GUKPT Goliath Main Event | Dean Hutchison defeats Ravi Sheth to claim the title, preventing the defending champion from achieving consecutive victories.

On July 27, 2026, the GUKPT Goliath Poker Festival's £1,250 No-Limit Hold'em Main Event concluded its final battle. Dean Hutchison, a final table player from the 2023 WSOP Main Event, defeated defending champion Ravi Sheth heads-up to claim the £163,280 first-place prize.

Sheth won the same main event in 2025, taking home £194,750. This year, he once again reached heads-up play and came close to winning back-to-back titles, but ultimately lost in a back-and-forth battle with Hutchison, finishing as runner-up with a prize of £134,000.

Sheth advanced to the final table with an overwhelming advantage.

Before the nine-player final table began, Ravi Sheth held 4,215,000 chips, a significant lead over his opponents. Yuzhou Yin, Jonathan Mychalkiw, and Ion Bivol each held approximately 2.5 million chips, while Hutchison ranked fifth with 1,900,000 chips, less than half of Sheth's.

GUKPT Goliath Main Event Final Table Starting Scoreboard

Short-stacked players are being eliminated one after another.

Kye Hamilton started with the shortest chip stack at the final table but finished in ninth place, earning £12,800. Min Ji went on to finish eighth, while Mark Earl finished seventh with £21,750 after losing to Hutchison's KQ with pocket 10s. This marked his first five-figure tournament win.

With about 12 big blinds remaining, Keith Littlewood went all-in with pocket sevens, only to be met by Yuzhou Yin's AQ. The flop came a Q, and Littlewood was unable to recover on the turn or river, ultimately finishing in sixth place and earning £29,850.

Sheth eliminated Bivol, and Hutchison secured a straight on the river to defeat Mychalkiw.

In his final hand, Ion Bivol went all-in with A-5 against Sheth's KQ. Sheth hit a Q on the flop to take the lead and eliminate Bivol in fifth place. Bivol earned £42,150, setting a new personal record for the highest prize money in a live tournament.

With only nine big blinds remaining, Jonathan Mychalkiw went all-in with K-10, and Hutchison called with AQ. Although Mychalkiw hit a K on the flop to take the lead, Hutchison made a Broadway straight on the river, eliminating his opponent in fourth place. Mychalkiw ultimately won £61,000, also a career best result.

The three finalists reached an ICM agreement to retain £41,600 for the title race.

After the tournament entered the three-person stage, Ravi Sheth, Dean Hutchison and Yuzhou Yin decided to reach an agreement according to ICM and reserve £41,600 for the final championship.

After the agreement is finalized, the minimum prize money locked in for the three players is:

The official final prize money has been included in the reserved champion prize money.

Sheth pocket K eliminates Yuzhou Yin

In the three-way battle, Yuzhou Yin went all-in with about 20 big blinds and Q♥8♥ after three raises. Sheth happened to have pocket kings and immediately called.

Sheth successfully held onto his pocket Kings, allowing Yin to finish third and earn £118,820. With Yin's elimination, the chance to win the Goliath Main Event for the second consecutive year seems firmly in Sheth's grasp.

Hutchison rallied from a significant deficit to win the one-on-one match.

At the start of heads-up play, Hutchison had about 60 big blinds, while Sheth had about 40. However, Sheth quickly rallied, building a chip lead of nearly five to one.

Hutchison then completed a maximum flush on the river in a subsequent hand, while Sheth simultaneously improved to an 8-high straight. Hutchison extracted significant value from this pot, gradually closing the chip deficit.

Two pocket 10s against AJ dictated the course of the game

During heads-up play, both players twice had pocket 10 pairs of A♦J♦ with a flop all-in.

Sheth went all-in for 16 big blinds with pocket tens, and Hutchison called with A♦J♦. The flop came 5-4-3 with two diamonds, and the turn A gave Hutchison an overwhelming lead, but the river 10♠ saved Sheth, allowing him to hit trips and double up.

After several hands, both players were dealt the same two hands again. This time, Hutchison went all-in with pocket tens. Sheth's A♦J♦ still had several winning cards before the river, but the final 8 couldn't change the outcome. Hutchison successfully doubled up and returned to the championship contention.

Full House with three of a kind? Hutchison secured the victory in the final hand.

In the championship deciding frame, Hutchison limped in 8-5, and Sheth checked with K-9 from the big blind.

Flip the card:

K-8-8

Sheth checked and raised Hutchison's tentative bet, which Hutchison called.

The turn card was a 10, and Sheth bet about two-thirds of the pot, which Hutchison called again. The river card was a 2 that didn't complete an obvious draw, bringing the pot to 4,900,000, with Sheth having about 3,120,000 chips left.

Sheth went all-in on the river, and Hutchison quickly called with 8-5, defeating Sheth's two pair with three eights to win the final pot, the Main Event title, and £163,280.

GUKPT Goliath Main Event Final Table Results

The prize money for the top three winners reflects the three-person ICM agreement.

Brandon Sheils wins the £1,500 High Roller event

The £1,500 High Roller at the same Goliath Poker Festival attracted 211 entries, creating a total prize pool of £270,610, with the top 25 players making it into the money.

The three-way agreement was also reached, with Brandon Sheils, who had just finished the 2026 WSOP, ultimately winning the title and taking home £54,130; Antony Rubin took second place and £42,230; and Tu Nhat Vuong took third place and received £44,980 due to the agreement.

£1,500 High Roller Final Table Results

The prize money for the top three winners reflects the agreement among the three.

Goliath Main Event registrations are nearing a new record.

The £200 buy-in Goliath Main Event Day 1C attracted 1,526 entries, with 28 players advancing to Day 2. PM became the chip leader with 1,765,000 chips, while Matthew Nolan, Kieran Collins, and Marc Bryant also advanced with over a million chips each.

As of 11:00 AM UK time on July 28, the Goliath Main Event had recorded a total of 6,689 entries, and the number of participants is heading toward a new series record.

Hutchison prevented the defending champions from achieving a historic back-to-back championships.

Starting from the chip leader position at the final table, Ravi Sheth eliminated Yuzhou Yin and then built a huge advantage in heads-up play, just one step away from winning the same GUKPT Goliath Main Event for the second consecutive year.

However, Hutchison successfully doubled up in several crucial hands where he was on the verge of elimination, and finally called Sheth's all-in on the river with three 8s.

For Dean Hutchison, who has reached the final table of the WSOP Main Event, this GUKPT Main Event title adds another important title to his live tournament resume; Sheth, although unable to achieve a back-to-back victory, won the championship and finished as runner-up for two consecutive years, still demonstrated his consistent competitiveness in the Goliath Main Event.

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