Meli Raises the UKIPT Nottingham Main Event Trophy to the Sky!
The UK and Ireland Poker Tour, also known as its acronym UKIPT, has come to an end for this year. The tour did not disappoint during the 2023 season, hosting great events in Dublin, Malta, Blackpool, Brighton, London and Edinburgh, before concluding in Nottingham. The Dusk Till Dawn Poker and Casino received the honor acting as host for the season finale and presumably, all participating players were eager to finish off the live poker tour at the top of the podium. Four tournaments were played between November 5th-13th, and of course, the £1 100 UKIPT Main Event were the big crown jewel. The tournament is since finished and we have a winner to present in the form of Vincent Meli!
Quickest Final Table Ever
Meli, admittedly most known for his successful cash game career, were one of the 1 227 players entering the tournament. After two long days of tournament poker, ten players came back for day 3. Presumably, Meli had a good feeling arriving to the table, considering he held the chip lead at this point.
Not too long into day 3, the elimination for 10th came and it was time to redraw for the final table consisting of nine players. Little did the remaining players know they were going to be part of history, seeing as the quickest UKIPT final table ever would soon begin.
In fact it was Meli who, together with tournament pro Patrice Brandt, took turns eliminating the other seven players. After just three levels, the two found themselves Heads Up and decided to make a deal, seeing chip leader Brandt securing a bigger slice of the cake. However, there were still £2 000 left to play for, as well as the glorious trophy!
Even though Brandt held 20 million in chips, Frenchman Meli did not panic with his 15 million stack and slowly started to take chunk by chunk from Brandt. Eventually, Brandt shoved his roughly 10 big blinds all in pre flop holding 3 3 . Meli looked down at Q 6 and decided to go for it. The board spelled 10 4 A 5 Q and with a dramatic river card, Meli won the tournament, the title, and his biggest ever tournament cash!
Meli perceived the final table action as somewhat utopic:
“It was perfect. Nobody doubled up, players just busted one after the other. I knew I was probably going to be heads-up against Patrice. It was perfect to put pressure on the small stacks. You always dream of it, but when it doesn’t happen it takes time to have a score. You still believe, but you feel it’s far away. I didn’t even think about the possibility of winning, not even at the final table. I’m very glad.”
That’s a wrap for the UKIPT 2023. The tour has been presented by PokerStars and boy, did they deliver! During all the events, a UKIPT Leaderboard has been running. The winner, who is yet to be announced, will receive a £15 000 UKIPT 2024 Package!
UKIPT Nottingham Main Event Final Table Payouts:
| Position | Player | Payout |
|---|---|---|
| 1. |  Vincent Meli | £159 325 |
| 2. |  Patrice Brandt | £168 425 |
| 3. |  Andrew Tuxworth | £90 070 |
| 4. | Tom Middleton | £69 250 |
| 5. |  John Farrell | £53 300 |
| 6. | Jack Nolan | £41 000 |
| 7. | Matthew Bonham | £31 400 |
| 8. | Niall Murray | £24 200 |
| 9. |  Guillermo Nuez | £18 650 |
