson then regained a four-to-one lead.
The last hand saw Whitehead move all-in with ace-queen on a queen-high flop with two diamonds. Wilkinson called with eight-four of diamonds. The turn was a black king and the river was the nine of diamonds, completing Wilkinson's flush. It was a perfect finish for a player chasing a drought-breaking win.
Main Event history: 19 seasons of GUKPT
PokerNews supplied a full results table for the GUKPT Main Event, and it reveals how the tour has evolved. The inaugural November 2007 event had a £3,150 buy-in, 198 entrants and a £594,000 prize pool, won by Mike Ellis for £197,600. The 2021 event after the COVID cancellation drew the record 607 entrants and a £1,092,600 prize pool, won by Trung Moc for £265,350. By contrast, this year's Blackpool event was a smaller £1,250 buy-in with 190 entrants, comparable to the £1,250 buy-in used in 2024 when Niall Campbell won £89,000 from a £415,620 prize pool with 367 entrants.
Benjamin Winsor is the only player to win the Main Event twice, in 2015 and 2019. Other past champions include Tony Cascarino, Fabian Quoss, Sam Grafton and Paul Vas Nunes. The reigning Grand Final champion is Alan Stearn, who won £125,645 from a £569,640 prize pool in November 2025.
The GUKPT Grand Final
The next big date is the 2026 GUKPT Grand Final, scheduled for November 19 to 29 at Grosvenor Victoria in London. The Main Event has a £2,000 buy-in and a £500,000 guarantee. Our GUKPT Grand Final preview covers the wider schedule, and we have also reported on the tour's 20th anniversary plans for 2027.
What this means for players
Online satellites still deliver. Whitehead qualified for £5 and finished second. Satellite routes remain one of the best value plays in poker, and our tournaments page explains how to find them. If you want to build experience first, our beginner poker sites guide lists friendly rooms.
Deals deserve calculation. The heads-up deal here left £9,747 to play for. Whether to accept a deal depends on stack sizes and the pay jump, which is exactly what ICM models. Our strategy piece on final table deals explores the maths.
Persistence matters, but so does bankroll. Wilkinson's near-200 GUKPTs show the long game of tournament poker. Keeping that long game financially sustainable requires careful bankroll management.
Know your sites. UK players have a wide choice of operators; see our UK poker guide and the list of safe poker sites before you deposit.
Bottom line
Adam Wilkinson's £55,035 win is a reminder that live poker rewards patience, and his story, from an 11th-place cash in 2007 to a first Main Event title in 2026, is one of the best of the season. Michael Whitehead's £5 satellite run to second place and the final table's mix of veterans make this a result worth following. The Grand Final in London starts November 19.
Source: PokerNews, "Almost 20 Years in the Making: Adam Wilkinson Finally Wins a GUKPT Main Event," November 2026.