There are few things more prestigious in the world than National championships. Claiming titles in certain events hits different, and the winners are edging their names into eternal poker history. The past 10 days, the competition for legendary poker titles has been immense at Dusk Till Dawn, Nottingham. The 2026 United Kingdom Poker Championship (UKPC) has promised and delivered, and a total of 11 championship trophies have found new homes in the hands of prominent poker players.
Three of these trophies were awarded during the final day of the festival. Two one-day events, the £150 UKPC Deepstack and the £60 Closer, offered some side event action while the star of the show, the £560 Main Event, wrapped up on its third and final day. It was a thrilling affair from start to finish, and when the dust had settled, only one contestant remained, who claimed the £101,000 first-place payout, the coveted trophy, and, most importantly, the legendary title as the 2026 UKPC Main Event winner. It would turn out to be a Cinderella story, including an unimaginable comeback from a certain player to become the first-ever female UKPC Main Event champion.
Without further ado, let’s recap all the action that went down at Dusk Till Dawn during the final day of the 2026 UKPC.
Let the Battle Commence
The 2026 UKPC, presented by GGPoker, is one of the undisputed highlights of the UK poker year. Of course, it’s held at Dusk Till Dawn, the legendary venue dedicated solely to the fantastic game that is poker. The poker.pro editorial office has been on-site in Nottingham throughout the festival, doing live coverage and delivering daily articles, covering every knock and cranny of the fantastic event.
- Read more: 2026 UKPC Day 8: Amir Zaregarizi Leads Final 16 in the Main Event
- Read more: 2026 UKPC Day 7: Royal Flush Bad Beats Quads as Anthony Horn Leads Main Event
- Read more: 2026 UKPC Day 6: Loraine and Higgins Begin Main Event Hunt for Glory
- Read more: 2026 UKPC Day 5: Main Event Takes Shape as Two More Trophies Are Awarded
- Read more: 2026 UKPC Day 4: Reape, Harwood Tops Side Event Chip Counts as Main Event Gets Afoot
The tournament that was on everyone’s lips was the £560 Main Event. It was a three-day affair with six starting-day flights (one being online on GGPoker), and it was always destined to be the most popular event of the festival. When late registration closed in the sixth and final opening flight, it was determined that 1,159 entries had created a £556,320, making quick work of the £500,000 guarantee. A total of 243 players made it through to Day 2, and 175 of them secured themselves a £1,000 min-cash. It’s an educated guess that all players were aiming higher, though, seeing as a mouth-watering £101,000 first-place prize waited for the winner.
Day 2 was a marathon of a flight; after 12 hours, the 16 survivors bagged their chips for Day 3. Some of the most prominent names in the field entering Day 2 didn’t make it through to the final day; the legendary Will Kassouf, Brandon Sheils (the current #1 most trending player on The Hendon Mob), and French poker virtuoso Jean Lhuillier all had to settle with a Day 2 appearance. Don’t get it twisted, though; some very skillful contenders made it through. Out of the 16 players moving on to Day 3, Hong Pham was one of the most prominent players, having a runner-up finish in the £1,100 Main Event during the 2023 WSOP Circuit Nottingham to her name. Another notable name was Jacque Ramsden, who got his biggest live cash ($98,044) from winning the ₫ 33,000,000 + 3,000,000 Main Event during the 2023 Asian Poker Tour, Phu Quoc.
Day 3 kicked off at 13:00 on Monday, January 26, and all players were ready to rumble. Amir Zaregarizi was the chip leader starting the final day; being a skillful player and having earned himself great presumptions, it’s an educated guess many had Zaregarizi to at least reach the final table. That would prove not to be the case, though. After some earlier casualties, he, in fact, became the final table bubble boy. A short break followed before the final table was about to commence, and soon enough, the tournament entered the final stage.
Pham’s Shot at Redemption
The final table kicked off around 16:30 local time. The players took their seats and entered focus mode; they were all determined to put their poker skills on full display, competing for the £101,000 first-place payout. Pham began the finale as the chipleader, which was an impressive feat in itself, considering she started Day 3 as the lowest stack with only nine Big Blinds.
It would prove to be quite the action-packed start to the final table. On the second hand of play, Alistair Massie sensed weakness from his opponents after Hong Pham and Haydn Dickinson both checked the turn. He moved all in, but being called by Dickinson was not what he had hoped for. Massie had pulled off a creative move with queen high, and he was drawing to three outs against the fishhooks of Dickinson. Massie didn’t get there, and as he became the first casualty, earning £5,250 for his ninth-place finish, Dickinson overtook the chip lead from Pham.
