A commanding performance from start to finish
The UK Poker Championships Masters Main Event wrapped up at Dusk Till Dawn in Nottingham. A total of 937 entries created a £500,000 prize pool, with 143 players making the money.
Alex Montgomery stormed through the field and captured the title, securing the trophy and £92,500. This score stands as his second-largest career cash, just behind the £100,000 runner-up finish at the £2,000 GUKPT Grand Final Main Event in 2023.
Tom Waters, who began the final day as the shortest stack, delivered a remarkable comeback to finish runner-up for £61,500.
From Day 2 to Day 3: The short stack’s rise
Day 2 ended with 111 players advancing to Day 3. Jamie Holland bagged the chip lead, while Tom Waters returned as the shortest stack. His deep run turned into one of the event’s most inspiring stories.
Among those who cashed were notable names such as Chris Da-Silva, Yucel Eminoglu, Steve Jelinek, Will Kassouf, Ben Dobson, Michael Rosaman, Brandon Sheils, and Calogero Morreale.
Start of Day 3 chip counts
| Rank | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jamie Holland | 16,825,000 |
| 2 | Alex Montgomery | 14,500,000 |
| 3 | Jamie O’Brien | 13,025,000 |
| 4 | Rick Trigg | 9,575,000 |
| 5 | Tariq Mahmood | 9,000,000 |
| 6 | Mitchell Jennings | 8,375,000 |
| 7 | Yannick Seabrook | 5,975,000 |
| 8 | Daniel van Geete | 5,100,000 |
| 9 | Daniel Merridale | 5,025,000 |
| 10 | Keith Johnson | 4,000,000 |
| 11 | Tom Waters | 2,400,000 |
Final table: Montgomery in complete control
The final table was set after Daniel Merridale and Jamie O’Brien fell short. O’Brien, who started Day 3 third in chips, exited in 10th place when his all-in bluff on a draw-heavy board ran into Montgomery’s turned king-high straight.
Montgomery then sent Keith Johnson (9th) and Tariq Mahmood (8th) to the rail, before dispatching Day 3 chip leader Jamie Holland (7th) when his A-7 lost to Montgomery’s Q-J.
Popular grinder Rick Trigg bowed out in 6th place, eliminated by Daniel van Geete. Trigg shoved short with K-4 but ran into aces. A king on the turn gave him brief hope, but the river bricked out.
Montgomery regained momentum by knocking out Mitchell Jennings (5th) with A-5 against K-8. He followed up by out-flopping Yannick Seabrook (4th) with Q-8 versus K-J, before finding pocket queens to hold against van Geete’s K-10 three-bet shove. That set the stage for heads-up play.
Heads-up: Waters rallies, but Montgomery closes it out
Montgomery entered heads-up with a commanding 67,800,000 to 25,900,000 lead over Waters. Despite starting short, Waters showed resilience—first cracking Montgomery’s A-7 with A-5, then briefly edging ahead with a well-timed call on a paired board.
The decisive hand came at 800,000/1,600,000. Montgomery limped from the small blind, Waters checked. The flop came 8-2-4. Montgomery bet 2,000,000, Waters check-raised to 6,500,000, and Montgomery called. The turn brought a jack and a second diamond. Waters shoved, and Montgomery snap-called with 5♦4♦ for third pair plus a flush draw. Waters tabled 5-3 for an open-ended straight draw. The river brought a black king, sealing the title for Montgomery.
UKPC Masters Main Event final table results
| Rank | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alex Montgomery | £92,500 |
| 2 | Tom Waters | £61,500 |
| 3 | Daniel van Geete | £41,500 |
| 4 | Yannick Seabrook | £26,500 |
| 5 | Mitchell Jennings | £18,800 |
| 6 | Rick Trigg | £13,500 |
| 7 | Jamie Holland | £10,000 |
| 8 | Tariq Mahmood | £7,500 |
| 9 | Keith Johnson | £6,000 |
It was also a strong month for the Waters household: Tom’s runner-up finish for £61,500 came just weeks after his wife, Charlie Waters, finished second in the GUKPT Luton Main Event for £38,250.
Festival highlights
The UKPC Masters festival closed with Montgomery’s triumph, but several side events also crowned champions. Two £1,100 High Roller events saw Daniel Bedson (£28,500) and Keith Johnson (£18,000) take titles.
| Event | Entrants | Prize Pool | Champion | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £560 Main Event | 937 | £500,000 | Alex Montgomery | £92,500 |
| £1,100 High Roller | 108 | £103,680 | Daniel Bedson | £28,500 |
| £1,100 High Roller | 47 | £50,000 | Keith Johnson | £18,000 |
| £280 Warm Up | 410 | £100,000 | Jorge Palomino | £16,230 |
| £60 Opener | 319 | £15,312 | Colin Myott | £2,797 |
| £120 Deep Stack | 145 | £13,920 | Florin Ciubotaru | £2,755 |
| £60 Mega Stack | 370 | £12,960 | Clinton Thomas | £2,455 |
| £120 7-Max | 72 | £6,912 | Daniel Turner | £2,245 |
| £60 8-Max | 121 | £5,808 | Mohammad Ramezani | £1,860 |
| £120 PLO | 38 | £3,648 | Anonymous | £1,158 |
| £120 Bounty | 62 | £5,952 | Paul Gillott | £907 |
What’s next at Dusk Till Dawn
- DTD125: £150 buy-in, £100,000 guaranteed. Runs September 23 – September 28, with nine seats to the WSOP Circuit Main Event (£1,100 each) included in the prize pool.
- WSOP Circuit UK: Scheduled for November 14 – November 24, with the full schedule to be announced soon.
