Adam Wilkinson rallied from five big blinds to win the 888poker UKPL Reading Main Event.

Adam Wilkinson bounced back from a 5-big-blind deficit to beat a field of 313 players in the 888poker LIVE UKPL Reading Main Event, winning the £32,010 first-place prize.

If you've played in major live poker tournaments in the UK over the past 20 years, you've likely faced Adam Wilkinson. This popular grinder is a regular in British poker tournaments, but despite boasting over 120 winnings, he has never won a Main Event title.

Wilkinson has finally shed his burden – emerging victorious from a field of 313 players in the £560 888poker LIVE UKPL Reading Main Event to win £32,010. In a post-match interview, Wilkinson said today belonged to him, as his chip stack continued to grow after bouncing back from a deficit of only 5 big blinds.

The top 38 players shared a total prize pool of £150,000. Lorenc Boci, Calogero Morreale, Bryan Taylor, Michael Rosaman, Adam Neal, and final-table bubble boy Lee Mulligan all saw their investments pay off.

888poker LIVE 2026 UKPL Reading Main Event Final Table Results

*Reflects the one-on-one agreement

Emma Barnes was the first player eliminated from the final table, finishing in ninth place and earning £2,720, the second-largest live prize of her career.

Eighth place and £3,420 went to Josh Barker, who was left with only three big blinds after losing to Wilkinson in a coin flip. Barker pushed a very small stack into center with AQ, only to lose to Stephen Bean's pocket 10s.

Next to be eliminated was Muhamed Mia. He had previously finished third in the UKPL Luton Main Event and ninth in the 2024 UKPL Reading Main Event. Mia's third UKPL Main Event final table appearance ended in seventh place, earning £3,970 – his AK failed to beat Antoan Atanasov's pocket Jacks.

Dangerous Yucel "Mad Turk" Eminoglu was eliminated in sixth place in his match against his friend Wilkinson, who later joked that he thought Eminoglu wouldn't give him a ride home because he had eliminated him. Eminoglu earned £5,120, bringing his career winnings closer to the $2.4 million mark.

Robin Gue, who won this event in 2024 and finished eighth last year, was eliminated by Atanasov. Gue went all-in with pocket twos in his final five big blinds, losing to A-7 (an Ace appeared on the board). Gue finished the tournament with £7,030, the second-largest live prize of his career.

According to The Hendon Mob database, Atanasov had only one winning record before the UKPL Reading Main Event – £280 in a £100 No-Limit Hold'em Turbo event in Luton a month earlier. He can now proudly boast a score of £10,290, finishing in fourth place. Atanasov went all-in with KQ in his final eight big blinds against Wilkinson's pocket fives. The flop of a K seemed to secure a double for Atanasov, but the river of a 5 gave Wilkinson a set, ending Atanasov's game.

After Franky Green was eliminated in third place, the tournament became an all-male affair. Green went all-in for 11 big blinds with A-7 against Bean's K-4. The flop brought a K, and Green needed help on the turn or river, but it never came. Green ended her impressive deep run with a £15,500 prize.

Wilkinson and Bean reached a heads-up agreement, reducing the prize jump. In the final hand of heads-up play, Bean went all-in for 20 big blinds with A-6 clubs against Wilkinson's pocket Jacks. The "fishhooks" remained in top form, eliminating Bean in second place for £26,190, while Wilkinson won the championship and £32,010.

888poker LIVE 2026 UKPL Reading Tournament Results

The next stop for 888poker LIVE UKPL will be at Grosvenor Casino Bury New Road in Manchester in mid-September. The UKPL Manchester event will take place from September 15th to 20th. Satellite matches for the Main Event will be available online on 888poker.

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