Alex Montgomery won the UKPC Masters Main Event and £92,500

Alex Montgomery claimed victory in the UKPC Masters Main Event, outlasting 936 opponents and taking home a prize of £92,500. This is the second largest win of his career.

The main event of the UK Poker Championships (UKPC) Masters Main Event has concluded at the Dusk Till Dawn poker club. The winner was Alex Montgomery, who not only claimed the trophy but also made tournament history, outlasting 936 opponents and taking home the top prize of £92,500. This win is the second largest of Montgomery’s career, surpassed only by the £100,000 he earned for finishing runner-up in the 2023 GUKPT Grand Final Main Event with a £2,000 buy-in. Overview of the UKPC Masters Series and Dusk Till Dawn Venue The UK Poker Championships (UKPC) Masters Main Event is a prestigious tournament that annually brings together the strongest players from the UK and Europe. This time, the event was held at Dusk Till Dawn, one of the country’s most renowned poker clubs, famous for its major series and true poker festival atmosphere. The main event, with a £1,100 buy-in, attracted 937 entries, creating an impressive prize pool of £500,000. A total of 143 players made the money, including well-known names such as Chris Da-Silva, Yucel Eminoglu, Steve Jelinek, Will Kassouf, Ben Dobson, Michael Rosaman, Brandon Sheils, and Calogero Morreale. Road to the Final Table: Key Moments and Hands By the end of Day 2, only 111 players remained in the tournament. Jamie Holland started Day 3 as the chip leader, while Tom Waters had the shortest stack. However, soon after the restart, the final nine were determined. Daniel Merridale and Jamie O'Brien were eliminated before the final table, with O'Brien—who began the day third in chips—finishing in tenth place. His exit came after an unsuccessful all-in bluff on a draw-heavy board—Montgomery made a king-high straight, which beat O'Brien’s hand. Montgomery then took control of the final table, knocking out several opponents. First, he sent Keith Johnson, the recent GUKPT Luton champion, to the rail in ninth place. Next, Montgomery eliminated Tariq Mahmood, who finished eighth. Jamie Holland, who started the day as chip leader, also couldn’t withstand Montgomery’s pressure: his ace-seven lost to the queen-jack of the future champion. Rick Trigg, a well-known regular, exited in sixth place, but not at Montgomery’s hands—he was eliminated by Daniel van Geete. Trigg, short-stacked, went all-in with king-four, while van Geete held pocket aces. Despite hitting a king on the turn, the river didn’t help Trigg, and he was out. In the final five, Montgomery took the initiative again: his ace-five beat Mitchell Jennings’ king-eight. Then, in a hand against Yannik Seabrook, Montgomery’s queen-eight on the flop was ahead of his opponent’s king-jack. After that, Daniel van Geete tried to double up, three-bet shoving with king-ten, but Montgomery called with pocket queens—and held. This set the stage for the heads-up battle. Heads-Up: Alex Montgomery vs Tom Waters At the start of the duel, Montgomery had 67,800,000 chips against Waters’ 25,900,000. Notably, Tom Waters began the final day with the shortest stack but managed to reach the decisive stage. Early in heads-up, luck favored Waters: his ace-five beat Montgomery’s ace-seven. Then, capitalizing on his opponent’s aggression on a paired flop, Waters took the lead by making two pair and calling Montgomery’s bluff. However, Montgomery soon regained control. With blinds at 800,000/1,600,000, he limped in, and Waters checked. The flop came eight-two-four; Montgomery bet 2,000,000, Waters check-raised to 6,500,000—Montgomery called. The turn brought the queen of diamonds, completing a flush draw. Waters shoved all-in, Montgomery called with five-four of diamonds (third pair and a flush draw), while Waters showed five-three (a gutshot straight draw). The river brought a black king, not improving Waters, and this hand sealed the tournament—Alex Montgomery became the UKPC Masters Main Event champion. UKPC Masters Main Event Final Table Payouts Place Player Prize (£) 1 Alex Montgomery 92,500 2 Tom Waters 61,500 3 Daniel van Geete 44,500 4 Yannik Seabrook 34,000 5 Mitchell Jennings 26,000 6 Rick Trigg 20,000 7 Jamie Holland 15,000 8 Tariq Mahmood 11,000 9 Keith Johnson 8,000 Additional Achievements and Festival Results This month has been especially successful for the Waters family: Tom Waters earned £61,500 for his runner-up finish, while his wife Charlie Waters recently took second place in the GUKPT Luton Main Event, winning £38,250. In addition to the main event, other tournaments were held as part of the UKPC Masters. Daniel Bedson and Keith Johnson became high roller champions in the £1,100 buy-in events, earning £28,500 and £18,000 respectively. With the conclusion of the UKPC Masters Main Event, the entire festival came to an end, bringing together many well-known players and delivering plenty of memorable moments for spectators. Upcoming Events at Dusk Till Dawn and WSOP Circuit UK Schedule The next major tournament at Dusk Till Dawn will be the DTD125 with a £150 buy-in and a £100,000 guarantee. The event will run from September 23 to 28. The prize pool includes nine tickets to the upcoming WSOP Circuit Main Event, each worth £1,100. The WSOP Circuit UK itself is scheduled for November 14–24. As soon as the full series schedule is available, it will be published on PokerNews. What This Means for PPPoker Club Players For PPPoker club members, this news is a great example of how regular practice and participation in online tournaments can prepare you for major live series. By analyzing Alex Montgomery’s hands and strategy, you can see how important it is to adapt to different opponents’ styles and use aggression at key moments on the final table. Moreover, the UKPC Masters Main Event structure is similar to many major events on PPPoker: deep stacks, a smooth blind structure, and a large field. This allows club players to train the same skills that lead to success in live tournaments—from smart stack management to making decisions under pressure. Finally, the tournament results show that the path to the final table is open to players with varying experience and starting stacks. Just like Tom Waters, who began the final day as the short stack, any PPPoker participant can make a deep run with the right approach and careful opponent analysis. Keep an eye on your club’s major event schedule and use the experience of top players to grow your own game!