As an official media partner, our team at poker.pro will be on-site at the 2025 PartyPoker Tour Birmingham at Resorts World Birmingham, covering key hands and biggest moments. Don’t miss a moment of the action as we bring you exclusive live updates from England’s most exciting autumn poker festival.
Thomas Busst made it 360,000 from UTG+1. Action eventually folded to short-stacked Christopher Nicholas, who went all in for 538,000 from the Big Blind. Being priced in, Busst made the call without hesitation.
Christopher Nicholas: 10♥6♦ Thomas Busst: K♥J♣
Nicholas was behind, but he flopped the world on 6♠J♦10♣. No improvement for Busst on the Q♥4♦ runout, and Nicholas’ quest for glory continues.
Thomas Busst: 5,400,000 Christopher Nicholas: 1,300,000
Robert Douras opened to 320,000 from UTG+1. Action then folded to Peter Carey in the Big Blind, who decided to go all in for 371,000. Naturally, Douras made the call.
Peter Carey: J♦7♣ Robert Douras: Q♣J♠
An unfortunate scenario for the short-stacked Carey, and the A♠6♠8♠A♦Q♠ offered no consolation. Carey was eliminated in eighth place for £1,730.
Daniel Bronson opened to 360,000 from the Lo-jack. Action then folded all the way to Gokul Narayanan in the Small Blind, who moved all in for 3,800,000. Without much hesitation, Bronson made the call.
Gokul Narayanan: Q♥Q♦ Daniel Bronson: 8♥8♦
Things weren’t looking good for Bronson, and he didn’t manage to crack the queens of Narayanan as the board spelled out 6♣9♥2♦K♦4♣. As such, Bronson became the first victim of the final table, bidding farewell in ninth place for £1,330.
Seated in the Lo-jack, Gokul Narayanan open-shoved for 1,800,000. Action folded to Peter Carey, who re-shoved 2,200,000 from the Cut-off. The remaining players all got out of the way, and the two contestants went to showdown.
Gokul Narayanan: A♥10♠ Peter Carey: A♠K♣
Carey was looking good to eliminate his opponent, but Narayanan overtook the lead on the Q♦9♠10♣ flop. Carey wasn’t able to catch up on the A♣8♠ runout, and the larger chunk of his stack went to Narayanan.
The live stream of the final table has now started. Follow the action there, or catch up on all the highlights here in the live blog. It’s a 30-minute delay both for the stream and the live blog; there’ll be no spoilers!
The stage is set for the final table of the £150 Mini Main Event. They will soon resume play on Level 29: 60,000/120,000, with a 120,000 Ante. Below is the current seat draw and chip counts.
Seated UTG, Rajbinder Badwal open-shoved for perhaps 1,120,000. Richard Cox committed his 600,000 stack to a call from the Small Blind.
Rajbinder Badwal: 9♠9♦ Richard Cox: 5♥5♣
Cox picked up additional outs on the 3♦A♠4♠, but the 10♦K♣ runout didn’t help him. He was eliminated in tenth place for £990, and as such, the nine-handed final table is now set.
The players are now on a 20-minute break. When they come back, the finale will be live-streamed on the PartyPoker YouTube channel. The poker.pro live blog will follow the 30-minute delay.
We’ll soon be back with the final table seat draw and chip counts, as well as the link for the stream.
We’ve just witnessed what may be the craziest hand of the tournament so far.
Paul Howley moved all in for 1,345,000 from the Hi-jack. James Ablott (Button) received the count and then re-shoved for 2,200,000. Seated in the Big Blind, Thomas Busst looked at his cards, sighed, looked the dealer in the eyes, and said, “All in.”
Paul Howley: A♦J♦ James Ablott: J♣J♥ Thomas Busst: A♠A♣
What a sick hand! The pocket aces of Busst were good on the 8♦10♠8♠K♣5♠ board, and seeing as he had both of his opponents covered, he sent two players to the rail at once.
Thomas Busst: 6,150,000 James Ablott: 0 Paul Howley: 0
While this reporter was following the action at Table 17, I missed that Matthew Negus had busted. I noticed that Douras had increased his stack, and the current chip leader informed me that Negus had moved all in for roughly 1,800,000 after an initial opening from Douras. The 7♠7♣ of Negus couldn’t suck out on the K♥K♦ of Douras. As such, Negus went out in thirteenth place for £780, meaning there are now 12 players left.
Robert Douras opened to 200,000 from the Cut-off. Seated in the Big Blind, Calum Williams was the sole caller.
After an initial check from Williams on the 7♣10♦K♣ flop, Douras continued for 150,000. The sneaky Williams then completed a check-raise to 450,000, a bet which Douras called.
Douras checked the Q♥ turn, Williams moved all in for 1,250,000, and Douras made the call within seconds.
Calum Williams: K♥10♣ Robert Douras: A♦J♠
Douras had turned a straight, and the 8♥ river didn’t help Williams. The Brit bid farewell in fourteenth place for £620.
Action folded to Robert Douras, who clicked it to 200,000 from the Button. Matthew Negus (Small Blind) and Peter Carey (Big Blind) both made the call.
All three players checked the 10♥4♠J♣ flop. On the 6♣ turn, Negus bet 450,000, and Carey wasted little time moving all in for 1,190,000. Douras swiftly folded before Negus made the call.
Peter Carey: 6♥4♣ Matthew Negus: A♠J♦
Being a good sport, Negus said “Nice one” to his opponent. The river didn’t help Negus, and as such, he lost his chip lead.
The 14 players have taken their seats, and it’s go time.
The poker.pro coverage will be live until the nine-handed final table is reached. Then, the tournament will have a 20-minute break, and then play will commence with a 30-minute delay. We’ll then report with a 30-minute delay as well.
Good afternoon, fellow poker enthusiasts, and welcome to the sixth day of the 2025 PartyPoker Tour Birmingham. Get ready for yet another exciting day at Resorts World and Genting Casino, which will see a winner being crowned in the £150 Mini Main Event.
The 14 remaining players in the aforementioned tournament are set to take the stage in about an hour. Let’s get in the mood by recapping yesterday’s Day 2 flight.
Action in the Sauna
Day 2 more or less started as soon as Day 1f (the final hyper-turbo starting-day flight) had finished. Out of a total of 660 entries, 130 players had secured a Day 2 bag, and the £50,000 guarantee had been shattered as the prize pool read an impressive £82,500. Up top? A £13,370 first-place payout, a coveted PartyPoker trophy, and eternal poker glory.
Three digits worth of people were more than enough to make the tournament area hotter than the Arizona desert. “It’s like a sauna in here,” this reporter joked with some players, referencing a classic scene from Seinfeld. It didn’t take long before 100 players remained, and hand-by-hand play commenced. After perhaps 30 minutes, the players went on a 45-minute dinner break, and they resumed hand-by-hand when they returned. Ten more minutes went by before the bubble burst at the expense of Attique Khokhar and Edin Hrnjic, who went out in the same hand (albeit at two different tables).
Natalie Bromley. Photo: Nunzia Esposito
All remaining players were now guaranteed a £300 min-cash, and the “Post-Bubble Bustout Bonanza” commenced in ordinary fashion. Players kept busting left and right, and amongst the first victims were the two PartyPoker Team Pros, Jaime and Matt Staples. Eventually, PartyPoker Tour Ambassadors Natalie Bromley, Joe Beevers, and Alexander Georgiev also came up short.
The only ambassador left standing was “the Poker Tourist”, Asif Warris, and he was doing a stellar job. With 43 players remaining at the next break, Warris had a top ten chip stack, just shy of a million. Eventually, though, he suffered a bad beat as his aces were cracked by his opponent’s pocket nines, and he didn’t manage to recover. He went out in thirty-fifth place for £450.
Asif Warris. Photo: Nunzia Esposito
Fast forward ’til 18 players remained. Soft hand-by-hand commenced, and it was determined that play would conclude after two more 30-minute levels, or if the nine-handed final table was reached before that. Four more casualties were recorded during the last hour, and the remaining 14 players went to get some sleep before today’s final clash. Leading the field is Matthew Negus; he’s the only one with more than 3,000,000 in chips, but the smaller stacks all have around 1,200,000, so anything can happen.
Today’s coverage will begin at 15:00. When the final table is reached, it will be streamed live on the PartyPoker YouTube channel. The poker.pro live coverage will then follow the 30-minute delay of the stream.
£150 Mini Main Event – Day 3 Seat Draw & Chip Counts
Table
Seat
Player
Country
Chips
Big Blinds
2
1
Gokul Narayanan
India
1,570,000
16
2
2
James Ablott
United Kingdom
2,285,000
23
2
3
Daniel Bronson
United Kingdom
1,265,000
13
2
5
Tak Wong
United Kingdom
1,285,000
13
2
6
Thomas Busst
United Kingdom
2,465,000
25
2
7
Christopher Nicholas
United Kingdom
1,300,000
13
2
8
Richard Cox
United Kingdom
1,730,000
17
2
9
Paul Howley
England
1,445,000
14
12
2
Robert Douras
United Kingdom
2,450,000
25
12
3
Matthew Negus
United Kingdom
3,150,000
32
12
5
Peter Carey
United Kingdom
1,490,000
15
12
7
Calum Mclean Williams
United Kingdom
2,285,000
23
12
8
Rajbinder Badwal
England
1,480,000
15
12
9
Tai Hoang
Thailand
2,160,000
22
In other news, the third and final poker.pro-branded Mixed Games event of the 2025 PartyPoker Tour Birmingham was played yesterday. Lewis Henderson overcame a field consisting of 22 entries in the £100 poker.pro R.O.S.E.T. to become the first-ever winner of this discipline. This poker.pro journalist will get in touch with Henderson today to discuss his triumph in detail.
