The first-ever London Poker Festival held in Aspers Casino Stratford from January 30th to February 4th was a resounding success from every angle; great numbers of players from all parts of Europe, huge prizepools generated from fairly modest buy-ins, and a wonderful friendly atmosphere which everybody enjoyed.
The Festival opened with the £100,000 guaranteed Mystery Bounty, a very ambitious target for a midweek event that was comfortably met allowing for £60k plus in the standard prizepool and nearly £50k in the Bounties. This meant that there were two bounties of £10,000 which, of course, created tremendous excitement. Tournament winner Glen Gaines gained £18,400 in overall prizes but it was third-place finisher Terence Jordan who proved to be the best at plucking, taking home £23,100 in total.
The Main Event had a bumper £500,000 guarantee for a £700 entry. This huge target was breached on Saturday morning during the final Turbo flight and £500,910 was up for grabs with a top prize of £100,000 on offer and 84 places played out of 822 entries. By Sunday evening only three players remained and David Costello from Ireland, Gianmarco Kovari from Italy via Hungary, and local Jay Patel struck an ICM deal leaving £6,000 and the coveted trophy to be played for. Jay eventually came out on top collecting £79k with the others trousering over £60k each.
Away from the big winners, most players takeaway was how much fun the entire event was; with tournaments to suit every pocket, a wonderfully successful Women’s Championship, great food and drink in the Casino and everywhere within short walking distance, a highly entertaining Shuffleboard Championship, and, above all, a feeling that this was a Festival for people who wanted to enjoy themselves with other like-minded poker players.
London Poker Festival is Back in September
The great news for everyone who enjoyed the London Poker Festival and for all those who wished that they were there is that the Festival is returning to Aspers Casino next September from the 3rd to the 9th. It already promises to be bigger and better.