Pham reclaimed the chip lead fairly quickly after winning some decent-sized pots, but Dickinson was eager to get back to the top spot of the rankings. He accomplished this by eliminating Joh Hall. Facing a three-bet from Dickinson, Hall decided to move all in with pocket queens. When action came back to Dickinson, he snap-called with the Cowboys. No lady luck for Hall, and he was eliminated in eighth place for £7,250.
One player who didn’t have the Poker Gods on his side was Jose Bazan. He got it in pre-flop multiple times as the pre-flop favorite, but the cards were just not with him. Just to put salt in his wounds, he was eliminated with ace-jack against the ace-five of Nicholas Rose after a pre-flop showdown. Nothing Bazan could’ve done, and hopefully, the £10,250 he received for his seventh-place finish was some consolation.
Play progressed with some entertaining hands. For example, Nicholas Rose managed to survive after being all-in with a mere 3 % equity on the flop against Ramsden. The following hand, Ramsden also defied the odds, as he rivered trips against Dickinson to stay alive. Thanks to them both getting some help from Lady Luck and surviving, they managed to secure another payjump, as Stephen Blow became the next casualty. He lost his chips after being all-in pre-flop with Ace-ten, being dominated by Pham’s Ace-queen. Blow was awarded £14,250 for finishing sixth.
Rose might’ve survived against the odds earlier, but he was still fairly short. Eventually, he called with Queen-nine from the Big Blind for his tournament life, after Pham had forced him all in from the Small Blind. Holding Queen-ten, Pham had Rose dominated, and his Main Event journey ultimately came to an end. For his fifth-place finish, Rose was awarded £20,250.
The remaining four players went on the second 20-minute break of the day, at which point Dickinson was still the chip leader. Breathing down his neck was Pham, and the two of them had distanced themselves somewhat from Paul Tait and Jacque Ramsden. Ramsden was playing the shortest stack, and on the second hand after the break, he moved all-in for eight seven Big Blinds from the Small Blind. Pham made the call with Jack-eight, and when she paired her eight on the river, it was time for Ramsden to hit the rail in fourth place for £29,370.
Tait was the shortest stack with three players remaining, but through great discipline and sublime poker skills, he managed to climb up the rankings. Soon enough, it was a very even race, where only two, perhaps three Big Blinds separated the players. At this point, Tait proposed to his opponents to look at the numbers, whereas Pham replied, “I prefer playing.” No deal, then, and play progressed.
That would prove to be very unfortunate for Tait, as he eventually became the next to bid farewell. He moved all in on the turn with a flush draw, but Pham had slowplayed pocket aces to perfection. No heart on the river meant that Tait went out in third place for £43,450, and the stage was not set for a heads-up showdown between Pham and Dickinson, with Pham having a slight chip advantage.
Gradually throughout the heads-up, Pham managed to extend her lead. She ate up her opponent’s stack bit by little bit, and at one point, she got Dickinson down to a mere seven Big Blinds. Dickinson managed to survive one all-in and call encounter when he won a flip with a small pocket pair, barely keeping his nose above the water. Roughly one hour into the duel, Dickinson pushed with Ace-five. Pham woke up with pocket Kings (which, by the way, was perhaps the tenth time someone had the cowboys during the final table) and had an easy call on her hands. Dickinson was still trailing on the flop; he picked up a flush draw on the turn, but even though receiving additional outs, the river ultimately sealed his fate.
As such, it was all done and dusted. Dickinson finished as the runner-up for £63,000, while Pham could finally breathe. She got her sweet redemption after coming up short at Dusk Till Dawn three years ago, and she claimed the trophy, the £101,000 first-place payout, and, most importantly, the 2026 UKPC Main Event title.
2026 UKPC – £560 Main Event Final Table Payouts
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Hong Pham | £101,000 |
| 2 | Haydn Dickinson | £63,000 |
| 3 | Paul Tait | £43,450 |
| 4 | Jacque Ramsden | £29,370 |
| 5 | Nicholas Rose | £20,250 |
| 6 | Stephen Blow | £14,250 |
| 7 | Jose Bazan | £10,250 |
| 8 | John Hall | £7,250 |
| 9 | Alistair Massie | £5,250 |
What’s more impressive is the way she did it. She started Day 3 as the shortest stack with nine Big Blinds, but practicing great patience and putting her poker skills on full display, she managed to climb up the rankings. Eventually, she entered the final table as the chip leader. She lost it momentarily to Dickinson from time to time, but faith stuck with her. The poker.pro live reporter on-site, Christoffer Karlén, had a small chat with Pham after her victory, who was both happy and relieved, claiming the title after her second-place finish during the 2023 WSOP Circuit Nottingham Main Event three years ago:
“I was so gutted I couldn’t win, and it haunted me a lot. Now, I have a baby on the way, and I really wanted to get a win before labor. I was at another final table last week and couldn’t win that either. Dusk Till Dawn is my home casino, where I usually run well. I think the feel here, the structure, the payouts… everything is perfect. Now, I’ve won, and I’ve manifested about this moment, getting a picture of my baby with the trophy.”