Day 2 of the £150 Mini Main Event has now concluded. Fourteen players are bagging their chips for tomorrow’s final (which will start at 15:00). The poker.pro editorial office will soon return with the chip counts and seat draw for tomorrow; around noon, there’ll be a smaller recap of today’s action. Below are the results from today.
Seated UTG, Calum Williams open-shoved 1,900,000. Curtis Harrison then moved all in himself for 1,300,000. Things got even crazier, as Matthew Negus also pushed his 1,800,000 stack in the middle. The table gasped before the remaining player turned their cards over.
Calum Williams: A♣Q♥ Curtis Harrison: 9♥9♦ Matthew Negus: A♦Q♦
“Come on, just hold,” Harrison urged the Poker Gods as he saw what he was up against. It’s a cruel world indeed; an ace in the window on the A♥2♠K♦ flop, and no mercy for Harrison on the 2♦Q♣ runout. He hit the rail in sixteenth place for £620, and Williams and Negus fiested on his stack.
Calum Williams clicked it to 160,000 from the Hi-jack. Seated right next to him, Rajbinder Badwal moved all in for 720,000 from the Cut-off. Back to Williams who, after he’d made the necessary mathemathics, made the call.
Rajbinder Badwal: A♥Q♠ Calum Williams: 8♥8♦
Badwal immediately took the lead on the A♦5♦10♣, and the 6♥A♣ only saw him improving even more. From having less than three Big Blinds five minutes ago, he now has a decent stack.
UTG+2, Robert Douras opened to 160,000. Action folded to Rajbinder Badwal in the Big Blind, who only had another 100,000 or so behind after paying both the Big Blind and the Ante. With the sublime odds offered to him, he made the call for his tournament life.
Robert Douras: 9♠9♣ Rajbinder Badwal: 10♠2♠
Douras was ahead, but keep in mind, ten-deuce was the hand of the late poker legend, the Godfather of poker, Doyle Brunson. Badwal channelled his inner Texas Doyle and summoned the 2♥10♥A♥ flop. Douras didn’t catch up on the 3♠8♣ runout, and Badwal won a crucial pot.
Robert Douras: 2,700,000 Rajbinder Badwal: 600,000
The board read 2♥9♥6♠8♣ at Table 2, with perhaps 600,000 in the middle. Big Blind-player Daniel Bronson had moved all in for 825,000, a move that had left Tak Wong visibly confused. Eventually, Wong (who’s the only lady still in the tournament) elected to let her hand go.
Seated UTG+2, Joseph Maczka moved all in for 650,000. Action folded to Richard Cox, who committed his whole 495,000 stack. The remaining players folded.
Joseph Maczka: K♣Q♥ Richard Cox: A♥K♥
Few hands are as aesthetically beautiful as big-slick suited. Cox’s hand held as the board spelled out 2♦J♥3♦4♦A♠, and as he doubled up, Maczka was left crippled.
The remaining 20 players have just returned after the fourth and last break of the day. Play will either stop after two more 30-minute levels or when the nine-handed final table is reached (whatever comes first). Below are the current chip counts.
From the Lo-jack, Karen Bahbi moved all in for 560,000. Curtis Harrison put in a hefty three-bet from the Cut-off, which was big enough to isolate himself with Bahbi.
Karen Bahbi: 8♠8♣ Curtis Harrison: Q♥Q♦
“Brr,” Harrison said as he saw what he was up against. Pocket eights had not been kind to him earlier today; in fact, he had lost a flip against Bahbi’s eights with ace-king a few levels ago.
This time, though, Harrison took a firm lead on the 8♥4♦Q♣ flop; since both players improved to a set, Bahbi was now relying on hitting a one-outer. No dice as the board ran out 5♥3♣, and Bahbi was eliminated in twenty-third place for £520.
Action folded to Christopher Johnson, who opened to 60,000 from the Hi-jack. Seated right next to him, Robert Douras three-bet to 160,000. Back to Johnson, who moved all in for 635,000 in total. Douras made the call in a heartbeat.
Christopher Johnson: 10♠10♦ Robert Douras: A♠K♣
It was a classic coinflip confrontation, and Johnson’s pocket pair was up for the task; he doubled through Douras on the J♠3♠2♥5♣7♠ board. The stacks were now 750,000 for Douras, and roughly 1,400,000 for Johnson.
This journalist sat down to report the hand, but in the middle of it, I noticed commotion at the same table. Once again, it was an all-in pre-flop clash between the same two players:
Christopher Johnson: A♣K♠ Robert Douras: A♠A♥
The board ran out 7♦9♦5♦8♠4♥ and Douras got most of his stack back.
Robert Douras: 1,600,000 Christopher Johnson: 700,000
Asif Warris during the 2025 PartyPoker Tour Manchester. Photo: Nunzia Esposito
Level 22:
15,000/30,000 (30,000)
Entries:
35/660
Prizes:
£82,500
As previously mentioned, Asif Warris is the last PartyPoker Tour Ambassador still standing in the £150 Mini Main Event. “The Poker Tourist” was recently crippled, though, after opening to 55,000 UTG. Paul Howley had then made a three-bet to 280,000 from the Small Blind. Action came back to Warris, who moved all in, and Howley made the call. The pot was just over 1,200,000.
Asif Warris: A♥A♦ Paul Howley: 9♠9♣
Warris was ahead, and the 6♠3♥2♣ didn’t pose a threat. The 9♦ saw Howley overtaking the lead, though, and he secured the win on the 4♠ river.
The described scenario was a while ago; below are the current stack sizes for the two gentlemen.
Action folded to Joseph Maczka, who opened to 50,000 from the Button. Seated right next to him, Lewis Javens moved all in for roughly 235,000. Things would get even spicier, as Gareth Boyce cold-called the Javens shove from the Small Blind. Maczka wasn’t done yet, though; he moved all in for just north of 900,000, effectively forcing Boyce to commit all of his 730,000. After spending a few minutes in the tank, Boyce mucked his hand.
Lewis Javens: A♦6♦ Joseph Maczka: J♣J♦
Maczka wasted little time extending his lead, as the dealer revealed the 3♥J♠Q♣ flop. Javens couldn’t catch up on the 4♣7♣, and he was sent to the rail. Rumors have it Boyce folded ace-queen.
Joseph Maczka: 1,450,000 Gareth Boyce: 730,000 Lewis Javens: 0
The last hand before the third break of the day, Asif Warris (the last PartyPoker Tour Ambassador standing in the tournament) opened to 50,000 UTG. Jack Hoffman called from the Button before Daniel Davies moved all in for 134,000 from the Small Blind. Warris made the call, and Hoffman quickly mucked.
Daniel Davies: 10♠10♦ Asif Warris: K♦K♥
Warris was ahead, but Davies could still get lucky and hit a ten. That wasn’t the case on the 6♦Q♠2♥, and all hope he had disappeared on the K♦ turn. For good measure, Warris (or “the Poker Tourist” as he sometimes is referred to as) improved to quads on the K♥ river.
Recent list of victims includes names such as PartyPoker Tour Ambassador/The Hendon Mob co-founder Joe Beevers, and 2025 PartyPoker Tour Manchester £500 Main Event winner Deniz Orhan.
Jaime Staples during the 2025 PartyPoker Tour London. Photo: Nunzia Esposito
Level 18:
6,000/12,000 (12,000)
Entries:
68/660
Prizes:
£82,500
Below is the updated list of eliminations. Noteworthy is that PartyPoker Team Pro Jaime Staples has joined his brother Matt on the rail. That is also the case for PartyPoker Tour Ambassadors Alexander Georgiev and Natalie Bromleh.
Seated UTG, Ricky Singh limped the 10,000 Big Blind. Action then folded all the way to Jason Hayzelden, who checked from the Big Blind.
Hayzelden checked the 2♥A♦7♠ flop, something that triggered a 20,000 bet from Singh. As fast as lightning, Hayzelden then raised to 51,000. Singh shared a look of confusion before making the call.
Both players checked the 2♣ turn. On the 6♣ river, Hayzelden fired a hefty 75,000 bet. “This is always ace-deuce,” this reporter thought to himself as Singh threw in the calling chips.
Jason Hayzelden: A♣2♠ Ricky Singh: Q♦Q♣
Hayzelden got the pot, but surely, this Swedish psychic must be declared the real winner of the hand?
The bubble burst perhaps 15 minutes after play had resumed after the dinner break.
During hand-by-hand play, there were two all-in and call situations at two different tables. Over at Table 6, Edin Hrnjic had moved all in UTG for less than four Big Blinds. Action folded to Kieran Plater, who was priced in to make the call from the Big Blind.
Edin Hrnjic: A♠10♦ Kieran Plater: 7♠3♦
Hrnjic took up his phone and was hoping to record a double-up on the bubble, but Plater took the lead on the 8♥6♠3♥ flop. Hrnjic wasn’t able to catch up on the Q♦5♥ runout, and as Plater stacked his opponent off, Hrnjic busted in ninety-ninth place.
I rushed over to Table 11, where Calum Williams had opened to 25,000 UTG. Attique Khokhar had then moved all in for 67,000 from the Button. After some quick mathematics, Williams made the call.
