The UK & Ireland Poker Tour (UKIPT) returned to London at the weekend as the important event on the European calendar took place at the London Hippodrome. One of the most visually stunning settings to play poker in, the venue in the heart of London’s iconic Leicester Square attracted 725 entries, with just 13 players making it to the final day.

Early Eliminations as Final Table is Reached

As the final day began in central London, all the remaining players weren’t just in the money but deep in it. With a massive prizepool of £696,000 ($888,750) on the line, a top prize of $162,800 would take 12 hours to claim. The action on the final day was fast as the nine-handed final table was reached in double-quick time.

Italian player Gaspare Sposato led the final 13, with Bulgarian Boris Velev leaving in 13^th place for $10,150, before Jamie Geraghty (12^th) earned the same. The colorful George Sandford busted in 11^th for $12,130 when his shove with couldn’t overtake Artus Gimenez’ and Alex Romero bubbled the final table for the same amount, losing a flip with when Sposato’s fellow Italian Pichierri hit a Broadway straight on the flop when holding .

The final table began with an almost immediate bust-out, as home hope Joe Hindry left for $15,050. Hindry was all-in with but fell to Pichierri’s as the Italian scored a second elimination with the same hand, this time pairing the turn on a board of .

British Hopes Fade Away

Eight became seven when the last remaining Irish player in the event, Conor O’driscoll, busted for $19,600. O’driscoll was all-in with on a flop of and Sposato called with the bigger stack holding . The flush draw was live, but a double-up looked likely after the turn. Sadly for O’driscoll, his hopes were extinguished on the cruel river that handed his opponent the king-high flush and reduced the field to seven.

Pichierri was flying and even managed to spike an ace to crack Colin MacAndrew’s pocket kings. While the hand didn’t eliminate MacAndrew, the Scotsman was soon on the rail, as his lost to Sposato’s with all the chips in the middle before the flop. The bord came and MacAndrew was up shaking hands on his way out to collect $25,400.

Next to go was the Spanish player Gimenez. His shove pre-flop with didn’t work nearly as well as it had for Pichierri in previous hands, as Candido Cappiello held with to send Gimenez home with $33,050. Soon, five players around the table turned to four as the last remaining UK & Ireland player went out.

Saigokul Kannan had the best of it when he committed his chips pre-flop holding . Pichierri had shoved with and got lucky once more as the flop of paired his four. A turn and river ended British interest in the final, Kannan winning $42,850, as three Italians and one Bulgarian went to four-handed play in pursuit of two six-figure top prizes.

Sposato Proves Most Special

After Alessandro Pichierri’s previous fortune, the Poker Gods were about to even up the balance in dramatic style. Sposato shoved with ace-jack, and when Pichierri called with pocket jacks, the latter was a big favorite to take a massive lead into three-handed play. Instead, an ace on the turn catapulted Sposato back into contention, doing major damage to his countryman in the process.

It was the other Italian of the three who busted next, however, as Cappiello’s luck ran out when his lost to Atanas Pavlov’s in cruel circumstances. The flop of put the Italian into the lead but a on the turn changed all that, and after a river fell, the field was down to three, with Cappiello collecting $55,600 in fourth place.

Chips changed hands time and time again, the lead with them, for some time before Pichierri eventually bowed out in third for $72,300. Both players rivered a flush but Atanas Pavlov had the better one, holding the nut flush to eliminate the Italian at long last, and send play heads-up. The Bulgarian had a vast lead of almost 6:1 with 18,420,000 chips to Sposato’s 3,325,000.

Heads-up was an epic battle, as the 28-year-old Italian poker pro – a recent addition to the live circuit – battling it out with his Bulgarian opponent Pavlov for several hours. Winning a crucial flip to survive was key but so too was Sposato’s positivity when, still behind, he looked the most likely aggressor in most hands.

That almost backfired when a risky bluff with seven-deuce was crushed by the Bulgarian’s pocket kings and the Italian was left with the just six blinds, but undeterred, Sposato played like a man with nothing to lose and doubled again and again with the best hand, calling off bluffs, winning another big flip and eventually taking the lead. Now 3:1 up in chips, Sposato shoved with and Pavlov’s call with met a board of to give the Italian his first major title and $162,800. Pavlov, himself a hugely successful poker professional with over $1.4 million in winnings, added another $102,000 to the coffers.