Passionate Players, Smiling Staff, and Electric Action Define a Memorable Stop at Genting Casino Stratford
The 2026 PartyPoker Tour London festival will not be remembered merely for the numbers it generated, but for the incredible community of people who brought it to life. Despite facing operational challenges throughout the week, the festival’s spirit remained completely unbroken. Players continued to pack the tables, the staff maintained their signature warmth, and the cards never stopped flying from the opening shuffle to the final river.
The memorable stop concluded on Sunday with two headline titles decided, five trophies awarded, and a final opportunity for competitors to write their names into the tour’s history books.
High Stakes and Final-Day Drama: Sunday’s Highlights
The final day of the festival kicked off at 1:00 PM with the highly popular Mystery Bounty event, which drew 50 entries and generated a £10,750 prize pool (inclusive of bounties). Once play reached heads-up, Cornel Iulian Balas and Andrei Popa agreed to an ICM deal. With the trophy, a £750 Mystery Bounty, and a £100 regular bounty still up for grabs, Balas fought his way to the top to claim the physical silverware and the final bounty payments.
At 3:00 PM, the focus shifted to the day’s primary headline events:
I. The PLO Masters Main Event
The Pot-Limit Omaha showcase drew a strong crowd of 82 entries, with 13 players returning for the final day of play. Seated side-by-side at the start of the day, PartyPoker Tour Team members Glenn Brown and Sam Acheampong navigated their way to the final table, with both eventually bowing out to collect £800 apiece. Ultimately, Boyuan Xue emerged as the champion, lifting the trophy and walking away with the top cash prize.
II. The PartyPoker Tour Main Event
The Main Event final table resumed with the following starting chip counts:
- Seat 1 – Chris Yong: 2,070,000 chips
- Seat 2 – Ivan Meister: 615,000 chips
- Seat 3 – James Marshall: 885,000 chips
- Seat 4 – Daniel Smith: 2,455,000 chips
- Seat 5 – Matthew Horn: 875,000 chips
- Seat 6 – Vikrum Mehta: 295,000 chips
- Seat 7 – Deniz Orhan: 560,000 chips
- Seat 8 – Barry Donovan: 1,100,000 chips
- Seat 9 – James Korek: 650,000 chips
Short-stack Vikrum Mehta was the first to exit in ninth place. He was followed by James Marshall in eighth. Marshall, who had recently returned from Las Vegas, entered Saturday’s Hyper flight hoping to pull off an epic victory, but his deep run fell short of the podium.
As the action intensified, Ivan Meister fell in seventh, James Korek exited in sixth, and Matthew Horn was eliminated in fifth. Deniz Orhan bowed out in fourth place, leaving Barry Donovan to take third.
Heads-up play began between Daniel Smith and Chris Yong. After seven grueling hours of final-table action, Daniel Smith defeated Yong at approximately 8:30 PM to win the Main Event, securing the Gold Trophy and cementing his spot as a PartyPoker Tour Champion.
Side Event Action: High Rollers and Last-Chance Victories
At 4:00 PM, the High Roller got underway, attracting a elite group of players and creating a £14,400 prize pool. The field featured notable names, including PokerStars Team Pro David Lappin, PartyPoker Ambassador Jaime Staples, and PaddyPowerPoker PRO Dara O’Kearney. O’Kearney battled to a runner-up finish, while Matthew Harniman took down the event to claim the trophy.
At 5:00 PM, the NLH Last Chance drew 44 entries and generated a £5,500 prize pool, which concluded with Michail Damoulis winning the final No-Limit Hold’em title of the London stop.
Later in the evening, the 8:00 PM PLO Masters Sunday Party Madness 4/5/6 Double Board attracted 57 entries, creating a £2,850 prize pool won by Kenny King. Bringing a grand close to the entire festival, the 10:00 PM Poker.PRO Sunday Party Madness NLH Red River Bounty saw Reece Jordine claim his second trophy of the week.