Attique Khokhar: A♥Q♣ Calum Williams: K♥10♠
Khokhar was visibly hopeful, but he became less excited as the dealer revealed the 10♥K♣10♦ flop. Nothing crazy happened on the 2♦8♥ runout, and Khokhar left the tournament area disappointed.
With that, the remaining 98 players are now all in the money, guaranteed a £300 min-cash.
Hand-for-hand play has been going on for the last half hour. The bubble has not yet burst, and the 100 remaining players are sent on a 45-minute dinner break. They will return to Level 17, which features Blinds 5,000/10,000 and a 10,000 Ante.
“This bubble is gonna last ’til next Saturday,” PartyPoker Tour Ambassador Natalie Bromley said. Bromley isn’t the only ambassador still in the game, and the two PartyPoker Team Pros, Jaime and Matt Staples, are also still in the mix.
£150 Mini Main Event Day 2 – PartyPoker Tour Ambassadors and Team Pros Chip Counts
Ricky Singh opened to 20,000 from the Lo-jack. PartyPoker Team Pro Jaime Staples made the call from the Button, and Burak Kirver joined the party from the Small Blind.
Kirver checked the J♠2♠8♥ flop, and Singh continued for 20,000. Staples quickly got out of the way, and then, within seconds, Kirver put in a 100,000 raise, leaving himself with scraps behind. A visibly confused Singh pondered for a minute before folding.
Seated in the Hi-jack, Latvia’s Viesturs Baumanis opened to 12,000. Action eventually came around to Ryan Johnstone, who three-bet to 50,000 from the Small Blind, leaving himself with one green 1,000 chip behind. Baumanis made the call.
Johnstone checked the 8♠10♣9♠ flop, and Baumanis forced his opponent all in by betting the absolute minimum. Johnstone spent a minute or two checking the tournament clock, but when he could determine he couldn’t wait for the bubble to burst, he made the call.
Viesturs Baumanis: A♣10♠ Ryan Johnstone: K♣K♦
Scary board for kings, but Johnstone had the best hand even after the 6♣2♣ runout.
The bubble is approaching very rapidly (considering 98 players will be in the money).
Viesturs Baumanis: 170,000 Ryan Johnstone: 114,000
Barry Carter during the 2025 PartyPoker Tour Manchester. Photo: Nunzia Esposito
While Day 2 of the £150 Mini Main Event is in full swing, the third and final poker.pro-branded Mixed Games event, the £100 poker.pro R.O.S.E.T., started about 20 minutes ago. The concept is created by poker.pro CEO Jason Glatzer and consists of a mix of the following five games:
Razz (R).
Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better (O).
Sviten (S).
Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better (E).
Deuce-to-Seven Triple Draw (T).
Being one of two poker.pro representatives on-site (together with Glenn Brown), this journalist held a small speech to those 13 players who had registered for the tournament before the first hand. I informed them that this is the first-ever event of this kind, and PartyPoker Tour Ambassador Barry Carter replied, “So whatever happens, I’ll be one of the 13 best R.O.S.E.T. players in the world!” The room shared a laugh.
Action folded to Paul Bourne, who min-raised to 10,000 from UTG+2. Seated right next to him, Aaron Perrin made it 35,000 from the Lo-jack. Back to Bourne, who, after a minute’s worth of consideration, moved all in for perhaps 95,000. Perrin called faster than the speed of light.
Paul Bourne: 8♠8♣ Aaron Perrin: A♦A♣
Bourne was already trailing, and as Perrin improved to a set on the flop, Bourne wasn’t able to catch up.
The first hand this reporter caught was a juicy one. Florin “Flo” Sucala opened to 10,000 UTG. Seated in the Big Blind, Lawrence Cairns was the sole caller.
First to act, Cairns checked the 5♦Q♦4♣ flop. “Flo” bet 9,000, and within seconds, Cairns raised to 20,000. “Flo” spent a minute in the tank before moving all in for 81,000 in total. Cairns snap-called.
Florin Sucala: A♠Q♠ Lawrence Cairns: Q♣5♥
Cairns was ahead with a flopped two-pair, but “Sucala “Flo” quickly overtook the lead thanks to the A♣ turn. No dice for Carins on the 9♥ river; a big chunk of his stack went to his Romanian opponent.
The green curry Thai chicken has been inhaled, and Day 2 of the £150 Mini Main Event started about 15 minutes ago. 130 players are in the field from the get-go, and 98 places are paid. The poker.pro editorial office will soon return with the payouts (and chip counts for those who made it through Day 1f).
Some may claim it’s a tad wierd saying “Good morning” at 17:00, but if one’s working in the poker industry, it should be okay. This Swedish poker.pro live reporter woke up fairly recently, and just ordered breakfast at the casino bar (it shouldn’t be too long before my thai green chicken curry arrives).
It’s Day 5 of the 2025 PartyPoker Tour Birmingham, and the biggest happening today is arguably Day 2 of the £150 Mini Main Event, which will commence at 18:00 (i.e., in roughly 45 minutes). While the hyper-turbo flight 1f is still going on, late registration has been closed for roughly two hours, and the numbers have been confirmed for the tournament. 660 entries means that this is the second-biggest Mini Main Event of the tour so far (only the one held during the London stop was bigger). The £50,000 guarantee has been absolutely smashed, as the prize pool is a staggering £82,500.
Considering the final starting-day flight is still in full swing, neither the Day 2 seat draw nor the payouts have been published yet. As soon as poker.pro get a hold of these, we’ll share them with all of you. As soon as I’ve demolished my meal, I’ll get right on the floor; rest is for the wicked and poker.pro will cover Day 2 from start to finish.
Henry Owen, winner of the £60 poker.pro PL H.O.R.S.E. during the 2025 PartyPoker Tour Birmingham. Photo: Nunzia Esposito
In other news, Henry Owen captured the title in the £60 poker.pro PL H.O.R.S.E. late last night. This was the second poker.pro-branded Mixed Games event during the festival, and after navigating his way through the field that consisted of 22 entries, Owen got £550 and the trophy. The full results from the tournament will soon be uploaded and available under the “Results” tab.
The third and final poker.pro tournament of the festival, the £100 poker.pro R.O.S.E.T., will start at 19:00 today. It’s the first-ever event of its kind, and it’s going to be an extravaganza of a tournament. Click here to learn how to play R.O.S.E.T.
That’s all for now; see ya’ll around 18:00 for the Day 2 coverage.
The fourth installment of the £150 Mini Main Event has concluded at Resorts World Birmingham. As was expected, this was the busiest day of the 2025 PartyPoker Tour Birmingham thus far, and it looks like tomorrow’s Day 2 flight will live up to the expectations. Let’s take a gander at how Day 1d played out.
Saddle up and Ride
Day 1a, 1b, and 1c combined scored 283 entries. Considering 1d was the last flight scheduled before Day 2 that featured 30-minute levels (1e being a Turbo and 1f being a Hyper), the fourth starting-day flight was destined to significantly boost the numbers.
Before Level 1 finished, 1d had already surpassed yesterday’s 1c flight in terms of entries. This is yet another proof that the good word of PartyPoker’s return to the live poker scene has spread like the wind. Some of the prominent names throwing their names into the 1d competition were The Hendon Mob co-founder Joe Beevers, PartyPoker Tour Ambassadors Asif Warris and Alexander Georgiev, 2025 PartyPoker Tour Birmingham £500 Main Event champion Deniz Orhan, and PartyPoker Team Pro Matt Staples.
When late registration closed after the 45-minute dinner break, it was declared that this particular flight had registered 163 entries. As such, 32 players would move on to Day 2 (i.e., 20 %). The seventy-five remaining warriors picked up the fight, and one after one, they waved the white flag. Around 21:00, Daniel Davies went out in thirty-third place against Gareth Boyce. As such, the remaining players all received a Day 2 bag to put their valuable chips in.
£150 Mini Main Event – Day 1d Chip Counts
Position
Player
Chips
1
Ayush Gandhi
372,000
2
Calum Williams
358,000
3
Asif Warris
349,000
4
Michael Stanley
335,000
5
Gareth Boyce
332,000
6
Ryan Johnstone
329,000
7
Giovanni Antonino
326,000
8
Karen Balbi
307,000
9
Christopher Nicholas
306,000
10
Peter Carey
277,000
11
James Hearty
239,000
12
Bogdan Neamtu
236,000
13
Vaibhav Aggarwal
225,000
14
Christopher Daffern
200,000
15
Jack Thomas
195,000
16
Jobin Jacob George
191,000
17
Mark Habbershaw
180,000
18
James Ablott
179,000
19
Tak Wong
172,000
20
Christopher England
161,000
21
Steven O’Toole
156,000
22
Denis O’Riordan
143,000
23
Edin Hrnjic
128,000
24
Sam Taylor
122,000
25
Du Chen
117,000
26
Wayne Wilkins
116,000
27
Marc Goodwin
106,000
28
Florin Sucala
72,000
29
Balise Bourgeois
70,000
30
Sean Harper
70,000
31
Matt Staples
64,000
32
Adam Thompson
63,000
As can be seen in the table above, Ayush Gandhi managed to bag the biggest stack from Day 1d. It’s a tight race amongst the top five, though, where the aforementioned PartyPoker Tour Ambassador Warris sits in third place. Georgiev and Beevers didn’t manage to advance, while Matt Staples secured a 64,000 stack for Day 2; if anyone can spin it up, it’ll be Mr. Matt.
