The Grosvenor Portsmouth Gunwharf was the venue for the first 888poker UK Poker League (UKPL) stop of 2025, and it did not disappoint. The £560 buy-in UKPL Portsmouth Main Event drew in 273 entrants, and Jordan Daniels emerged victoriously after being part of a four-way deal at the final table.
Thirty places were paid, with the money bubble bursting on Day 2. Seasoned pros Jack Hardcastle, Thomas Clack, and David Docherty were among the first in-the-money casualties. Rofiquel Miah busted in 18th place, concluding the second day’s action.
The third and final day started with 17 hopefuls and ended with Daniels padding his bankroll with £23,018, receiving the winner’s trophy, and forever being known as the 2025 888poker UKPL Portsmouth Main Event champion.
2025 UKPL Portsmouth Main Event Final Table Results
| Rank | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jordan Daniels | £23,018* |
| 2 | Raja Pottiwal | £17,965* |
| 3 | Kartik Kartik | £15,750* |
| 4 | Harry Sandford | £20,005* |
| 5 | Joan Brooks | £6,630 |
| 6 | Dan West | £5,420 |
| 7 | Andrew Outar | £4,500 |
| 8 | Man Li | £3,740 |
| 9 | Cosmin Staicu | £3,110 |
*reflects a four-handed deal
Cosmin Staicu was the final table’s first casualty, bowing out in ninth for £3,100. Most of the dame was done when Staicu ran his pocket eights into the pocket queens of Harry Sandford. Staicu was unsuccessful in his spin-up attempts and he headed to the cashier’s desk.
Eighth place and £3,740 went to Man Li. Pocket eights were again involved, but this time they were the best hand. Li jammed all-in for eight big blinds with ace-king and ultimately lost a coinflip against Kartik Kartik’s snowmen.
A career-best score worth £4,500 went to Andrew Outar after he crashed out in seventh. Outar only had two big blinds when he moved all-in with king-ten. Raja Pottiwal looked him up with ten-eight, flopped an eight, and Outar was out of the UKPL Portsmouth Main Event.
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The £5,420 Dan West collected following his exit in sixth place took his recorded lifetime earnings to almost $100,000. West finished second in a Grosvenor 25/50 tournament in November 2023 for £19,455, but had to make do with a sixth-place finish in this event.
The tournament became an all-male affair with the elimination of Joan Brooks in fifth. Brooks’ queen-jack fell foul to the ace-four of Pottiwal, and she headed off to collect her first live cash since February 2017, a career-best £6,630.
A deal was struck shortly after Brooks’ demise. The ICM-based deal left an additional £2,972 for the runner-up and £5,000 extra for the eventual champion.
Sandford was the chip leader at the time of the deal, but he was the first of the deal-making quartet to be relieved of his stack. Sandford found himself all-in with king-jack against the dominated king-eight of Kartik, and an eight on the flop eliminated him. Sandford took home £20,005 for his efforts.
Third place and £20,750 went to Kartik after he lost an all-in coinflip against Daniels. The last of Kartik’s chips went into the middle of the felt holding pocket deuces, and Daniel called with queen-six. Daniel flopped a queen to bust Kartik and send the Main Event into the heads-up phase.
After an hour-long heads-up battle, with the increasing blinds biting into each player’s stack, Pottiwal moved all-in for a shade under five big blinds with queen-nine, and Daniels called with jack-eight of hearts. The six-high missed both players, but the turn gave Daniels a flush draw. The river wasn’t another heart, but it was an eight, eliminating Pottiwal in second place for £17,965 and locking the title and £23,018 for Daniels.
Next Up on the 888poker UKPL
The next stop on the 2025 888poker UKPL sees the tour head north to the Grosvenor G Casino in Newcastle. UKPL Newcastle runs from April 1 to April 6, and includes a £1,100 High Roller and another £560 Main Event.
As always, 888poker is where you should head if you want to win your way into the 2025 888poker UKPL Newcastle Main Event.
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