Massive Turnout Expected For the 2016 Goliath
One of the draws of the Grosvenor UK Poker Tour Goliath tournament is it gives players the chance to play in a massive Vegas-like poker event on home soil, and for a fraction of the cost.
Entry is only £120, yet the GUKPT has slapped a £250,000 guarantee on the prize pool. Some may think this is optimistic, but what if we told you that the 2015 edition of the Goliath saw a total of 4,120 entries (including re-entries), which created a guarantee-busting prize pool of some £412,000.
Miikka Toikka is the reigning champion after he topped the gargantuan field to get his hands on the winner’s trophy and the £70,800 first place prize. Whether Toikka returns to the Ricoh Arena, Coventry, to defend his title remains to be seen, but there will be several thousand hopefuls descending on the casino there attempting to follow in his footsteps.
This year’s Goliath is preceded by a version of Grosvenor’s popular 25/25 Series, a £220 buy-in tournament where players receive 25,000 chips, and play for a share of a £25,000 guaranteed prize pool, except this is a 25/50 so the prize pool is guaranteed at £50,000.
The Goliath itself has seven flights to help boost the attendance figures, and with re-entry available, players can take several bites at the £250,000 cherry, and hopefully bag themselves a huge score.
Several other events are also on the schedule such as a 4/5/6 Omaha tournament, an Open Dealer Championship, a Tag Team event, and much more. Check out the table below for the 2016 Goliath festival’s schedule.
| Date | Time | Tournament | Buy-in | Guarantee | Chips | Clock | Cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday 28 July | 7:00pm | 25/50 Flight A | £220 | £50,000 | 25,000 | 40-mins | 120 |
| Friday 29 July | 7:00pm | 25/50 Flight B | £220 | £50,000 | 25,000 | 40-mins | 120 |
| Saturday 30 July | 12:00pm | Goliath Day 1a | £120 | £250,000 | 25,000 | 40-mins | 600 |
| 7:00pm | 25/50 Flight C | £220 | £50,000 | 25,000 | 40-mins | 300 | |
| Sunday 31 July | 12:00pm | Goliath Day 1b | £120 | £250,000 | 25,000 | 40-mins | 600 |
| 2:00pm | 25/50 Final Day | ||||||
| 7:00pm | Open Dealer Championship | £31 | 12,000 | 25-mins | 250 | ||
| Monday 1 August | 12:00pm | Goliath Day 1c | £120 | £250,000 | 25,000 | 40-mins | 600 |
| 7:00pm | 4/5/6 Omaha | £36 | 12,000 | 25-mins | 250 | ||
| Tuesday 2 August | 12:00pm | Goliath Day 1d | £120 | £250,000 | 25,000 | 40-mins | 500 |
| 7:00pm | Win the Button | £36 | 10,000 | 25-mins | 250 | ||
| Wednesday 3 August | 12:00pm | Goliath Day 1e | £120 | £250,000 | 25,000 | 40-mins | 500 |
| 7:00pm | Tag Team | £72 per team | 10,000 | 25-mins | 250 | ||
| Thursday 4 August | 12:00pm | Goliath Day 1f | £120 | £250,000 | 25,000 | 40-mins | 500 |
| 7:00pm | Joker is Wild | £31 | 10,000 | 25-mins | 250 | ||
| Friday 5 August | 12:00pm | Goliath Day 1g | £120 | £250,000 | 25,000 | 40-mins | 1000 |
| Saturday 6 August | 12:00pm | Goliath Day 2 | |||||
| Sunday 7 August | 12:00pm | Goliath Final Day | |||||
| 12:30pm | Red Tooth Event | £31 | |||||
| 1:00pm | Deep and Steep | £36 | 20,000 | 25-mins | 250 |
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