Thanks to everyone who’s been following the poker.pro live reporting today. Tomorrow, the coverage will start shortly before 18:00; it’s Day 2 that’ll be the star of the show. That being said, the results from all starting-day flights, Tuesday’s side events, and all photos will be shared earlier during the day.
Seated in the Hi-jack, Daniel Davies moved all in for 35,000 after action had folded to him. Seated in the Small Blind, Gareth Boyce called Davies off.
Daniel Davies: K♦10♠ Gareth Boyce: A♠10♣
Davies was trailing, and he didn’t improve on the Q♠10♦9♥5♦2♠ runout. Davies was eliminated in thirty-third place, meaning that the remaining 32 players are now all bagging their chips; they’ve made it to Day 2.
While that concludes the poker.pro live coverage for the day, stay tuned for the full chipcounts from Day 1d, as well as a smaller recap of today’s action.
Action folded to Tony Pearce, who opened to 11,000 from the Button. Bogdan Neamtu decided to defend his Big Blind.
Neamtu checked the Q♥7♦9♣ flop, prior to Pearce betting 17,000. Neamtu wasted little time putting in a big chunk of red 5,000 chips, effectively forcing Pearce all in for perhaps 52,000. Without hesitation, Pearce made the call.
Bogdan Neamtu: Q♦J♥ Tony Pearce: A♥9♦
Neamtu was already ahead, and Pearce didn’t improve as the board bricked out for the Brit. As such, Pearce was sent to the rail in thirty-sixth place.
This poker.pro live reporter took a stroll past Table 2, where the board read 8♣7♣5♦2♦ with a whopping 240,000 in the middle. First to act, Gareth Boyce had moved all in for 140,000. Du Chen, who looked to be just covered by Boyce, was in the tank. Eventually, he let his hand go.
“Wanna see?” Boyce asked his opponent, being a good sport. Chen nodded, and Boyce turned over his 9♣6♣ holdings. We’ll never know whether he would have improved to a straight flush.
Seated in the Lo-jack, Christopher Nicholas opened to 8,000. Action folded to Steven O’Toole, who moved all in for 39,000 from the Button. After doing the math in his head, Nicholas made the call.
Steven O’Toole: Q♥Q♠ Christopher Nicholas: J♦9♦
O’Toole was way ahead, but he was up against a real cracker of a hand. The K♣2♦5♥3♥10♦ favored the pocket queens, though, and O’Toole doubled up.
Christopher Nicholas: 231,000 Steven O’Toole: 88,000
Action folded to Karen Balbi, who min-raised to 8,000 from the Button. Italian Giovanni Antonino re-raised to 19,000, and when action came back to Balbi, she made the call.
Antonino stayed on the aggressive path, continuing for 19,000 on the 6♣6♠J♥ board. Balbi made the call, and the dealer turned over the 5♣ on the turn. Action went check-check, and déjà vu on the 2♥ river.
“Pocket sevens?” Antonino asked his opponent as he revealed his A♣K♥ holdings. Balbi shook her head as she threw her two cards into the muck.
Roland Boothby during the 2025 Festival Rozvadov. Photo: Mairo Toom
Level 12:
1,500/3,000 (3,000)
Entries:
44/163
Prizes:
TBA
Representative of The Hendon Mob, Roland Boothby, is displaying his very best poker skills over at Table 2. I went over to Boothby, tapped him on the shoulder, and joked, “In terms of deep runs, this must be a personal best for you?”. The long-distance runner laughed and replied, “Absolutely, 13 of Day 2 is massive.” Time will tell if he exceeds all expectations.
Considering each starting day flight is playing down to 20 % of the total amount of entries, it has been determined that 33 lucky players will bag for Day 2. They will join forces with the 56 players who’ve already moved on from Day 1a, 1b, and 1c.
Dane Soren Hansen opened to 6,000 from UTG+2. PartyPoker Tour Ambassador Asif Warris (Lo-jack), Aaron Perrin (Button), and Hasmukh Khodiyara (Big Blind) all made the call.
Action was checked to Warris on the 10♥Q♣A♦ flop, who bet 10,000. As fast as humanly possible, Perrin moved all in for 20,000 and scraps. Khodiyara and Hansen both folded before Warris made the call.
Aaron Perrin: A♠9♣ Asif Warris: A♥J♦
Warris was ahead, and Perrin didn’t overtake the lead as the board bricked out for him.
Giovanni Antonino opened to 4,000 from UTG+2. Jonathan Bannerman three-bet to 9,000 from the Button, and Antonino was the sole caller.
Action went check-check on the 10♥J♣9♥ flop. Antonino led out for 16,000 on the J♥ turn, and Bannerman made the call. Antonino sized up to 35,000 on the 5♦ river, and after perhaps 30 seconds’ worth of consideration, Bannerman made the call.
Giovanni Antonino: A♦3♦ Jonathan Bannerman: K♠K♣
An impressive call by Bannerman under pressure on a wet board, who added valuable chips to his stack.
Jonathan Bannerman: 205,000 Giovanni Antonino: 137,000
Seated UTG, Tai Hoang opened to 4,000. Seated right next to him, Armandas Aurila moved all in for 29,500 from UTG+1. Things amped up then Lewis Javens put in a hefty re-raise from the Cut-off. The three-bet was big enough to scare everyone else out of the way, and as such, Javens went heads-up against Aurila at showdown.
Armandas Aurila: 9♥9♠ Lewis Javens: K♣K♦
Javens’ kings held up on the 3♠7♣8♠5♥10♥ board, and Aurila was sent to the rail.
While the numbers are being confirmed for Day 1d of the £150 Mini Main Event, the £60 poker.pro PL H.O.R.S.E. has just begun. This is the second of the three poker.pro-branded Mixed Games during the 2025 PartyPoker Tour Birmingham, and currently, 14 players are in the mix. One of them is UK poker legend/founder of the PLO Masters JJ Hazan.
“Where’s the reporter?” some people may wonder. Well, sorry for being idle for a while; I was going to grab my first meal of the day, but someone stole my chicken burger. The kitchen and I beg all the players in Day 1d of the £150 Mini Main Event for forgiveness.
As I’m writing this, the burger just arrived; give me 10 minutes to inhale it, and we’ll soon be back with the dinner break chip counts.
Alexander Georgiev, winner of the £60 poker.pro Sviten during the 2025 PartyPoker Tour Birmingham. Photo: Nunzia Esposito
While Day 1d of the £150 Mini Main Event is closing in on its fourth hour, the £60 poker.pro PL H.O.R.S.E. is scheduled to commence at 19:00 today.
The poker.pro PL H.O.R.S.E. is the second out of a total of three poker.pro-branded Mixed Games tournaments during the 2025 PartyPoker Tour Birmingham. The first one was played yesterday; PartyPoker Tour Ambassador Alexander Georgiev claimed the title in the £60 poker.pro Sviten. A short video interview with Georgiev will be posted later tonight, and after the whole festival’s wrapped up, there’ll be a longer, written interview with all poker.pro Mixed Games winners.
UTG, Steven O’Toole limped the 800 required. Shaun Woodford called from the Lo-jack. Before big-stacked Michael Stanley made it 2,600 from the Hi-jack. Gareth Williams (Button), O’Toole, and Woodford all made the call.
Action was checked to Stanley on the J♣9♦2♦ flop, and he continued for 2,600. Williams was the only player who made the call, and the dealer presented the 5♥ on the turn. Stanley didn’t slow down; he fired a 10,000 bet, and Williams made the call as fast.
Stanley didn’t seem to be concerned that the 6♦ river completed an eventual flush draw; fast and deliberate, he bet 15,000, and Williams was visibly agonized. After twisting and turning for a minute or two in his chair, he made the call.
Much to his displeasure, Stanley turned over A♥J♠, which appeared to be enough. Being a good sport, Williams congratulated his opponent on a “nice hand”.
With 130 entries and counting, Day 1d is already the biggest starting-day flight of the £150 Mini Main Event so far. Out of the 97 players currently in the tournament, there are three PartyPoker Tour Ambassadors and one PartyPoker Team Pro (Matt Staples) in the field. The rest of the ambassadors are scheduled to arrive later in the week.
The players are now on a 15-minute break before they tackle Level 6 (Blinds 400/800, with an 800 Ante). Below are ten of the biggest stacks in the room.
Seated UTG, Jed Ryall opened to 1,500. Sean French (Hi-jack), Florin Sucala (Button), and Blaise Bourgeois (Big Blind) all made the call.
After an initial check from Bourgeois on the 5♣6♠3♠ flop, Ryall fired a 5,000 continuation bet. French made the call, before Sucala and Bourgeois swiftly folded.
Ryall didn’t slow down on the 3♥ turn. He bet 15,000, and French made the call just as fast. The dealer revealed the 9♣ on the river, and Ryall wasted little time going all in for 25,000. French leaned back in his chair, contemplating his decision, and eventually, he made the call. Ryall didn’t seem too comfortable when he turned over his Q♠Q♣ holdings, but French mucked his hand, and Ryall received the full double-up.
UTG, Gareth Williams opened to 900. Alexandros Gkampranis (Small Blind) and Michael Stanley (Big Blind) both made the call.
Action was checked to Williams on the somewhat wet 4♠6♣6♠ flop, and he continued for 1,200. Gkampranis quickly made the call, and Stanley folded just as swiftly.
Gkampranis check-called another 1,200 bet from Williams on the 7♣ turn, and again, Gkampranis made the call as fast as humanly possible. Gkampranis completed the check treifecta on the 10♣ river, Williams bet 2,400, and Gkampranis again made a lightning-fast call.
