Uk-Poker.co.uk

Professional poker player, Ali Mallu, jumped to the top of the Grosvenor UK Poker Tour (GUKPT) rankings over the weekend by winning the £500 side event at London’s prestigious Grosvenor Victoria Casino. The £500 no limit Texas Hold’em side event boasted a top prize of £17,900, which will add to Mallu’s impressive career earnings. Mallu has some 14 first place finishes to his name and has won more than $700,000 in prize money. By winning the £500 side event, Mallu has edged ahead of Andrew Purser to top the GUKPT rankings, which is no mean feat considering that the GUKPT is one of the most popular and highly regarded UK poker tournaments, attracting some of the biggest names in domestic professional poker.

Mallu’s side event success featured a steady yet hard-fought campaign against a number of top UK players, including none other than the legendary Willie Tann, who finished a respectable 4th for £5,000. Tann’s career earnings stand at over $1.5m and he has the notable honour of being one of the few UK players to have won a WSOP bracelet. Nevertheless, not even Tann could stop Mallu on his route to success, which follows a third place finish for $25,250 in leg 3 of the GUKPT at the end of February.

Having edged ahead of Andrew Purser in the race to become the overall GUKPT champion, Mallu also picked up a seat in the Champion of Champions event, which in itself is one of the top UK poker tournaments around today. Finishing second in the £500 side event, Adam Vinson collected £12,800, while third-placed Jonathan Wong won £8,000. After Tann crashed out in fourth, Likka Kaasalainen (£3,900), Daniel Stanway (£3,000), Chaz Chattha (£2,400), David Lloyd (£1,800) and David Clark (£1,400) filled out the remaining final table positions.