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The History of Goliath
When Grosvenor Casinos first launched The Goliath Tournament in 2011 the remit was: A low buy-in event with a massive field.
Since it’s conception the competition has lived up to this goal with 2023’s event reaching an all-time record of 11,493 Entries and a monstrous £1.37Million Prize Pool.
Nottingham’s Lee Rawson was the first name in The Goliath history books. In 2011, Lee conquered 1,765 Entries sealing a £32,705 first prize.
The following year saw Les Fenton emerge victorious amongst a slightly larger field of 1,954 Entries and cashing for £35,800.
Word began to spread around the poker community and both recreational’s and pro’s started to descend upon Coventry.
Across 2013 – 2015 the figures spiked. Jake Skidmore lifted the coveted trophy in 2013 after striking a three-way deal for £29,690. This was followed by Ryan Foster the year after when he defeated a 3,394 field for £62,000.
2015 saw the rise of Miikka Toika who navigated his way through a 4,210 strong field to get his hands on the £70,800 first prize.
Breaking 5,000
When first launched, few expected Goliath to grow the way it did, but 2016’s edition continued to do exactly that with 5,232 Entries. Once again, the event finished with a three-way chop and Vamshi Vandanapu was crowned champion.
From 5,000 – 6,000, 2017 meant it was Elliott Marais’ turn to seek victory. He converted just £120 into £85,760.
The £85,000 scoop from Elliott was a record first place prize for Goliath, but this only lasted 12 month as 2018’s figures blew it out of the water. Florian Duta picked through a field of 7,584 and finished heads up against Warwick Bradley – both players won £101,450 and £73,100 respectively.
2019 was hotly anticipated and the crowds truly descended upon the Midlands. An extraordinary 9,300 Entrants opted for the Main Event and sought to grind their way towards a share of the £911,410 prize pool. It was Lee Reynold’s year following a fiveway deal seeing him £64,601 better off.
The Magic Million
A global pandemic would see Goliath take a two-year sabbatical, but when casino’s re-opened their doors the UK’s most iconic poker event returned bigger and better than ever before.
To celebrate its 10th anniversary, it only seemed right for the Main Event to break that special £1Million mark in 2022. Kyle Jeffrey fought his way through 10,584 Entries to become the biggest first prize winner in Goliath history. Kyle claimed a life-changing £200,000.
They said it couldn’t get bigger, but The Goliath didn’t listen. It was a record breaking 11,493 Entries in 2023 which further solidified Goliath’s reputation as The Biggest Live Poker Tournament Outside of Vegas. From just a £150 Buy-in the Main Event amassed its largest prize pool yet of £1,379,160 and it was Alex Todd who would go all the way and pocket £178,860.
If history is anything to go by, this year’s event should be another record breaking tournament for UK players to dream about winning.
Interview with Alex Todd 2023 Goliath Champion
Winning The Goliath Main Event is something that most people can only dream about but last year this became a reality for Alex Todd AKA ‘King Toddie’
After deciding to give up his career as a banker to focus on the poker felts, the victory certainly validated his position within the UK poker scene.
Finishing Day 2 as chip leader, Alex kept powering through and after lifting the trophy he revealed to The Tower that he just “ran like god”. Todd went on to say that “Tournaments have a lot of variance but when it’s your day you’ve got to make the most of it”.
2024’s Champion, Alex, scooped £178,860 following a six-way deal. After asking what he did with the winnings, Alex mentioned that he was able to treat him and his fiancée to a luxury holiday and invest a chunk of it into a new set of golf clubs.
Alex put “Years of grinding” down to securing the win and it’s apparent that this experience continues to serve him well across various poker competitions. Since lifting the Goliath trophy, he’s gone on to win a GG Masters Event Online and final tabled a few National Poker League Events.
The ultimate question for a previous Goliath winner is always what’s your tips for securing a first-place finish? Alex’s three words of wisdom include:
1. Running well is probably the most pivotal part of it all, without that it’s going to be very difficult out there.
2. Once you’ve got a big stack, putting lots of pressure on and playing for the win will give you a much better chance of securing top spot.
3. Having support around you always helps. I had all my mates railing me on the final day and so many people messaging me with support – it kept me going and helped me stay focused.
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National Poker League Round Up
Since it’s first year, Grosvenor Casino’s National Poker League has been a mammoth undertaking for those who wish to chase the chance to become the next Grosvenor Poker Sponsored Pro and £40,000 richer.
Although only one can be league champion, in 2023 alone the NPL paid out over £380,000 in leaderboard prizes. From 2nd place to 50th place, each player claimed a package worth between £20,000 and £5,000.
You may be wondering what’s included and how do I join/start earning points? The answer is simple, any GUKPT, 25/50, UKPL or seasonal special event is included and if you’re still unsure then just look for the National Poker League badge on our advertising.
All you have to do is play one of these events and finish in the money to earn points. Depending on your finishing position, buy-in amount and size of field will determine how many points you earn.