“Straight,” Williams announced as he turned over 9♠8♠ for a rivered straight, and Gkampranis mucked his holdings.
The poker.pro live reporter Christoffer Karlén taking notes. Photo: Nunzia Esposito
Level 3:
100/300 (300)
Entries:
82/90
Prizes:
TBA
The reporter joined the action at Table 15 when the board read 9♠8♠Q♣ with roughly 21,000 in the middle. Vaibhav Aggarwal (Big Blind) moved all in for 31,900, something that had Andrew Probyn (Cut-off) visibly troubled. After two to three minutes in the tank, he decided to let his hand go, revealing Q♠ as one of his holdings. Aggarwal started stacking his newly won chips, while he, between the lines, revealed to Probyn he had flopped a set.
Joe Beevers during the 2025 PartyPoker Tour London. Photo: Nunzia Esposito
Level 2:
100/200 (200)
Entries:
75/77
Prizes:
TBA
At Table 5, Jake Flockhart clicked it to 400 UTG. Seated in the Cut-off, Gareth Boyce was the sole caller.
Flockhart continued for 1,100 on the Q♠9♥A♣ flop, and Boyce wasn’t going anywhere. Flockhart slowed down and checked on the 4♥ turn, and then called a 3,300 bet from Boyce. Another check by Flockart on the 6♣ river, before Boyce fired a hefty 10,000 bet. Without thinking too long, Flockhart made the call.
Boyce turned over 9♦9♠ for a flop set, a hand Flockhart couldn’t beat as he mucked his hand.
Seated on the same table is Joe Beevers. Old school poker legend, co-founder of The Hendon Mob, PartyPoker Tour Ambassador…the sharp-dressed man has quite the resumé. During the Flockhart versus Boyce hand, a waitress approached the table. “Did anyone order a glass of ice water and a Coke Zero?” she asked. “I ordered water and a cappuccino,” Beevers replied. Beevers got his hands on the water, and rumors have it he’ll soon receive his coffee order. Allegedly, the Coke Zero returned to the bar.
Welcome all to the poker.pro live coverage of Day 1d of the £150 Mini Main Event. Play started roughly five minutes ago with 50 players in from the get-go; this reporter has a hunch today’s going to be a busy day at Resorts World Birmingham.
No one in the history of mankind has slept as well as I did last night. After roughly 13 hours of constant sleep, we’re ready to rock and roll on this glorious Tuesday in Ozzy City.
Before the dedicated hand coverage, please excuse me for 30-40 minutes while I update the results from yesterday’s side events, upload yesterday’s photos, etc. In the meantime, feel free to scroll down in the blog and read the recap of yesterday’s action.
Birmingham, the city known for lawn tennis and Ozzy Osbourne (and probably a lot of other things that extend far away from my knowledge). The second-largest city in the UK can add “Poker Paradise” to its resumé; the 2025 PartyPoker Tour Birmingham may only be on its third day, but it has already delivered, and the Resorts World has proven to be a stellar venue for a live poker event of this magnitude.
This Swedish poker.pro journalist arrived in Ozzy Town late last night, and today, October 13, it was time to get to work. After demolishing the full-English breakfast in the morning (and trying black pudding for the first time ever; amazing), it was time to cover Day 1c of the £150 Mini Main Event. It would turn out to be an interesting and action-packed affair, and when all was said and done, yet another bunch of prominent players bagged for Day 2, joining the 43 who’d already advanced from the previous two flights.
Slow and Steady Wins the Race
The £150 Mini Main Event has become a given on all the 2025 PartyPoker Tour stops in the UK. Presumably, all players were excited to see this golden gem of an event on the Birmingham tournament schedule. Day 1 kicked off at 14:00 local time on October 13, and the presumptions were clear: finish in the top 20 % of the total number of entries, and secure your seat to Day 2.
At the first break of the day, the two biggest stacks in the room belonged to Lawrence Cairns and Mohammed Ghollamrezapour. Neither of the two players had the intention of slowing down, and after the dinner break (when late registration closed), they were both still in the top 10 of the chip counts. Since it was no longer possible to register/re-enter the tournament, the floor could announce that 13 players would move on to Day 2 (which was 20 % of the total 66 entries).
Matt Staples. Photo: Nunzia Esposito
It’s never a walk in the park to go deep in a starting-day flight, and even though this flight was somewhat lighter in terms of entries (which is no surprise, considering the first two flights were played over the weekend), there were some prominent names in the field. Two names that stood out were the Staples brothers, Jaime and Matt. The two PartyPoker Team Pros tried their best to navigate through the tournament, but eventually, they would bust after late registration closed. Other notable names in the field included PartyPoker Tour Ambassador Alexander Georgiev and 2025 PartyPoker Tour Manchester £500 Main Event champion Deniz Orhan. Just like the Canadian brothers, Georgiev and Orhan also came up short.
Play went on, and at the third break, only 14 players remained, meaning Day 1c was now on the “bubble” (the Day 2 players won’t be in the money from the get-go). At this point, Matas Gerdziunas had moved to the top of the chip counts, and by some margin. The players took their seats after the break, and within 15 minutes, two of the short stacks clashed all in in a Blind versus Blind scenario. John Carr hit a pair of aces on the flop to eliminate Alan Monksfield in fourteenth place, and with that, the remaining players all could breathe out.
The thirteen bagged their chips, and after the floor completed the chip count, it could be determined that Gerdziunas finished Day 1c with the most chips. Aforementioned players such as Ghollamrezapour and Cairns managed to stay more or less within the top 10 all day, and as a result of this, they both bagged good stacks.
2025 PartyPoker Tour Birmingham – Day 1c Chip Counts
Position
Player
Chips
1
Matas Gerdziunas
350,000
2
Mohammed Ghollamrezapour
317,000
3
Tauseef Amjad
308,000
4
Stefan Stroffek
300,000
5
Darren Harris
213,000
6
Lawrence Cairns
205,000
7
Nimisha Rattan
177,000
8
Rajbinder Badwel
166,000
9
Vincenzo Fortunato
143,000
10
John Carr
142,000
11
Peter Thomas
133,000
12
Jamie Simmonds
125,000
13
Rutuj Mhaske
55,000
That concludes today’s live coverage here on poker.pro. This live reporter will be back tomorrow at 14:00 for Day 1d, and the editorial office will also do its best to secure an interview with the winner of the £60 poker.pro Sviten (which currently is still going on).
Thanks to everyone who’s been tuning into the live blog today, and we’ll see you tomorrow.
Action folded to short-stacked Alan Monksfield, who opened to 25,000 from the Small Blind, leaving himself perhaps 15,000 behind. Seated in the Big Blind, John Carr, who had his opponent just covered, forced Monksfield all in. Monksield called fairly quickly.
John Carr: A♠10♠ Alan Monksfield: K♥K♣
Monksfield was ahead, but, as we all know, poker can be a brutal game sometimes. Carr quickly overtook the lead on the 5♣9♥A♣ flop, and the J♥5♠ wasn’t in Monsfield’s best interest. As such, Monksfield went out in fourteenth place, meaning the remaining 13 players now will bag their chips for Day 2.
Day 2 will start on Blinds 2,000/4,000 (4,000), but that’s not until Wednesday; tomorrow, the Day 1d flight commences at 14:00, and Day 1e at 20:00. What’s more, there’s the 1f Turbo flight on Wednesday at 13:00, before Day 2 starts at 18:00.
The poker.pro editorial office will soon return with the full chip counts from Day 1c, as well as a small recap of today’s action. Stay tuned!
It’s the last 15-minute break in Day 1c of the £150 Mini Main Event. Play will soon resume on Level 14: Blinds 2,000/5,000, with a 5,000 Ante. Below are the chip counts, as only one more player must go before the remaining players move on to Day 2.
Action folded to Stefan Stroffek, who min-raised to 8,000 from the Button. After a minute’s worth of consideration, Thomas Howell moved all in for perhaps 85,000 from the Big Blind. Stroffek made the call as fast as humanly possible.
Thomas Howell: A♥7♥ Stefan Stroffek: Q♦Q♣
Howell’s ace was alive, but his chances of winning the hand were drastically reduced on the J♦5♠Q♥ flop. The 8♣10♥ didn’t change anything, and Howell’s farewell meant only 15 players now remain in the tournament.
Seated in the Hi-jack, Kevin Greathead opened to 12,000. Gurminder Jandu then moved all in for perhaps 25,000. Being priced in, Greathead made the call.
Gurminder Jandu: A♣Q♠ Kevin Greathead: Q♣10♣
Jandu was ahead, but the K♥3♣J♠ brought a real sweat. Greathead got even more outs on the 5♣ turn. He sealed Jandu’s fate when the flush hit on the K♣ river.
That means that there are now only two tables remaining. Eighteen players will become 13, before the survivors bag n’ tag for Day 2.
Action folded to Christopher Johnson, who committed 31,500 of his 37,000 stack to a pre-flop raise from the Small Blind. Seated in the Big Blind, Mohammed Ghollamrezapour forced his opponent all in for the last 5,500. Naturally, Johnson made the call.
Mohammed Ghollamrezapour: K♦K♥ Christopher Johnson: 9♣7♣
“Back to back,” one of the other players at the table said, indicating that Ghollamrezapour’s been running hot. No luck for Johnson on the 5♣8♦Q♥10♠4♦ runout, and he headed to the rail.
