PokerStars Open Manchester: Rundown of the Action From The Latest PokerStars Event

£220 Deepstack

A field of 161 total entries came together for the event’s opening non-satellite tournament at the Deansgate Hotel at the beginning of last week. Of the 161 entries, 137 were unique, and these entries added up to make a solid total prize pool of £35,420. In fact, the tournament was so popular, during heads-up play, the clock was paused and the remaining contenders resumed their duel the following day. The duo in question were Kasim Mahmood and 2023 Irish Open Champion David Docherty. Play resumed with Docherty holding a 3:1 advantage over his opponent, and the impromptu Day 2 lasted just a few hands, despite Mahmood doubling early. Docherty had all the chips in play when the tournament wrapped up, plus £7,232 for his efforts and the first trophy to be awarded in a PokerStars Manchester tournament since 2011. The result also propelled Docherty up the PokerStars Live League, where he currently is competing in the Low buy-in bracket, which are all PokerStars live event tournaments under £/$/€ 999. Below are the top 5 in the low buy-in bracket, where Docherty sits in second place, but is in touching distance of pole position.

PokerStars Live League Low Tier Top 5

Place	Player	Points
1	Stein Karlsson	872.21
2	David Docherty	799.81
4	Soraya Estrada	695.50
5	Thomas Clack	592.82

£220 Deepstack Final Table Payouts

Place	Player	Payout (GBP)
1	David Docherty	£7,232
2	Kasim Mahmood	£4,520
3	Joshua Musson	£3,230
4	Christopher Brammer	£2,480
5	Chun Hao Man	£1,910
6	Alexandros Gkampranis	£1,470
7	Ryan Pearson	£1,190
8	Christopher Lythgoe	£1,000
9	Dhyanesh Patel	£830

£2,200 High Roller

The two day High-Roller event attracted a field of 106 total entrants, 71 of which were unique and 35 were re-entries. This resulted in the expected prize pool of £203,520 became one of £233,200. Only 15 of the field found the money, with PokerStars ambassadors Adam McKola (15th – £3,440) and 2025 WSOP Main Event Las Vegas fourth-place finisher Kenny Hallaert (12th – £4,140) both cashing. Tuan Le was the unfortunate victim of the bubble, as he ran into the aces of Rui Bouquet. Le had ace-six suited and he couldn’t find any hearts to double up. Le’s luck soon turned for the better, however, as you will soon see.

The final table saw an average stack of around 50 big blinds, with no runaway chip leader – at first. Ian Simpson and Joan Hereu began to break away from their competitors, together holding over half the chips in play six-handed when one huge pot saw Simpson double through for a monster chip lead. Simpson went for max value on the river of K 8 10 4 3 , moving all in against Hereu, who called with K J . Simpson had aces, and this spelt the beginning of the end for the remaining players. Ultimately, Simpson went on to steamroll his opposition, and eventually bested Nicholas Swann for the title and a score of £53,140. Simpson then added a cash in the Main Event to his tally for the week, finishing 78th for £2,540. This win is Simpson’s third of the year, having won the €888 888 Main Event in Madrid for € 62,000 in January, and the £560 888 Main Event in Newcastle for £ 34,800. Below are the final table payouts.

£2,200 High Roller Final Table Payouts

Place	Player	Payout (GBP)
1	Ian Simpson	£53,140
2	Nicholas Swann	£34,300
3	Antoine Labat	£24,500
4	Andrew Hulme	£18,840
5	Rui Bouquet	£14,500
6	Joan Perez Hereu	£11,160
7	Gerard Cortes	£8,920
8	Mitchell Johnson	£7,140
9	Javier Rodriguez Gonzalez	£5,940

£1,100 Main Event

The marquee event of the week had a whopping guaranteed prize pool of £1,000,000. The prize pool was clearly alluring, as a total of 927 entrants took to the felts over the four starting flights. Action continued for a further three days of action, culminating in the 2,200 High Roller bubble boy Tuan Le triumphing over £220 Deepstack fourth place finisher Christopher Brammer. Between Brammer and Le, when final table play commenced the pair started the day with two thirds of the chips in play evenly split between them. The duo had agreed a deal after a level of heads-up play, with the stacks essentially even.  Brammer proposed an equal split, leaving £15,000 and the trophy, to which Le had no objection to.

Key pots thereafter went Le’s way at first, before Brammer doubled back into the chip lead. It was not to last long, however; despite a fierce battle for the title, Brammer eventually found himself short stacked after a late-stage flip and the final pot, the trophy and £149,200 top prize went to Le. This is Le’s second PokerStars title, having won the UKIPT Blackpool £1,100 Main Event for £53,630 in 2023. Le is a keen recreational player, a business owner in the mental health sector, and a Manchester local. Le said before taking to the final table: “I just play for fun, the only game I can play is Texas Hold’em, I actually don’t know the other games.” Le appeared to be upfront and honest about his game as the tournament came to a close, saying:  “It was tough playing against a pro. I’ve got four kids, so I’ve got no time. I’m not technically good, I can’t think numbers. These guys talk about how many big blinds have you got – I’ve got no idea!”

Place	Player	Payout (GBP)
1	Tuan Le	£149,200*
2	Christopher Brammer	£134,200*
3	Hasmukh Khodiyara	£77,860
4	Adam Andersson	£59,890
5	Mohamed Kerkeni	£46,070
6	Sinead Davenport	£35,440
		*Heads-Up Deal

What’s Next?

The next PokerStars live events to grace the felts of the continent and beyond will be the 2025 PokerStars NAPT Las Vegas, which will run from November 3rd-12th at Resorts World. In Europe, it’ll be the last EPT stop of the year in the beautiful city of Prague from December 2nd-13th at the luxurious Hilton Hotel, before heading to the sunny shores of the South of France for the PokerStars Open Cannes from December 15th-21st.

That’s all for now, folks. Until next time.