It’s been 17 years since the Grosvenor UK Poker Tour started hosting tournaments, and only male players have won the GUKPT Main Event. This was set to change this weekend in Luton, but Seb Crane denied Katie Swift her shot at making history by winning the GUKPT Luton Main Event.
The £1,250 buy-in GUKPT Luton Main Event attracted 284 entries at the Grosvenor G Casino Luton, generating a total prize pool of £299,910. As the field narrowed, the top 33 players took home a share of the six-figure prize pool.
Among them was Team Grosvenor’s Katie Swift, who reached the GUKPT Main Event final table for the fourth time. She was looking to etch her name in history by becoming the first-ever female GUKPT Main Event Champion. However, this was not to be as she ended up runner-up losing the title to Seb Crane. She took home home £49,300 for her runners up finish.
2024 GUKPT Luton Main Event Quick Recap
Several GUKPT regulars made deep runs in the Luton Main Event but ultimately missed out on the final table, including John Bousfield, Team Grosvenor’s Matthew Davenport, Kelly Sidhu, Yucel Eminoglu, Kevin Allen, and others.
The final table was formed following the elimination of Dan Scridon in 10th place. The final nine players returned for Day 3 to determine a winner. Dean Wilson held the chip lead, while both Katie Swift and Seb Crane had middling chip stacks.
Swift secured her first elimination at the final table by knocking out the table’s short stack, Abdulkadir Ahmed, in 9th place (£6,900). Crane soon followed Swift’s lead, eliminating another short stack, Stefan Voudouri, in 8th place for £7,950.
As the play continued with seven players remaining, Swift and Crane moved into third and second places on the chip counts, trailing only Dean Wilson. Thomas Clack (7th – £9,170), Ali Abdulzahra (6th – £11,550), and Callum Gordon (5th – £15,750) were eliminated in quick succession.
With four players left, Seb Crane sent Luke Porter to the rail in 4th place (£22,640). Despite not scoring any major double-ups, Swift maintained a middling stack throughout.
Crane then chipped up and moved into the chip leader after busting Dean Wilson 3rd place. Wilson moved all-in with A-6, but Crane’s A-Q held up as the board ran out 7-9-9-K-10. Wilson earned £34,040 for his 3rd-place finish.
Heading into the heads-up battle, Crane held 121 BBs, while Swift had 21 BBs. However, Swift didn’t surrender easily. The heads-up battle lasted over two hours, with Swift even closing the gap and briefly taking the lead.
Despite Swift’s best efforts, Crane fought back and eventually doubled up, leaving Swift with a crumbling stack. On the final hand, Swift moved all-in with Ad-Jc against Crane’s Ks-Qh. The board came 9h-5s-6h-2h-10h, giving Crane a flush.
Seb Crane claimed his first GUKPT Main Event title, banking £66,000 and pushing his live career earnings past the $100,000 mark. Runner-up Katie Swift secured her second 2nd-place finish in the Luton Main Event, taking home £49,300, bringing her career earnings to over $500,000.
2024 GUKPT Luton Main Event Payouts
| Rank | Player | Prize (GBP) |
| 1st | Seb Crane | £66,000 |
| 2nd | Katie Swift | £49,300 |
| 3rd | Dean Wilson | £34,040 |
| 4th | Luke Porter | £22,640 |
| 5th | Callum Gordon | £15,750 |
| 6th | Ali Abdulzahra | £11,550 |
| 7th | Thomas Clack | £9,170 |
| 8th | Stefan Voudouri | £7,950 |
| 9th | Abdul Ahmed | £6,900 |
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Image Credit: Grosvenor Poker