Mohammed Ghollanrezapour: 319,000 Christopher Johnson: 0
Action folded all the way to Stefan Stroffek, who opened to 5,000 from the Cut-off. Seated in the Big Blind, Deniz Orhan was the sole caller.
Orhan check-called a 7,500 bet from Stroffek on the J♠6♣10♥ flop. Action went check-check on the J♥ turn. Orhan completed the check trifecta on the J♣ turn, then folded to yet another 7,500 bet from Stroffek.
Stroffek revealed one of his two hole cards, the J♦. That means we’ve seen quad jacks two times today.
Back to Day 1c of the £150 Mini Main Event, where Thomas Howell opened to 5,000 from the Cut-off. Big-stacked Darren Harris (Small Blind) and Kevin Greathead both made the call.
Action checked to Howell on the 5♦7♠K♣ flop, and he fired a 5,500 continuation-bet. Harris made the call before Greathead (an awesome name, by the way) folded.
Action went check-check on the J♣ turn. Harris then took the aggressive lead on the A♥ turn, as he fired a hefty 10,000 bet. After some consideration, Howell made the call.
Harris turned over A♦7♥, a hand Howell couldn’t beat as he mucked his hand.
In other news, Rebecca Hardisty decided not to re-enter for the Mini Main Event. Instead, she registered for the £60 poker.pro Sviten. It’s the first time Hardisty plays the game (this reporter taught her the rules about an hour ago), and she managed to get a three-way scoop on what was perhaps her tenth Sviten hand.
Since late registration for Day 1c of the £150 Mini Main Event is now closed, the numbers are official. Considering each starting-day flight plays down to 20 %, it has been confirmed that 13 players will bag their chips for Day 2.
In other news, the £60 poker.pro Sviten started 20 minutes ago in the outer tournament area. This Swedish-originated game is probably the poker discipline that offers the biggest action. It’s a great game that guarantees a lot of fun, and poker.pro is very grateful to have three poker.pro-branded Mixed Games events at the 2025 PartyPoker Tour Birmingham.
The 31 remaining players in Day 1c are currently on a 45-minute dinner break. They will return to Level 10: Blinds 1,000/2,000, with a 2,000 Ante. The dinner break is also the last window to register for the tournament. Below are the current chip counts.
Jaime Staples and Rebecca Hardisty. Photo: Nunzia Esposito
Level 9:
800/1,600 (1,600)
Entries:
32/62
Prizes:
TBA
“The PartyPoker Power Couple,” Jaimes Staples and Rebecca Hardisty, both busted their first bullet, almost simultaneously.
Jaime Staples busted over at Table 1 in dramatic fashion. He’d opened to 4,000 with [Ad][3d], and his opponent three-bet to 8,000. Staples made the call, and then proceeded to check the 6♥6♣3♣ flop. His opponent then forced the Canadian professional all-in for 36,000. Staples engaged his opponent in some back-and-forth table banter, and eventually, he decided to make the call.
The PartyPoker Team Pro had made a good read, and he was flipping against K♣Q♣. Sadly for him, his villain improved to a flush on the 10♣ river and knocked out the Maple-leafer.
On anearby table, Hardisty was all in with K♦Q♦, and was in rough shape against her opponent’s K♣K♥. No dice for Hardisty on the A♠7♣Q♣9♠3♥ board, and she joined her other half at the rail.
Rumors have it they’re both heading to the rebuy-desk.
This live reporter heard commotion at Table 5 and quickly ran over. Chandrakant Patel had gotten his stack all in pre-flop against Jobin Jacob George, who had him covered. Patel was dominating George with ace-queen over ace-jack, but George hit not one, not two, but three jacks to knock out Patel with four-of-a-kind.
A photo of Matt Staples during the 2025 PartyPoker Tour London earlier this year. Photo: Nunzia Esposito
Level 8:
600/1,200 (1,200)
Entries:
36/60
Prizes:
TBA
There is more than one PartyPoker Team Pro here in Birmingham, and there’s more than one Staples. Jaime Staples and Matt Staples are the brothers who’ve been proudly representing PartyPoker for multiple years. While Jaime has attended all 2025 PartyPoker Tour stops this year, Matt is making his first appearance on the tour since the London event.
Seated UTG, Gurminder Jandu opened to 2,500. David Langsdale (Lo-jack) and Michael Brown (Button) both made the call, prior to Jonathan Mychalkiw moving all in for 15,100 from the Small Blind. Back to Jandu, who re-shoved for 33,600 in total. Langsdale and Brown both folded before the two remaining contestants turned over their holdings.
Jonathan Mychalkiw: K♥K♣ Gurminder Jandu: 8♥8♦
Not a bad spot for Mychalkiw to pick up the Cowboys. The 2♠4♦5♦ didn’t concern Mychalkiw, but Jandu picked up additional outs on the 7♥ turn. The A♠ favored Mychalkiw, though, who won the decently-sized pot.
Jonathan Mychalkiw: 38,600 Gurminder Jandu: 18,500
Jaime Staples (right) sitting next to Zhen Zhen, who won the £500 Main Event during the 2025 PartyPoker Tour Glasgow. Photo: Nunzia Esposito
Level 8:
600/1,200 (1,200)
Entries:
41/60
Prizes:
TBA
The players returned from the first 20-minute break a while ago; this live reporter missed out on a level while I was enjoying a tandoori salad bowl.
PartyPoker Team Pro Jaime Staples registered for the tournament shortly after the break. I had a small chat with Jaime, who claimed that Deniz Orhan (winner of the £500 Main Event during the 2025 PartyPoker Tour Manchester) won’t stand a chance against the Canadian this week. Will Staples be right? Time will tell.
The players are currently on their first 20-minute break of the day. They will soon return to Level 6: Blinds 400/800, with an 800 Ante. Below are five of the biggest stacks in the room.
Seated UTG, Thomas Howell opened to 1,500. He got three callers in the form of Mark Burrell (Cut-off), Kevin Greathead (Button), and Croasdale Turton (Big Blind).
All four players checked the 6♦3♣3♦ flop. On the K♦ turn, Howell bet 2,000 after an initial check from Turton. Burrell made the call in a heartbeat, before Greathead and Turton both mucked.
Howell sized up to 8,000 on the 7♥ river. Burell didn’t take too long before making the call.
Thomas Howell: J♦10♦ Mark Burrell: A♥K♥
Howell managed to get good value from his opponent, and chances are big he’s one of the biggest stacks in the room.
Rajbinder Badwal opened to 1,500 from the Hi-jack. When action came to Daniel Hannigan, he moved all in for 13,200 from the Small Blind. Seated in the Big Blind, Nimisha Rattan (who seems to be the only lady in the tournament currently), Rattan calculated her opponent’s stacks before re-shoving for something like 30,000. Badwal let his hand go, and thus, it was time for a showdown.
Daniel Hannigan: A♠10♠ Nimisha Rattan: A♦K♠
Hannigan picked up a gutshot on the 8♠9♣6♥ flop, but Rattan emerged victorious in the end as the board completed with 2♥K♣.
Action folded to Joseph Maczka, who opened to 50,000 from the Button. Seated right next to him, Lewis Javens moved all in for roughly 235,000. Things would get even spicier, as Gareth Boyce cold-called the Javens shove from the Small Blind. Maczka wasn’t done yet, though; he moved all in for just north of 900,000, effectively forcing Boyce to commit all of his 730,000. After spending a few minutes in the tank, Boyce mucked his hand.
Lewis Javens: A♦6♦ Joseph Maczka: J♣J♦
Maczka wasted little time extending his lead, as the dealer revealed the 3♥J♠Q♣ flop. Javens couldn’t catch up on the 4♣7♣, and he was sent to the rail. Rumors have it Boyce folded ace-queen.
Joseph Maczka: 1,450,000 Gareth Boyce: 730,000 Lewis Javens: 0
The last hand before the third break of the day, Asif Warris (the last PartyPoker Tour Ambassador standing in the tournament) opened to 50,000 UTG. Jack Hoffman called from the Button before Daniel Davies moved all in for 134,000 from the Small Blind. Warris made the call, and Hoffman quickly mucked.
Daniel Davies: 10♠10♦ Asif Warris: K♦K♥
Warris was ahead, but Davies could still get lucky and hit a ten. That wasn’t the case on the 6♦Q♠2♥, and all hope he had disappeared on the K♦ turn. For good measure, Warris (or “the Poker Tourist” as he sometimes is referred to as) improved to quads on the K♥ river.
Recent list of victims includes names such as PartyPoker Tour Ambassador/The Hendon Mob co-founder Joe Beevers, and 2025 PartyPoker Tour Manchester £500 Main Event winner Deniz Orhan.
Jaime Staples during the 2025 PartyPoker Tour London. Photo: Nunzia Esposito
Level 18:
6,000/12,000 (12,000)
Entries:
68/660
Prizes:
£82,500
Below is the updated list of eliminations. Noteworthy is that PartyPoker Team Pro Jaime Staples has joined his brother Matt on the rail. That is also the case for PartyPoker Tour Ambassadors Alexander Georgiev and Natalie Bromleh.
Seated UTG, Ricky Singh limped the 10,000 Big Blind. Action then folded all the way to Jason Hayzelden, who checked from the Big Blind.
Hayzelden checked the 2♥A♦7♠ flop, something that triggered a 20,000 bet from Singh. As fast as lightning, Hayzelden then raised to 51,000. Singh shared a look of confusion before making the call.
Both players checked the 2♣ turn. On the 6♣ river, Hayzelden fired a hefty 75,000 bet. “This is always ace-deuce,” this reporter thought to himself as Singh threw in the calling chips.
