Julian Thew Wins Second GUKPT Title  -  By Poker Boss

The final nine players reconvened at the Brighton Grosvenor Casino today to battle it out for the GBP86,000 first prize, complete with added seat to the Grand Final. The finalists included well-known circuit regulars Joe Grech, chip leader and former Grosvenor Grand Prix winner Jim Reid, Marcus Bebb-Jones and of course William Hill-sponsored Julian Thew.

The other five players who had fought their way to a coveted final place were less well-known, but not to be trifled with. Early chip leader Robert Cowen wasted no time in getting involved with pocket Queens, and promptly busted when Jim Reid flopped quads against him. This set the tone for the early stages of the final, as flamboyant Italian Fabio Esposito, GUKPT regular Marcus Bebb-Jones and professional extrovert and serial GUKPT bubbler Nik Persaud all made their exits within the first few levels.

Joe Grech, decked out in an orange poker-themed hawaiian shirt, was on excellent form and battled through to finish a respectable 5th, picking up nearly £17k for his troubles; the well supported Michael Bolger went out in a creditable 4th to Karim, netting a cool £22k for his performance. Jim Reid, who maintained a big stack throughout the latter stages of day 2, ultimately failed to build on his stack but was rewarded for his sterling efforts with a 3rd place spot for GBP30,800.

Heads up, Karim Louis out-chipped former GUKPT and EPT winner Julian Thew by two to one, but with blinds still small relative to the size of their stacks, it was anyone's game. Of the two, Julian seemed to be the more aggressive player and was rewarded by the poker gods when he doubled up on a coinflip. A mistimed move from Julian doubled Karim back up again, but eventually they both found themselves with a hand they were happy to go in with, and Julian coinflipped his way to £86,000, a ticket to the Grand Final, and most importantly, yet another victory.

Updates courtesy of the blonde live Update Team