The 2025 Grosvenor UK Poker Tour (GUKPT) exploded into action in Coventry during the past week, with bumper crowds seen in most of the events. Stefan Lazar will forever look back fondly on this opening leg, not least because he came out on top in two events, including the massive Main Event.
Lazar had a shade under $10,500 in recorded live tournament winnings before GUKPT Coventry, with £1,020 being his largest haul. Check his Hendon Mob profile in a couple of days, and you’ll see a victory in the £250 Pot-Limit Omaha 4/5/6/ Card worth £5,630, plus him triumphing in the £1,250 Main Event for an additional £70,830.
Winning any tournament generates a huge ROI for the lucky player, but Lazar’s ROI was boosted further because he won his £1,250 Main Event ticket in a £140 cashout satellite at the Grosvenor G Casino in Coventry! That £140 investment is now worth £70,830, and would have weighed in at £80,680 had he not struck a deal when the tournament was three-handed.
2025 GUKPT Coventry Main Event Final Table Results
| Rank | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stefan Lazar | £70,830* |
| 2 | Keith Littlewood | £53,750* |
| 3 | Alex Montgomery | £53,750* |
| 4 | A.A | £28,610 |
| 5 | Stephen Barnes | £20,760 |
| 6 | Jamie Bott | £15,590 |
| 7 | S.S. | £11,950 |
| 8 | Jamie Le | £9,270 |
| 9 | Stephen McCabe | £7,360 |
*reflects a three-handed deal
The money bubble burst on Day 2 when Jack Allen lost a coinflip against Calogero Morreale. Allen busted in 45th place with Morreale eventually busting in 21st place.
Others who finished in the money place but fell shy of a seat at the final table included David Docherty, Mitchell Johnson, Thomas Clack, Yucel Eminoglu, Chris Da-Silva, Bobby James, Niall Farrell, Keith Johnson, Michael Kane, Christopher Johnson, and Luke Porter.
At the final table, Lazar thwarted Stephen McCabe’s attempts to double up. McCabe committed his last 11 big blinds with ace-queen only for Lazar to call with pocket queens. An ace-less board later and McCabe was gone.
£250,000 Guaranteed in the 2025 GUKPT Manchester Main Event
Jamie Le‘s impressive run of form continued in Coventry but he had to make do with an eighth place finish in the Main Event. Le squeezed all-in for 13 big blinds after Keith Littlewood had opened and “S.S.” called. Only Littlewood called, showing queen-jack. Le flipped over ace-six and was ahead, but lost his stack courtesy of a jack on the turn.
Seventh place went to the player calling themself “S.S.” They picked up the first five-figure prize from the pot, namely £11,950.
Littlewood then claimed the scalp of Jamie Bott, coming from behind as he did when he eliminated “S.S.” Bott was all-in with ace-four against Littlewood’s king-nine, who turned a nine to reduce the final table to only five players.
Those five became four after Stephen Barnes‘ demise. Barnes, who won the 888poker UKPL Manchester Main Event for £58,000 in August 2024, three-bet all-in for 20 big blinds from the big blind with king-jack, but Alex Montgomery called from the small blind with ace-ten. An ace on the turn left Barnes drawing dead.
Another anonymous player, going by “A.A.” fell in fourth, prompting the remaining three players to strike a deal. Everyone locked in £53,750, leaving £17,080 and the trophy up for grabs.
Montgomery bowed out in third. The popular pro won his GUKPT Coventry Main Event seat in a satellite and turned that into £53,750. Earlier in the series, Montgomery was the runner-up in the £1,650 High Roller for £35,830, a profitable stop for the Manchester man.
The one-on-one battle between Lazar and Littlewood went the way of the former. For Littlewood, that meant the second-best score of his career, beaten only by the $72,929 he banked for an eighth-place finish in the $1,000 Mini Main Event at the 2022 World Series of Poker (WSOP).
Lazar held the trophy aloft and posed for winner’s photos before heading to the cashier’s desk to collect a career-high £70,830, his reward for leaving 367 opponents in his wake.
2025 GUKPT Coventry Side Event Results
| Event | Entrants | Prize Pool | Champion | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £1,650 High Roller | 127 | £180,975 | Thomas Clack | £55,200 |
| £250 Mini Main | 772 | £159,850 | Muhammad Makhmood | £31,150 |
| £200 Opener | 901 | £149,795 | Tony Horn | £30,140 |
| £550 GUKPT Cup | 151 | £71,720 | Robert Boon | £16,500 |
| £250 PLO 4/5/6 Card | 130 | £27,170 | Stefan Lazar | £5,630 |
| £200 Turbo | 72 | £12,310 | Steve Roberts | £3,000 |
| £200 Closer | 50 | £8,550 | Catalin Zamfir | £2,990 |
| £330 PLO 4 Card Bounty | 47 | £13,920 | Christopher Flint | £2,000* |
| £150 Seniors | 72 | £9,080 | Paul Marvin | £1,911 |
Thomas Clack triumphed in the £1,650 High Roller for an impressive £55,200, outlasting 126 opponents.
Muhammad Makhmood won the £250 Mini Main Event. Some 772 entrants created a £159,850 prize pool, from which Makhmood claimed £31,150.
The £200 Opener was the biggest tournament at GUKPT Coventry in terms of the number of entrants. Tony Horn came out on top of a 901-strong field to bank £30,10, defeating Sinead Davenport heads-up for the title.
GUKPT Manchester Runs from January 30 to February 11
Players don’t have time to rest on their laurels because the second leg of the 2025 GUKPT is only days away. GUKPT Manchester runs from January 30 through February 11 at the Grosvenor Casino Bury New Road. It includes a £1,250 Main Event that saw 436 players enter in 2024. Frenchman Vincent Meli outlasted them all and walked away with £83,897.
Senior Editor