Jason Hayzelden: A♣2♠ Ricky Singh: Q♦Q♣
Hayzelden got the pot, but surely, this Swedish psychic must be declared the real winner of the hand?
The bubble burst perhaps 15 minutes after play had resumed after the dinner break.
During hand-by-hand play, there were two all-in and call situations at two different tables. Over at Table 6, Edin Hrnjic had moved all in UTG for less than four Big Blinds. Action folded to Kieran Plater, who was priced in to make the call from the Big Blind.
Edin Hrnjic: A♠10♦ Kieran Plater: 7♠3♦
Hrnjic took up his phone and was hoping to record a double-up on the bubble, but Plater took the lead on the 8♥6♠3♥ flop. Hrnjic wasn’t able to catch up on the Q♦5♥ runout, and as Plater stacked his opponent off, Hrnjic busted in ninety-ninth place.
I rushed over to Table 11, where Calum Williams had opened to 25,000 UTG. Attique Khokhar had then moved all in for 67,000 from the Button. After some quick mathematics, Williams made the call.
Attique Khokhar: A♥Q♣ Calum Williams: K♥10♠
Khokhar was visibly hopeful, but he became less excited as the dealer revealed the 10♥K♣10♦ flop. Nothing crazy happened on the 2♦8♥ runout, and Khokhar left the tournament area disappointed.
With that, the remaining 98 players are now all in the money, guaranteed a £300 min-cash.
Hand-for-hand play has been going on for the last half hour. The bubble has not yet burst, and the 100 remaining players are sent on a 45-minute dinner break. They will return to Level 17, which features Blinds 5,000/10,000 and a 10,000 Ante.
“This bubble is gonna last ’til next Saturday,” PartyPoker Tour Ambassador Natalie Bromley said. Bromley isn’t the only ambassador still in the game, and the two PartyPoker Team Pros, Jaime and Matt Staples, are also still in the mix.
£150 Mini Main Event Day 2 – PartyPoker Tour Ambassadors and Team Pros Chip Counts
Ricky Singh opened to 20,000 from the Lo-jack. PartyPoker Team Pro Jaime Staples made the call from the Button, and Burak Kirver joined the party from the Small Blind.
Kirver checked the J♠2♠8♥ flop, and Singh continued for 20,000. Staples quickly got out of the way, and then, within seconds, Kirver put in a 100,000 raise, leaving himself with scraps behind. A visibly confused Singh pondered for a minute before folding.
Seated in the Hi-jack, Latvia’s Viesturs Baumanis opened to 12,000. Action eventually came around to Ryan Johnstone, who three-bet to 50,000 from the Small Blind, leaving himself with one green 1,000 chip behind. Baumanis made the call.
Johnstone checked the 8♠10♣9♠ flop, and Baumanis forced his opponent all in by betting the absolute minimum. Johnstone spent a minute or two checking the tournament clock, but when he could determine he couldn’t wait for the bubble to burst, he made the call.
Viesturs Baumanis: A♣10♠ Ryan Johnstone: K♣K♦
Scary board for kings, but Johnstone had the best hand even after the 6♣2♣ runout.
The bubble is approaching very rapidly (considering 98 players will be in the money).
Viesturs Baumanis: 170,000 Ryan Johnstone: 114,000
Barry Carter during the 2025 PartyPoker Tour Manchester. Photo: Nunzia Esposito
While Day 2 of the £150 Mini Main Event is in full swing, the third and final poker.pro-branded Mixed Games event, the £100 poker.pro R.O.S.E.T., started about 20 minutes ago. The concept is created by poker.pro CEO Jason Glatzer and consists of a mix of the following five games:
Razz (R).
Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better (O).
Sviten (S).
Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better (E).
Deuce-to-Seven Triple Draw (T).
Being one of two poker.pro representatives on-site (together with Glenn Brown), this journalist held a small speech to those 13 players who had registered for the tournament before the first hand. I informed them that this is the first-ever event of this kind, and PartyPoker Tour Ambassador Barry Carter replied, “So whatever happens, I’ll be one of the 13 best R.O.S.E.T. players in the world!” The room shared a laugh.
Action folded to Paul Bourne, who min-raised to 10,000 from UTG+2. Seated right next to him, Aaron Perrin made it 35,000 from the Lo-jack. Back to Bourne, who, after a minute’s worth of consideration, moved all in for perhaps 95,000. Perrin called faster than the speed of light.
Paul Bourne: 8♠8♣ Aaron Perrin: A♦A♣
Bourne was already trailing, and as Perrin improved to a set on the flop, Bourne wasn’t able to catch up.
The first hand this reporter caught was a juicy one. Florin “Flo” Sucala opened to 10,000 UTG. Seated in the Big Blind, Lawrence Cairns was the sole caller.
First to act, Cairns checked the 5♦Q♦4♣ flop. “Flo” bet 9,000, and within seconds, Cairns raised to 20,000. “Flo” spent a minute in the tank before moving all in for 81,000 in total. Cairns snap-called.
Florin Sucala: A♠Q♠ Lawrence Cairns: Q♣5♥
Cairns was ahead with a flopped two-pair, but “Sucala “Flo” quickly overtook the lead thanks to the A♣ turn. No dice for Carins on the 9♥ river; a big chunk of his stack went to his Romanian opponent.
The green curry Thai chicken has been inhaled, and Day 2 of the £150 Mini Main Event started about 15 minutes ago. 130 players are in the field from the get-go, and 98 places are paid. The poker.pro editorial office will soon return with the payouts (and chip counts for those who made it through Day 1f).
Some may claim it’s a tad wierd saying “Good morning” at 17:00, but if one’s working in the poker industry, it should be okay. This Swedish poker.pro live reporter woke up fairly recently, and just ordered breakfast at the casino bar (it shouldn’t be too long before my thai green chicken curry arrives).
It’s Day 5 of the 2025 PartyPoker Tour Birmingham, and the biggest happening today is arguably Day 2 of the £150 Mini Main Event, which will commence at 18:00 (i.e., in roughly 45 minutes). While the hyper-turbo flight 1f is still going on, late registration has been closed for roughly two hours, and the numbers have been confirmed for the tournament. 660 entries means that this is the second-biggest Mini Main Event of the tour so far (only the one held during the London stop was bigger). The £50,000 guarantee has been absolutely smashed, as the prize pool is a staggering £82,500.
Considering the final starting-day flight is still in full swing, neither the Day 2 seat draw nor the payouts have been published yet. As soon as poker.pro get a hold of these, we’ll share them with all of you. As soon as I’ve demolished my meal, I’ll get right on the floor; rest is for the wicked and poker.pro will cover Day 2 from start to finish.
Henry Owen, winner of the £60 poker.pro PL H.O.R.S.E. during the 2025 PartyPoker Tour Birmingham. Photo: Nunzia Esposito
In other news, Henry Owen captured the title in the £60 poker.pro PL H.O.R.S.E. late last night. This was the second poker.pro-branded Mixed Games event during the festival, and after navigating his way through the field that consisted of 22 entries, Owen got £550 and the trophy. The full results from the tournament will soon be uploaded and available under the “Results” tab.
The third and final poker.pro tournament of the festival, the £100 poker.pro R.O.S.E.T., will start at 19:00 today. It’s the first-ever event of its kind, and it’s going to be an extravaganza of a tournament. Click here to learn how to play R.O.S.E.T.
That’s all for now; see ya’ll around 18:00 for the Day 2 coverage.
The fourth installment of the £150 Mini Main Event has concluded at Resorts World Birmingham. As was expected, this was the busiest day of the 2025 PartyPoker Tour Birmingham thus far, and it looks like tomorrow’s Day 2 flight will live up to the expectations. Let’s take a gander at how Day 1d played out.
Saddle up and Ride
Day 1a, 1b, and 1c combined scored 283 entries. Considering 1d was the last flight scheduled before Day 2 that featured 30-minute levels (1e being a Turbo and 1f being a Hyper), the fourth starting-day flight was destined to significantly boost the numbers.
Before Level 1 finished, 1d had already surpassed yesterday’s 1c flight in terms of entries. This is yet another proof that the good word of PartyPoker’s return to the live poker scene has spread like the wind. Some of the prominent names throwing their names into the 1d competition were The Hendon Mob co-founder Joe Beevers, PartyPoker Tour Ambassadors Asif Warris and Alexander Georgiev, 2025 PartyPoker Tour Birmingham £500 Main Event champion Deniz Orhan, and PartyPoker Team Pro Matt Staples.
When late registration closed after the 45-minute dinner break, it was declared that this particular flight had registered 163 entries. As such, 32 players would move on to Day 2 (i.e., 20 %). The seventy-five remaining warriors picked up the fight, and one after one, they waved the white flag. Around 21:00, Daniel Davies went out in thirty-third place against Gareth Boyce. As such, the remaining players all received a Day 2 bag to put their valuable chips in.
