World Heads Up Champion Jeff Kimber has added a Grosvenor UK Poker Tour title to his collection. He defeated Peter Charalambous after an exciting heads up battle to take down the first prize of just under £84,000. In becoming the 12th player to win a GUKPT title he also earns himself a seat in the £3,000 Grand Final, which takes place in November. He defeated a field of 287 runners in a tournament that lasted for four long days at the Grosvenor casino in Walsall. Jeff played a solid game throughout the tournament and went into the final as the chip leader. He then built on his lead during the early exchanges of the final, but had to claw it back after a few massive pots that saw him relinquish his position as the chip daddy. One of the key hands came against 4th place finisher Nik Persaud, when his pocket aces held up against A-Q, but it was Peter Charalambous who held a significant chip advantage by the time the heads up stage of the tournament got underway. Big pot poker dominated the final stages of the tournament and Jeff held the goods in the crucial hands, enabling him to kick on and seal the victory.

Runner up Peter Charalambous played an aggressive, fearless form of poker throughout the tournament, while entertaining the table at the same time. In scenes that were reminiscent of Johnny Chan, he had a banana with him for most of the final and kept the skin there for luck after hunger got the better of him. Having finished that piece of fruit he was calmly munching on an apple when the final hand played out and to his credit, he took his defeat graciously once it was all over. Third place finisher Dharminder Buttar, a 21-year old from Wolverhampton showed skills way beyond his years and on more than one occasion he threatened to upset his more experienced opponents. He qualified for the tournament via a £25 satellite at the host casino and played the main event with an almost Scandinavian style of aggression that will serve him well throughout his poker career.

The chip counts going into the final were:

First out was Luke Patten, an experienced player from Colchester, who spookily had predicted he would finish 9th shortly before the tournament began. Liverpudlian Terry Owens finished in 8th while Aaron Barry; a sales manager from Harrogate who had qualified online on Blue Square Poker was dismissed in 7th place. Charlie Denton, another Liverpudlian was the 6th placed man while Craig Metcalfe from Barrow-in Furness went in 5th place. Nik Persaud, the most consistent player in GUKPT history, finished 4th. Nik made last month’s final in Brighton and has made the prize money 5 times out of 12 appearances on the GUKPT. He held the chip lead on more than one occasion during the final but his chances were destroyed in the previously mentioned pot with A-Q against eventual winner Kimber’s pocket aces. The tour continues in less than three weeks at the Grosvenor Victoria casino in London where a field of up to 400 players is expected for the £1,000 main event.

The winner also receives a free entry to the £3,000 Grand Final plus a seat in the Champion of Champion’s tournament; both courtesy of tour sponsor Blue Square Poker. All the final table players received an iPod Nano.