Alan Picken is the latest player to become a Grand Prix Poker Tour (GPPT) champion after he triumphed in the Cardiff leg at the Cardiff City Stadium.
Last May, Picken finished 23rd in the partypoker WPT National Main Event at Dusk Till Dawn for a then career-best $5,789, now he can boast of a score almost seven-times that amount because he banked $40,000 for his $109 investment at GPPT Cardiff.
A total of 215 players progressed to Day 2 of the $250,000 guaranteed Main Event, each of them in the money places. Familiar names such as Dan Owston (163rd), Iwan Jones (151st), Richard King (133rd), Dewi James (101st), Andrew Hulme (100th), Eleanor Gudger (92nd), Leigh Wiltshire (46th), Paul Jackson (41st), and our newest ambassador Roberto Romanello (30th) all bust throughout Day 2’s proceedings.
With only 10 players remaining, Carl Collins and Soheil Khorram were eliminated in different hands, but at the same time, so agreed to split the ninth and tenth-place prize money, namely $2,550, and the final table was set.
GPPT Cardiff Main Event Final Table
| Seat | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Neil Wyatt | 2,495,000 |
| 2 | Alan Picken | 5,960,000 |
| 3 | Adrian Ko | 5,670,000 |
| 4 | David Morgan | 3,160,000 |
| 5 | Daniel Hamblin | 7,090,000 |
| 6 | Chris Alexander | 2,635,000 |
| 7 | Josh Veasey | 5,770,000 |
| 8 | John Hird | 1,485,000 |
John Hird was the first casualty of the eight-handed final table, pushing for only two big blinds with 
and losing out to the 
of David Morgan who made a flush on the 
board.
Hird was followed to the rail first by Neil Wyatt, then Morgan got his chips in with 
and was called by Adrian Ko in the big blind who was priced in with the lowly 
. Morgan flopped a set of aces, but the turn and river of the 
board gifted Ko a straight!
Chris Alexander bust in fifth-place, then Josh Veasey fell by the wayside, before Ko’s superb run ended in third-place, two places short of a $50,000 bonus because he had a Golden Chip in his possession.
The final hand of GPPT Cardiff saw Hamblin move all-in on a 
flop with what turned out to be 
, but it was an ill-timed move because Picken was sat there with 
for trip fives. The turn and 
river failed to alter the hand, and Picken banked $40,000 and the winner’s trophy.
GPPT Cardiff Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alan Picken | $40,000 |
| 2 | Daniel Hamblin | $24,000 |
| 3 | Adrian Ko | $16,000 |
| 4 | Josh Veasey | $12,000 |
| 5 | Christopher Alexander | $9,000 |
| 6 | David Morgan | $6,560 |
| 7 | Neil Wyatt | $5,000 |
| 8 | John Hird | $4,000 |
Next for the GPPT is a trip to Killarney in Ireland from September 14 before it returns to where it all began, Dusk Till Dawn, on October 10.
Before then, however, there is the $500,000 guaranteed Online Grand Prix to complete. There are eight more Day 1s taking place on September 5 between 1:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. BST, with players also able to buy into Day 2 directly for $700 and receive 200,000 chips.
Day 2 kicks off at 9:15 p.m. on September 5 and continues until one man or woman has won all of the chips in play. Will that player be you?