Last year saw Cal Morreale win the National Poker League and it’s safe to say that his hot streak has continued into 2024’s season. However, with a long way to go the tide could still turn…
2023 was an impressive year for Cal who cashed in 36 Events, 33 of which were run by Grosvenor Casinos. Of the 33 National Poker League Events Cal scooped £357,000 in prize money with £110,000 of this coming from his GUKPT Main Event win in Manchester.
When asked for some insight on how he maintains this edge, Cal said “I always try to use theory when possible, but when not sure on exactly what the right thing to do on a river decision then I’ve just got to trust my gut.”
Remaining NPL Events
The Ultimate Bad Beat
Every player has their own Bad Beat story to tell, but very few follow the scenario of Sunderland’s Mickey Wharton who’s Quad 10’s were beaten by a straight Flush back in December 2021. Mickey’s loss triggered Grosvenor Casino’s National Bad Beat Jackpot which at the time stood at an enormous £380,000.
Mickey’s Christmas Miracle saw him win a life changing £114,000 on a night where he wasn’t even planning on playing poker. The decision to go into his local Grosvenor Casino to play in a poker tournament was due to his son inviting him. Mickey at the time was celebrating his late father’s birthday with his mum who also encouraged him to go and play.
After being knocked out of the tournament Mickey jumped in a cash game and the rest is history.
When asked what he would do with the money Mickey responded with “I’m going to buy a house with the winnings, but first I’m going to celebrate with a family trip to Las Vegas”.
Mickey wasn’t the only beneficiary of the Jackpot, the winner of the hand, fellow local Adam Smith, took home £57,000. The prizes didn’t stop there as a percentage of the jackpot was distributed amongst every player who was playing in a cash game at a Grosvenor Casino during the time of the trigger. This meant a further lucky 383 players won £545 for simply playing in a cash game.
Grosvenor Casino’s National Bad Beat Jackpot continues to transform one of the worst feelings in poker into a moment of elation. The Nation-wide cash game promotion see’s players win eye-watering sums of money for simply losing a pot with a qualifying hand which gets progressively easier each week. As the hand gets weaker, the jackpot grows, and one lucky Grosvenor Customer will be the beneficiary.
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UK Poker League: A partnership between two poker powerhouses
2024 saw the launch of the UK Poker League –a new format brought to you by 888Poker and Grosvenor Casino’s.
The new UKPL brings you 7 exciting poker festivals across various cities in the UK. Similar to the National Poker League, points are earnt when you cash in any UKPL event – what’s more any points earnt in the UKPL also get added to the NPL leaderboard, so it’s a winwin.
The seventh leg in the UKPL circuit takes place in Coventry and acts as a final where all league places will be confirmed and official 888poker packages will be awarded to players.
This inaugural season has seen some huge prize pools as 888poker fans flock to some of the best poker rooms around the country. So far, Jamie Le holds the record for the biggest first place prize at a UKPL. He turned a £560 buy-in into £37,605 after conquering a field of 371 entrants in Coventry.
In addition to the 7 UKPL festivals, 888poker once again bring their iconic 888 LIVE festival to the UK in partnership with Grosvenor Casino’s. Previously such events have been held in London where the £1,100 Main Event reached a £367,500 prize pool. However, this year the competition travels up north to the bustling city of Manchester.
Last year’s winner in London, Dave McConachie, described clinching the trophy as ‘Extremely satisfying’ and felt he achieved a miracle during Day 3 as the whole final table was tough.
MANCHESTER
14 - 25 AUGUST
Join us for a 12-day poker festival made up of a variety of tournaments and cash games to suit every type of player.
Win your £1,100 Main Event Seat via satellites available in the poker room or online.
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How one man managed to spin a free ticket into a Goliath Final Table
If there’s one thing you can bank on at The Goliath, it’s that fun and freebies can be found around every corner.
Whether it’s a free chip protector, our daily online free roll or competitions on our live stream, the opportunity to go away from Goliath with something is available for everyone.
One man who managed to achieve ultimate value in 2023 was Nigel Brampton, who won a free ticket into the Goliath Main Event via Tower and Jay’s Live Stream competition. He subsequentially went on to final table the competition and finish 7th for £22,510.
Against a field of over 11,000 entries, it seems hard to think that this could be beaten, however, with more free tickets to be won in 2024 the possibility remains open.
Similar to previous years the fan favourite Goliath All-in Flip Free Roll takes place on Grosvenorpoker.com everyday between the Saturday 27th July –Friday 2nd August at 3pm and 4pm.
Be sure to download the Grosvenor Poker App and register every day for the chance to win a £200 Main Event ticket and go on to compete for the £1.5Million Estimated Prize Pool.
What’s more, the value online doesn’t stop there, Main Event satellites continue to be available until Thursday 1st August. From as little as £1 you can win an extra bullet into The Goliath Main Event or even take a look at the Live Event Credit satellites which offer much bigger sums and can be used for events such as a GUKPT Main Event. You’ll find £20,000 worth of Live Event Credit guaranteed each week.
£300,000 GTD 11 - 19 AUGUST
SIDE HALL
HIGH ROLLER HALL
