Vamshi Vandanpau Wins 2016 UK Poker Tour Goliath

This year’s Grosvenor UK Poker Tour Goliath proved a more popular affair than ever before, with the £120 buy-in tournament held in Coventry attracting 5,232 player, up by 1,022 players versus the same event in 2015. Nine days of intense action later, and the completion was eventually won by Vamshi Vandanpau, who subsequently collected £62,750 ($82,801) for his hard-fought efforts.
On the tournament’s last day, the final table of nine was reached after just two hours of play. Vamshi Vandanpau (A-A) then eliminated Craig Drew in 8th, before being dealt Q-J and doing likewise to Luke Wensley (A-10) in 7th. Vandanpau (K-10) followed up by sending Will Campbell (10-5) to the rail in 4th, allowing the remaining three players to strike a deal guaranteeing themselves £50,000 a piece, while leaving a further £12,750 for the ultimate winner.
In the meantime, Robbie Richmond had eliminated Jonathan Mellor in 9th, Graeme Evans in 6th, Tom Powell in 5th, and after being dealt 10-7 and taking care of Cristian Popescu (A-9) in 3rd, the heads-up phase of the competition got underway between Vandanpau and Richmond for the title.
At this stage, both players were fairly even in chips, and just half an hour is all it would then take before the deciding hand was played with both Vandanpau (A-10) and Richmond (K-10) all-in preflop. With no help from the board, Robbie Richmond had to settle for a runner-up finish, while Vamshi Vandanpau was crowned champion of the biggest attended Grosvenor UK Poker Tour Goliath in the tournament’s history.
Final Table Results:
1: Vamshi Vandanpau £62,750*
2: Robbie Richmond £50,000*
3: Cristian Popescu £50,000*
4: Will Campbell £27,000
5: Tom Powell £18,850
6: Graeme Evans £13,400
7: Luke Winsley £10,450
8: Craig Drew £8,600
9: Jonathan Mellor £7,400