“Baby on the way,” she said. That is correct; Pham is 35 weeks pregnant, and it just makes this story even better. She’s the first-ever female UKPC Main Event winner, she entered the final day as the shortest stack, and the baby’s due in roughly one month. Hollywood couldn’t script the story any better.
Double congratulations to Pham, then. Both for claiming her biggest title and edging her name into eternal poker history, but also for soon becoming a mother. The miracle of life.
Digpal, Serba Claim Side Event Wins
In terms of side events, the £150 Deepstack kicked off at 14:00. When late registration closed, the screens revealed that the tournament had scored 88 entries, translating to a £10,560 prize pool. There were some noteworthy names in the field, such as Kassouf and Deniz Orhan, a good friend of poker.pro. They would both accomplish a top-11 finish, meaning they both made the money. In the end, though, it would be Vikram Digpal who claimed the title and the £2,870 first-place prize.
2026 UKPC – £150 Deepstack Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vikram Digpal | £2,870 |
| 2 | Nicholas Wright | £2,620 |
| 3 | Daniel Van Geete | £1,500 |
| 4 | William Kassouf | £960 |
| 5 | Anonymous | £700 |
| 6 | Ofer Goldvag | £530 |
| 7 | Martin Gallagher | £410 |
| 8 | Timothy Drew | £320 |
| 9 | Steven Mitchell | £250 |
| 10 | Mark Stokes | £200 |
| 11 | Deniz Orhan | £200 |
Last but not least, the £60 Closer was the tournament scheduled to wrap up the 2026 UKPC Nottingham. The 87 entries registered meant the prize pool was £4,800, with a £1,540 payout waiting for the winner. The said cash prize would eventually be claimed by Florin Serba, and with his tournament win, Serba became the winner of the last event during what has been a blockbuster of an event.
2026 UKPC – £60 Closer Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Florin Serban | £1,165 |
| 2 | Rohan Rakhra | £1,040 |
| 3 | Anonymous | £995 |
| 4 | Trmaine Bailey | £480 |
| 5 | Danny Strange | £360 |
| 6 | Adam Sandercock | £260 |
| 7 | Kalvinder Rakhra | £200 |
| 8 | Jay Ganatra | £160 |
| 9 | John Hammond | £140 |
2026 UK Poker Championship All Winners
| Event | Entries | Prize Pool | Winner | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 £280 UKPC Warm Up | 521 | £125,040 | Vikesh Shah | £17,070 |
| #2 £60 UKPC 7-Max | 155 | £7,440 | Anonymous | £1,450 |
| #3 £60 UKPC 8-Max | 158 | £7,584 | Ian Morris | £2,250 |
| #4 £560 UKPC Main Event | 1,159 | £556,320 | Hong Pham | £101,000 |
| #5 £1,100 UKPC 7-Max High Roller | 26 | £54,720 | Mitchell Johnson | £20,220 |
| #6 £150 Pot Limit Omaha | 88 | £10,560 | Stephen Pearce | £1,965 |
| #7 £150 UKPC Bounty | 163 | £11,560 | Anonymous | £3,010 |
| #8 £1,100 UKPC High Roller | 119 | £114,240 | James Mahone | £32,000 |
| #9 £150 UKPC Mega Stack | 196 | £23,520 | Ozgur Kosar | £5,410 |
| #10 £150 UKPC Deepstack | 88 | £10,560 | Vikram Digpal | £2,870 |
| #11 £60 UKPC Closer | 87 | £4,800 | Florin Serban | £1,165 |
That wraps up the 2026 UKPC. It was a thrilling 10-day live poker festival at the UK’s finest live poker venue. Dusk Till Dawn certainly lives up to its repetition, as does the UKPC. Live poker is hot in Nottingham, and an upcoming highlight on the Dusk Till Dawn tournament schedule is the DTD125. The weekend mini-festival consists of two one-day events, both holding a £50,000 guarantee. The £150 edition will be played on February 21, and the next day, February 22, it’ll cost £250 to join in on the fun. Both tournaments also have a £10,000 guarantee for the winner, and all final tableists will receive a £560 ticket that can be used for future endeavors at Dusk Till Dawn. Just to put the cherry on top, there’s a unique early-bird offer for both tournaments: register before the tournament starts, and you don’t have to pay the house fee. Yes, that’s right. Yet another example of how Dusk Till Dawn is all about poker and good vibes.
It’s all great stuff, and from a media coverage perspective, poker.pro is very eager to return to Dusk Till Dawn for future events.
