Sapiano wins GUKPT Thanet

The GUKPT’s first ever short-handed main event has been won my Albert Sapiano after he saw off UK stalwart Steve Bovis heads-up for a tasty £10,700, his first GUKPT trophy and a seat into the £100,000 Champion of Champions event.

Sapiano bested a field of 67 to take home just shy of £11k in a year that’s already seen him add £50,000 to his live poker tournament record of over a quarter of a million dollars thanks to taking down the Genting Poker Series London event in March. And after nabbing his trophy, Sapiano was full of praise for Bovis.

‘This is the hardest man to beat in the poker business,’ said Sapiano. ‘I thought I’d play more of a strategic game – which isn’t my strong point!’

Sapiano was riding high in the chip counts throughout, ending play on Day 1 in second place, and he continued his one-man destruction of the field until he found himself with half of the chips in play on the final table. 

His lead stayed firm until he took on Bovis heads up, and despite briefly losing the lead, he swung back into control after players flopped top pair and Sapiano turned, before sealing victory less than five hours into play.

The GUKPT returns to the £1,000 entry, full-ring format for the next leg, and heads overseas for the first time.  Casino Blankenberge will host the festival, running from the 3rd-10th June.  And don’t forget, you can still win a GUKPT main event seat of your choosing through the PokerPlayer UK Tour – Britain’s best low-stakes poker tour.

Full details of upcoming events are available on www.gukpt.com. Qualification is underway for this and all GUKPT Main Events on www.grosvenorpoker.com.