Another successful UKPL by 888poker festival is in the books, and it is one that won’t be soon forgotten. There were many interesting highlights during the season-opening Luton festival, but one that truly stands out is the Main Event breaking the attendance record by a significant margin.
The tournament attracted 556 entries across its five starting flights, resulting in the biggest prize pool in the UKPL’s history, with players battling it out for £264,100. The lion’s share of that number—£56,700—was reserved for the eventual winner as the first-place prize.
The attendance record was broken with one whole starting flight to go, so from that point on, the only question was how high the final total would climb. By the time the registration officially closed, that number exceeded all expectations.
In fact, the interest was so great that one of the scheduled events, the KO Rumble, had to be canceled, highlighting that the turnout was well beyond what anyone could have predicted.
Big Payday for Horatiu Cont
The UKPL Luton Main Event ended up paying 68 players, with all who made the money taking home at least £1,240, more than doubling their original buy-in.
However, it was England’s Horatiu Cont with the biggest smile on his face when it was all said and done, booking the win and picking up the trophy and the £56,700 first-place money. This was, by far, the biggest live cash for Cont, whose Hendon Mob earnings had stood at just over $18,000 leading up to the event.
When the game got to the final skirmish, Cont had anything but an easy task, as he was facing Yucel ‘Mad Turk’ Eminoglu, an experienced tournament grinder from Turkey with over $2.1 million in live earnings.
Eminoglu’s vast experience in these situations didn’t help him this time around, though. Horatiu was able to hold his own and catch some cards when he needed them the most to close the deal.
Eminoglu won’t be too disappointed by his results at the UKPL Luton festival, though. He picked up £38,600 for his second-place finish, which came on the heels of his triumph in the £1,100 High Roller a couple of days earlier, netting another £16,640.
UKPL Luton Main Event Final Table Results
| Position | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Horatiu Cont | £56,700 |
| 2 | Yucel 'Mad Turk’ Eminoglu | £38,600 |
| 3 | Simon Wilson | £25,690 |
| 4 | Christopher Day | £17,540 |
| 5 | George Popa | £12,200 |
| 6 | Brijesh Das | £8,740 |
| 7 | David Debono | £6,500 |
| 8 | Bryan Taylor | £5,020 |
| 9 | Getnet Kassa | £4,010 |
Another Successful UKPL Festival All Around
UKPL Luton was yet another extremely successful poker festival organized by 888poker LIVE. The Main Event, with its record-breaking attendance and prize pool, was certainly the pinnacle, but there was a lot happening on the sidelines, and it was just as exciting.
We’ve already mentioned the £1,100 High Roller event, which ended up with a bit of an overlay, attracting a field of 49 entries and paying the top six finishers.
The £220 UKPL Luton Opening Voyage saw a field of 318 entries, resulting in a prize pool of £66,460. Wayne Peach was the last man standing, picking up £15,650 for his efforts.
Even the £130 PLO event attracted 126 entries, paying £3,973 to the winner.
888poker and Grosvenor did an excellent job covering the festival, with regular updates on X and live streams of key events, giving everyone a chance to tune in, follow the action, and support their favorite players.
UKPL Luton has certainly set the bar pretty high for future events, but records exist to be broken. The next UKPL festival takes place in May, in Blackpool, but there are a couple of other 888poker LIVE festivals on the docket leading up to it, playing out in Glasgow and Madrid in March.
