Goliath Monster Deepstack Tournament | 2,726 players supported a £207,100 prize pool, with the final 11 players agreeing to split the prize.

On July 27, 2026, a rare multi-player deal occurred at the Grosvenor Goliath Poker Festival. The Monster Stack Deepstack tournament, which was originally guaranteed a prize pool of £100,000, attracted 2,726 entries. Ultimately, 11 players reached a deal to split the remaining prize money before the tournament's regular rankings were determined.

Hongtao Sun was ultimately declared the champion, winning £13,255; Ryan Bignell, who originally had only about two big blinds left, became one of the biggest beneficiaries of this agreement, increasing his score from approximately £1,000 to £4,300.

2,726 participants, prize pool doubled.

The Monster Stack event featured four starting groups, attracting a total of 2,726 participants and resulting in a total prize pool of £207,100, more than double the original £100,000 guarantee.

It is not uncommon for two or three players to agree on the prize money in a live tournament, but it is still quite rare for as many as 11 players to reach an agreement.

According to discussions on social media platforms cited in the original article, due to the low buy-in and large field of participants, the average chip stack remained around eight big blinds for more than two hours. This prolonged short-stack situation and high volatility ultimately led the final 11 players to negotiate the prize money early.

The original prize money for the champion was approximately £30,000.

If the tournament continues with the original prize money structure, the champion is expected to receive approximately £30,000.

However, after the prize money was split among the 11 winners, Hongtao Sun was ultimately declared the champion and received £13,255, just £73 more than runner-up Kevin Lannie's £13,182.

This distribution is not an equal split of the prize money, but rather the remaining prize money is allocated based on each player's scoreboard at the time and the results of the negotiation.

Monster Stack Final Agreement Prize Distribution Results

The above prize money reflects the prize distribution results reached by the final 11 players.

Ryan Bignell received £4,300 for two big blinds.

Among the 11 contestants, Ryan Bignell's situation is attracting the most attention.

When the deal was reached, Bignell had only about two big blinds left. Based on the normal course of the tournament, he was almost certain to be the next player eliminated, with an expected prize of around £1,000.

Through this 11-person deal, he ultimately received £4,300, more than tripling his potential winnings.

For short-stacked players, the agreement significantly reduces the risk of immediate elimination; for the leader, it means giving up some potential championship rewards in exchange for a guaranteed payout.

Ravi Sheth leads the GUKPT Main Event final table

The same tournament update also announced the final table list for another key event of the Goliath Poker Festival – the GUKPT Main Event with a buy-in of £1,250 and a guaranteed prize pool of £1 million.

The Main Event attracted 876 entries, with nine players advancing to the final table. Defending champion Ravi Sheth leads with 4,215,000 chips and is set to compete for the £194,750 first-place prize.

GUKPT Main Event Final Table Scoreboard

Ravi Sheth seeks to win the main event again.

Ravi Sheth won the same GUKPT Main Event in 2025. That year's event attracted 1,023 entries, and he ultimately secured his second GUKPT title and £192,700 in prize money.

A year later, Sheth once again enters the final stage with the chip lead at the final table. If he wins, he will achieve a rare consecutive victory in the GUKPT Main Event.

A total of 111 players made it into the money in this event, with a minimum prize of £2,700. Players such as John Bousfield, Phil Tate, Vikrum Mehta, Alex Todd, Brandon Sheils, Mitch Johnson, Tom Hall, James Rann, and Antoine Labat all won prizes.

Goliath Day1A sets a new record for single-group participation.

The £200 buy-in Goliath Main Event also got off to a strong start. Day 1A saw a record 1,744 entries, the highest number of entries for a single starting group in Goliath history, with only 105 players advancing to Day 2.

Day 1B attracted 1,473 participants, slightly higher than the 1,444 participants in the same group in 2025. As of 10:00 AM UK time on July 27, Day 1C had 699 participants.

Large-scale competition venues will once again test the event structure.

Monster Stack's 11-player deal to split the prize became one of the most talked-about moments of this year's Goliath Poker Festival.

2,726 entries pushed the prize pool to £207,100, but the large field and the short-stacked structure in the later stages also resulted in a prolonged period of high volatility in the final stages. Ultimately, 11 players chose to lock in their winnings rather than continue competing for the originally agreed-upon £30,000 first-place prize.

With Monster Stack having completed its rare prize distribution, the focus will now shift to whether Ravi Sheth can defend his title at the GUKPT Main Event, and whether the £200 buy-in Goliath Main Event will break the record for the largest live poker tournament in Europe after the nine starting groups have been completed.

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