Florian Duta wins record breaking Goliath at GUKPT

Continuing the momentum set by the World Series of Poker (WSOP) in Las Vegas this summer, the Goliath of the GUKPT has broken its own attendance record. A total of 7,584 entries were over the course of seven starting flights for the tournament buy-in of £125. The popularity of this tournament meant that the first-place guarantee of £100,000 always looked beatable and eventually, when the final £125 buy-in was collected, the top prize was pushed to £101,450.

According to the statistics, the 2018 GUKPT Goliath will go down as the largest live poker tournament outside of the US. In breaking the record, this year’s event also surpassed the target set by the Goliath back in 2017. On that occasion, 6,385 entries were collected prior to Elliot Marais taking the title and £85,760. This time around, Romania’s Florian Dimitrie Duta was the man whose name will go into the record books. Heading into the final table, Duta was one of the most experienced players. With deeps runs at EPT and WSOP circuit events, as well as a £350,000+ win at the Wynn Summer Classis this year, he was the man to beat.

Despite some early pressure from the likes of Mariusz Czech and Warwick Brindley, Duta was able to close out the tournament with As 6s. Following a brief reset, a quick heads-up match between Duta and Brindley ensued. Within three hands, the match was over after Duta shoved all-in from the button. With only 9bbs, Brindley called and found himself ahead with As 8c. However, that advantage was soon lost as the 6c on the river gave the Duta an unbeatable pair. After the match, the Romanian spoke to the GUKPT’s live reporting team and described his latest win as “awesome.”

In addition to breaking another record, this year’s GUKPT Goliath saw the unveiling of a new poker pro. As part of a year-long promotion, Grosvenor has partnered with former cruiserweight and heavyweight boxing champion David Haye. In what’s come to be known as David vs. Goliath, Haye will learn the nuances of poker from a team of pros before taking part in the 2019 event. Given the ex-boxer’s love/hate relationship with the British public, there’s a strong chance next year’s GUKPT Goliath will see even more people turn up in a bid to knockout Mr Haye.

GUKPT Goliath 2018 Main Event Result

1st Florian Duta – £101,450
2nd Warwick Brindley – £73,100
3rd Mariusz Czech – £52,500
4th Bogdan Bolboceanu – £37,150
5th Ricky Read – £25,650
6th Craig Mariner – £17,950
7th Ioana Belet – £14,050
8th Gordon Paterson – £11,600
9th Joe Stoyles – £10,000