£150 Mini Main Event – Day 1d Chip Counts
Position
Player
Chips
1
Ayush Gandhi
372,000
2
Calum Williams
358,000
3
Asif Warris
349,000
4
Michael Stanley
335,000
5
Gareth Boyce
332,000
6
Ryan Johnstone
329,000
7
Giovanni Antonino
326,000
8
Karen Balbi
307,000
9
Christopher Nicholas
306,000
10
Peter Carey
277,000
11
James Hearty
239,000
12
Bogdan Neamtu
236,000
13
Vaibhav Aggarwal
225,000
14
Christopher Daffern
200,000
15
Jack Thomas
195,000
16
Jobin Jacob George
191,000
17
Mark Habbershaw
180,000
18
James Ablott
179,000
19
Tak Wong
172,000
20
Christopher England
161,000
21
Steven O’Toole
156,000
22
Denis O’Riordan
143,000
23
Edin Hrnjic
128,000
24
Sam Taylor
122,000
25
Du Chen
117,000
26
Wayne Wilkins
116,000
27
Marc Goodwin
106,000
28
Florin Sucala
72,000
29
Balise Bourgeois
70,000
30
Sean Harper
70,000
31
Matt Staples
64,000
32
Adam Thompson
63,000
As can be seen in the table above, Ayush Gandhi managed to bag the biggest stack from Day 1d. It’s a tight race amongst the top five, though, where the aforementioned PartyPoker Tour Ambassador Warris sits in third place. Georgiev and Beevers didn’t manage to advance, while Matt Staples secured a 64,000 stack for Day 2; if anyone can spin it up, it’ll be Mr. Matt.
Thanks to everyone who’s been following the poker.pro live reporting today. Tomorrow, the coverage will start shortly before 18:00; it’s Day 2 that’ll be the star of the show. That being said, the results from all starting-day flights, Tuesday’s side events, and all photos will be shared earlier during the day.
Seated in the Hi-jack, Daniel Davies moved all in for 35,000 after action had folded to him. Seated in the Small Blind, Gareth Boyce called Davies off.
Daniel Davies: K♦10♠ Gareth Boyce: A♠10♣
Davies was trailing, and he didn’t improve on the Q♠10♦9♥5♦2♠ runout. Davies was eliminated in thirty-third place, meaning that the remaining 32 players are now all bagging their chips; they’ve made it to Day 2.
While that concludes the poker.pro live coverage for the day, stay tuned for the full chipcounts from Day 1d, as well as a smaller recap of today’s action.
Action folded to Tony Pearce, who opened to 11,000 from the Button. Bogdan Neamtu decided to defend his Big Blind.
Neamtu checked the Q♥7♦9♣ flop, prior to Pearce betting 17,000. Neamtu wasted little time putting in a big chunk of red 5,000 chips, effectively forcing Pearce all in for perhaps 52,000. Without hesitation, Pearce made the call.
Bogdan Neamtu: Q♦J♥ Tony Pearce: A♥9♦
Neamtu was already ahead, and Pearce didn’t improve as the board bricked out for the Brit. As such, Pearce was sent to the rail in thirty-sixth place.
This poker.pro live reporter took a stroll past Table 2, where the board read 8♣7♣5♦2♦ with a whopping 240,000 in the middle. First to act, Gareth Boyce had moved all in for 140,000. Du Chen, who looked to be just covered by Boyce, was in the tank. Eventually, he let his hand go.
“Wanna see?” Boyce asked his opponent, being a good sport. Chen nodded, and Boyce turned over his 9♣6♣ holdings. We’ll never know whether he would have improved to a straight flush.
Seated in the Lo-jack, Christopher Nicholas opened to 8,000. Action folded to Steven O’Toole, who moved all in for 39,000 from the Button. After doing the math in his head, Nicholas made the call.
Steven O’Toole: Q♥Q♠ Christopher Nicholas: J♦9♦
O’Toole was way ahead, but he was up against a real cracker of a hand. The K♣2♦5♥3♥10♦ favored the pocket queens, though, and O’Toole doubled up.
Christopher Nicholas: 231,000 Steven O’Toole: 88,000
Action folded to Karen Balbi, who min-raised to 8,000 from the Button. Italian Giovanni Antonino re-raised to 19,000, and when action came back to Balbi, she made the call.
Antonino stayed on the aggressive path, continuing for 19,000 on the 6♣6♠J♥ board. Balbi made the call, and the dealer turned over the 5♣ on the turn. Action went check-check, and déjà vu on the 2♥ river.
“Pocket sevens?” Antonino asked his opponent as he revealed his A♣K♥ holdings. Balbi shook her head as she threw her two cards into the muck.
Roland Boothby during the 2025 Festival Rozvadov. Photo: Mairo Toom
Level 12:
1,500/3,000 (3,000)
Entries:
44/163
Prizes:
TBA
Representative of The Hendon Mob, Roland Boothby, is displaying his very best poker skills over at Table 2. I went over to Boothby, tapped him on the shoulder, and joked, “In terms of deep runs, this must be a personal best for you?”. The long-distance runner laughed and replied, “Absolutely, 13 of Day 2 is massive.” Time will tell if he exceeds all expectations.
Considering each starting day flight is playing down to 20 % of the total amount of entries, it has been determined that 33 lucky players will bag for Day 2. They will join forces with the 56 players who’ve already moved on from Day 1a, 1b, and 1c.
Dane Soren Hansen opened to 6,000 from UTG+2. PartyPoker Tour Ambassador Asif Warris (Lo-jack), Aaron Perrin (Button), and Hasmukh Khodiyara (Big Blind) all made the call.
Action was checked to Warris on the 10♥Q♣A♦ flop, who bet 10,000. As fast as humanly possible, Perrin moved all in for 20,000 and scraps. Khodiyara and Hansen both folded before Warris made the call.
Aaron Perrin: A♠9♣ Asif Warris: A♥J♦
Warris was ahead, and Perrin didn’t overtake the lead as the board bricked out for him.
Giovanni Antonino opened to 4,000 from UTG+2. Jonathan Bannerman three-bet to 9,000 from the Button, and Antonino was the sole caller.
Action went check-check on the 10♥J♣9♥ flop. Antonino led out for 16,000 on the J♥ turn, and Bannerman made the call. Antonino sized up to 35,000 on the 5♦ river, and after perhaps 30 seconds’ worth of consideration, Bannerman made the call.
Giovanni Antonino: A♦3♦ Jonathan Bannerman: K♠K♣
An impressive call by Bannerman under pressure on a wet board, who added valuable chips to his stack.
Jonathan Bannerman: 205,000 Giovanni Antonino: 137,000
Seated UTG, Tai Hoang opened to 4,000. Seated right next to him, Armandas Aurila moved all in for 29,500 from UTG+1. Things amped up then Lewis Javens put in a hefty re-raise from the Cut-off. The three-bet was big enough to scare everyone else out of the way, and as such, Javens went heads-up against Aurila at showdown.
Armandas Aurila: 9♥9♠ Lewis Javens: K♣K♦
Javens’ kings held up on the 3♠7♣8♠5♥10♥ board, and Aurila was sent to the rail.
While the numbers are being confirmed for Day 1d of the £150 Mini Main Event, the £60 poker.pro PL H.O.R.S.E. has just begun. This is the second of the three poker.pro-branded Mixed Games during the 2025 PartyPoker Tour Birmingham, and currently, 14 players are in the mix. One of them is UK poker legend/founder of the PLO Masters JJ Hazan.
“Where’s the reporter?” some people may wonder. Well, sorry for being idle for a while; I was going to grab my first meal of the day, but someone stole my chicken burger. The kitchen and I beg all the players in Day 1d of the £150 Mini Main Event for forgiveness.
As I’m writing this, the burger just arrived; give me 10 minutes to inhale it, and we’ll soon be back with the dinner break chip counts.
Alexander Georgiev, winner of the £60 poker.pro Sviten during the 2025 PartyPoker Tour Birmingham. Photo: Nunzia Esposito
While Day 1d of the £150 Mini Main Event is closing in on its fourth hour, the £60 poker.pro PL H.O.R.S.E. is scheduled to commence at 19:00 today.
The poker.pro PL H.O.R.S.E. is the second out of a total of three poker.pro-branded Mixed Games tournaments during the 2025 PartyPoker Tour Birmingham. The first one was played yesterday; PartyPoker Tour Ambassador Alexander Georgiev claimed the title in the £60 poker.pro Sviten. A short video interview with Georgiev will be posted later tonight, and after the whole festival’s wrapped up, there’ll be a longer, written interview with all poker.pro Mixed Games winners.
UTG, Steven O’Toole limped the 800 required. Shaun Woodford called from the Lo-jack. Before big-stacked Michael Stanley made it 2,600 from the Hi-jack. Gareth Williams (Button), O’Toole, and Woodford all made the call.
Action was checked to Stanley on the J♣9♦2♦ flop, and he continued for 2,600. Williams was the only player who made the call, and the dealer presented the 5♥ on the turn. Stanley didn’t slow down; he fired a 10,000 bet, and Williams made the call as fast.
Stanley didn’t seem to be concerned that the 6♦ river completed an eventual flush draw; fast and deliberate, he bet 15,000, and Williams was visibly agonized. After twisting and turning for a minute or two in his chair, he made the call.
Much to his displeasure, Stanley turned over A♥J♠, which appeared to be enough. Being a good sport, Williams congratulated his opponent on a “nice hand”.
Richard Cox
Paul Howley
Gokul Salim Narayanan
Tai Quoc Hoang
Blaise Bourgeois
Georgina James
Yucel Eminoglu
Mohammed Ghollamrezapour
Florin Sucala
Daniel Davies
Zirui Liu
Viesturs Baumanis
Robin Panholzer
Giovanni Antonino
Alexander Georgiev
Andrew Liperis
Jaime Staples
Georgina James
Adrian Lee
James Grogan
Heribert Ipfelkofer
Shuhao Zhang
Daniel Lubera
Roman Polienok
Soren Hansen