PartyPoker Tour London: Official Festival Results
The week-long series registered a combined total of 1,759 entries, generating a massive aggregate prize pool of £303,870 across all events.
| Event & Tournament Name | Winner | Individual Payout | Total Prizepool | Total Entries |
| Event #1: £150 Mini Main Event | Ben Skinner | £14,300.00 | £87,125.00 | 697 |
| Event #2: £60 Poker.PRO PL Sviten Special | Matt Murphy | £635.00 | £1,900.00 | 38 |
| Event #3: £60 PLO Masters Saturday Party Madness Courchevel Bounty | John Murray | £250.00 | £650.00 | 26 |
| Event #4: £150 PLO Masters 4/5/6 Bounty | Lalit Khajuria | £950.00 | £2,325.00 | 31 |
| Event #5: £100 Poker.PRO PL H.O.R.S.E. | Seyed Guive Hosseinizad | £1,600.00 | £4,845.00 | 57 |
| Event #6: £60 Poker.PRO PL Deuce-to-Seven Triple Draw | Daniel Ivashchenko | £750.00 | £2,450.00 | 49 |
| Event #7: £100 NLH | Lewis Henderson | £1,500.00 | £4,505.00 | 53 |
| Event #8: £1,000 PLO Masters High Roller | Sebastian Rojek | £9,000.00 | £18,000.00 | 20 |
| Event #9: £200 NLH Bounty | Eliot Catterson | £2,550.00 | £8,400.00 | 70 |
| Event #10: £500 Main Event | Daniel Smith | £22,500.00 | £100,000.00 | 190 |
| Event #11: PLO Masters 4/5/6 | Daniel Garfield | £1,800.00 | £4,500.00 | 36 |
| Event #12: NLH Turbo £2,000 Added Value Prize Draw | Judde Serrano Teixeira | £1,750.00 | £6,120.00 | 72 |
| Event #13: PLO Masters Main Event | Boyuan Xue | £5,850.00 | £20,000.00 | 82 |
| Event #14: Tennessee Hold’em London Championship | Musti Cham | £700.00 | £1,850.00 | 37 |
| Event #15: Poker.PRO Friday Party Madness Crazy Pineapple Bounty | Rebecca Hardisty | £550.00 | £1,750.00 | 70 |
| Event #16: NLH – Sponsored by Faded Spade | Vitor Teixeira | £2,050.00 | £5,100.00 | 30 |
| Event #17: Poker.PRO Saturday Party Madness NLH Red River Bounty | Reece Jordine | £350.00 | £850.00 | 34 |
| Event #18: NLH Mystery Bounty | Cornel Iulian Balas | £2,560.00 | £10,750.00 | 50 |
| Event #19: NLH High Roller 7-Max | Matthew Harniman | £8,000.00 | £14,400.00 | 16 |
| Event #20: NLH Last Chance | Michail Damoulis | £1,900.00 | £5,500.00 | 44 |
| Event #21: PLO Masters Sunday Party Madness 4/5/6 Double Board | Kenny King | £950.00 | £2,850.00 | 57 |
Player-First Transparency and No Deductions
To combat the confusing fee structures and prize pool deductions often found in live tournaments, the PartyPoker Tour operates on a fully transparent pricing model. Through its ongoing “Putting Players First” campaign, the tour charges no hidden prize pool deductions or fees. Operators pay out 100% of the advertised prize pools, ensuring players play for exactly what is advertised.
Key Tournament Event Highlights
- Mini Event: £150 buy-in, £50,000 Guarantee.
- Main Event: £500 buy-in, £100,000 Guarantee.
- PLO Masters: £250 buy-in, £20,000 Guarantee.
Acknowledgments and Next Stop: Glasgow
The organizers extend their thanks to the host venue, Genting Casino Stratford, for their hospitality throughout the festival week. Gratitude is also extended to the Poker Staff Network, official card provider Faded Spade, Poker.PRO, streaming partners House of Tables, and commentators Ben Shannon and Guy Taylor. Special recognition goes to the tournament directors, dealers, and staff whose professionalism ensured the festival ran smoothly under pressure.
Live updates were delivered on-site by Poker.pro’s Christoffer Karlén and Richard Hayes. Broadcast replays and highlight entertainment from the weekend are available to stream on the official PartyPoker YouTube Channel.
The PartyPoker Tour now heads to Glasgow. Online satellites are actively running on the PartyPoker platform, offering players an affordable path to secure their seats for the next stop.
