The final table of Newcastle's GUKPT event started at 4pm, an hour earlier than usual. However, this was no guarantee that it would finish any earlier than usual and when they were still playing at 2.00am it was already the longest final table we have had on the tour so far. By 3.45am it was even longer still. However, eventually at just after 4am it finally came to a long overdue conclusion when Mazhar Nawab got it in with Q-J versus Darren Fuller's J-3. The board brought a jack but no further help for either player so with a better kicker; Mazhar Nawab became the sixth man to taste victory on the GUKPT. He showed modesty in victory by paying a big compliment to his opponent in the post match interview. Both players looked shattered after what turned out to be an eleven-hour final table; a record length that we are all hoping won't be beaten in the near future.

The chip leader going into the final was Tony Horn from York, with the Sheffield pair of Richard Trigg and Mazhar Nawab not far behind. These three were relatively clear of the rest of the pack, with 60% of the chips in play. The full chip counts going into the final were:

Name	Chips
Tony Horn	544200
Richard Trigg	395000
Mazhar Nawab	344700
Darren Fuller	182900
Adam Wilkinson	176100
Christine Ward	137600
Jonathon Butters	131600
Simon Zach	87000
David McGlen	42700

David McGlen's final lasted just one hand. He moved all in with A-Q for his 42,700 and was unlucky to be busted by Jonathan Butters, who held K-J spades. There was one spade on the ace high flop but two more on the turn and river sealed his fate. Not much long afterwards Simon Zach became the second victim of the day when his A-K was no match for Tony Horn's pocket sevens. Although Simon hit an ace and a king on the flop a third seven on the turn was enough to send the Blackpool man on the road back home with a prize of £6,150.

Adam Wilkinson, an Irish publican from Bolton was the third man out, after which it was a good two to three hours before we lost another player. The sixth place finisher was Tony Horn, who had his stack decimated in a big pot against Richard Trigg. Tony made a move with T-3 and found himself up against pocket tens. The tens were good and Tony was down to the felt. However, he managed to recover before eventually losing out in another pot against the popular Sheffield man.

The last remaining online qualifier Jonathon Butters took the fifth place spot while Christine Ward, the first woman to make a GUKPT final finished in a very creditable fourth place. She had been one of the relatively short stacks going into the final but managed to win a couple of crucial pots to put herself back in contention. But it was not to be for the Middlesborough shopkeeper and she finally succumbed to Maz Nawab's A-7 against her K-Q. She netted almost £20,000 in prize money, which is some consolation.

Richard Trigg was taken out in third after playing a brave and spirited game and had looked like the player most likely to dominate the final. However, his K-Q was not good enough to beat Maz's pocket kings, but he did take away almost £25,000 in prize money. Not bad for someone who only just managed to buy into the tournament at the very last minute. Going into the heads up encounter Maz held a significant chip lead and almost everyone expected it to be over relatively quickly, but that did not happen. Play continued for several more levels, during which the chip lead changed hands once or twice before the killer blow was finally dealt. Maz finished second in a big event in the Bellagio in Las Vegas earlier this month and has now proven again that he has the stamina and ability to go the distance in these slow structured large field events. Having also finaled in the Brighton leg he now moves into second place behind Dave Smith in the GUKPT rankings.

Sponsors Blue Square give an additional £10,000 to the winner plus a seat in the GUKPT Grand Final

Position	Name	Prize	Points
1st	Mazhar Nawab	£66,000	125
2nd	Darren Fuller	£34,850	100
3rd	Richard Trigg	£24,600	80
4th	Christine Ward	£18,450	65
5th	Jonathon Butters	£14,350	55
6th	Tony Horn	£11,275	45
7th	Adam Wilkinson	£8,200	35
8th	Simon Zach	£6,150	25
9th	David McGlen	£5,125	20
10th	Lee Danaher	£3,075	15
11th	Surinder Sunar	£2,050	10
12th	Peter Singleton	£1,650	10
13th	Paul Hambleton	£1,650	10
14th	John Ward	£1,650	10
15th	Derek Malone	£1,650	5
16th	Stephen Liu	£1,425	5
17th	Steve Craig	£1,425	5
18th	Julian Thew	£1,425	5