Birmingham, the city known for lawn tennis and Ozzy Osbourne (and probably a lot of other things that extend far away from my knowledge). The second-largest city in the UK can add “Poker Paradise” to its resumé; the 2025 PartyPoker Tour Birmingham may only be on its third day, but it has already delivered, and the Resorts World has proven to be a stellar venue for a live poker event of this magnitude.
This Swedish poker.pro journalist arrived in Ozzy Town late last night, and today, October 13, it was time to get to work. After demolishing the full-English breakfast in the morning (and trying black pudding for the first time ever; amazing), it was time to cover Day 1c of the £150 Mini Main Event. It would turn out to be an interesting and action-packed affair, and when all was said and done, yet another bunch of prominent players bagged for Day 2, joining the 43 who’d already advanced from the previous two flights.
Slow and Steady Wins the Race
The £150 Mini Main Event has become a given on all the 2025 PartyPoker Tour stops in the UK. Presumably, all players were excited to see this golden gem of an event on the Birmingham tournament schedule. Day 1 kicked off at 14:00 local time on October 13, and the presumptions were clear: finish in the top 20 % of the total number of entries, and secure your seat to Day 2.
At the first break of the day, the two biggest stacks in the room belonged to Lawrence Cairns and Mohammed Ghollamrezapour. Neither of the two players had the intention of slowing down, and after the dinner break (when late registration closed), they were both still in the top 10 of the chip counts. Since it was no longer possible to register/re-enter the tournament, the floor could announce that 13 players would move on to Day 2 (which was 20 % of the total 66 entries).
It’s never a walk in the park to go deep in a starting-day flight, and even though this flight was somewhat lighter in terms of entries (which is no surprise, considering the first two flights were played over the weekend), there were some prominent names in the field. Two names that stood out were the Staples brothers, Jaime and Matt. The two PartyPoker Team Pros tried their best to navigate through the tournament, but eventually, they would bust after late registration closed. Other notable names in the field included PartyPoker Tour Ambassador Alexander Georgiev and 2025 PartyPoker Tour Manchester £500 Main Event champion Deniz Orhan. Just like the Canadian brothers, Georgiev and Orhan also came up short.
Play went on, and at the third break, only 14 players remained, meaning Day 1c was now on the “bubble” (the Day 2 players won’t be in the money from the get-go). At this point, Matas Gerdziunas had moved to the top of the chip counts, and by some margin. The players took their seats after the break, and within 15 minutes, two of the short stacks clashed all in in a Blind versus Blind scenario. John Carr hit a pair of aces on the flop to eliminate Alan Monksfield in fourteenth place, and with that, the remaining players all could breathe out.
The thirteen bagged their chips, and after the floor completed the chip count, it could be determined that Gerdziunas finished Day 1c with the most chips. Aforementioned players such as Ghollamrezapour and Cairns managed to stay more or less within the top 10 all day, and as a result of this, they both bagged good stacks.
2025 PartyPoker Tour Birmingham – Day 1c Chip Counts
| Position | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Matas Gerdziunas | 350,000 |
| 2 | Mohammed Ghollamrezapour | 317,000 |
| 3 | Tauseef Amjad | 308,000 |
| 4 | Stefan Stroffek | 300,000 |
| 5 | Darren Harris | 213,000 |
| 6 | Lawrence Cairns | 205,000 |
| 7 | Nimisha Rattan | 177,000 |
| 8 | Rajbinder Badwel | 166,000 |
| 9 | Vincenzo Fortunato | 143,000 |
| 10 | John Carr | 142,000 |
| 11 | Peter Thomas | 133,000 |
| 12 | Jamie Simmonds | 125,000 |
| 13 | Rutuj Mhaske | 55,000 |
That concludes today’s live coverage here on poker.pro. This live reporter will be back tomorrow at 14:00 for Day 1d, and the editorial office will also do its best to secure an interview with the winner of the £60 poker.pro Sviten (which currently is still going on).
Thanks to everyone who’s been tuning into the live blog today, and we’ll see you tomorrow.
