The September Edition of the 2025 Beer Poker Tour has concluded. It was an entertaining week at Genting Casino Stratford, London, and the Beer Poker Tour proved for the fourth time that it’s a unique event that goes to great lengths to make live poker even more enjoyable than it already is.
The event wrapped up with local player Hugo Fowler taking his biggest-ever live poker tournament title, as he won the £185 Main Event. While Fowler was crowned the winner and received the trophy, a five-way deal saw some of his competition securing a bigger cash prize.
Huge Win for Hugh
The £185 Main Event during the 2025 Beer Poker Tour September Edition featured a £100,000 guarantee. That’s quite the promised number for a tournament with a relatively low buy-in. After seven starting-day flights, though, the guarantee was surpassed, as 730 entries translated to a £109,755 prize pool. Without a doubt, this is proof that the founder of the Beer Poker Tour, Merivan Hassan, has managed to create a concept that appeals to the UK live poker grassroots community.
Read more: Nicu Oleinic Spikes the £150 poker.pro PLO4/5 Win at the Beer Poker Tour September Edition
All starting-day flights played down to 13 % of the field. That resulted in 96 players taking their seats for Day 2 on Sunday, September 7. They were all guaranteed a £320 min-cash, but presumably, all contestants had their eyes on the £18,405 first-place payout and the rather spectacular Main Event trophy.
The tournament kicked off at 16:00 local time, and many short stacks were quickly eliminated as they tried – and often failed – to double up. A third of the field had already been eliminated when it was time for the first break after two hours of play. During said break, the seven players who had finished as the chip leaders from each starting-day flight were invited to a PLO flip, where the winner would be awarded a €1,500 package to the 2025 Battle of Malta Autumn Edition. It was George Kounnas who was lucky enough to have the winning hand, meaning he’ll spend some time on the poker paradise island between October 28-November 5.
Play then resumed, and players were still going out at a rapid pace. Shortly after midnight, Sally Smith (who’d entered the final day as the second biggest stack) went out in tenth place, meaning the final table of nine players was set. Considering the average stack at this point was roughly 20 Big Blinds, it felt like it was anyone’s game.
Chun Li had entered the final table as the shortest stack with only four Big Blinds, and he wasn’t able to convert his few chips to something greater. As such, he became the first casualty as he went out with king high in ninth place for £1,500. Shortly after that, Ladislav Schneider lost 85 % of his stack to Thomas Harbrecht-Parker in a spot where it’s very hard to find a fold. The very next hand, he committed his last two Big Blinds, just to run into the aces of Christain Calvera. Schneider bid farewell in eighth place, cashing for £2,200.
The aforementioned Calvera had entered the final table as the chip leader, but he would soon lose it to the sole woman left in the tournament, Nikhila Sakinala, as the latter was awarded after a brave call against Calvera in a Blind vs. Blind affair. Calvera was crippled after that hand, but he wouldn’t be the next one to go. That would be Harbrecht-Parker, who, if judging by The Hendon Mob, was the most experienced player amongst the final nine. His stack wasn’t big enough to allow him to display any post-flop moves, though, and he lost it all against Jonas Pattichis and went out in seventh place.
With six players remaining, the clock was paused, and a potential deal was discussed. The second-shortest stack, Hugh Fowler, was one of those in favor of working something out, while chip leader Sakinala and the shortest stack, Joshua Mahmmud, declined. As such, no deal was made, and play resumed. Within 15 minutes, Mahmmud hit the rail in sixth place (£3,500), and the subject was brought up to the table again. This time, the players did reach an agreement. All approved the numbers presented by the tournament director, and play would continue for the trophy.
Calvera, who’d locked up the second-most after the deal (£11,360), would go out in fifth place after being a victim of a bad beat against Sakinala. Pattichis’d soon follow him; Pattichis was one of those who denied the first deal, as he was chasing his first five-digit score. After the second discussion, he agreed to £10,685; even though he didn’t get his hands on the trophy, he achieved his prize goal.
Sakinala was the chip leader with three players left, but as Fowler eliminated Stefan-Claudiu Paunescu in third place (£10,060), he secured a small advantage going into the heads-up stage. The two remaining players took a short breather as the dealer arranged their chips on one side of the table each. They soon returned to the table, ready to fight it out over the title. Actually, “fight” may be the wrong word; it was a very chill and extremely friendly atmosphere; the two contestants even received one drink each from founder Hassan, who, together with the poker.pro live reporter Christoffer Karlén, followed the heads-up with great excitement and joy.
Both players rivered a straight roughly ten minutes into the duel, where Sakinala’s were of the higher order. As such, she took a solid lead and was very close to the title. It was at that point that Sakinala revealed that ever since the clock passed midnight, it was her birthday. Not only that, this was also her first-ever tournament cash. Would the stars align to put a crown on what was already a fairytale story?
Fowler fought back, though, and improved his stack bit by bit. Soon enough, all the chips went in the middle. Sakinala held A♥6♥ and would need to suck out on the A♦K♦ of Fowler to take the title. The 3♦7♦6♣ flop made it all even more exciting, before Fowler secured the win after securing a flush on the turn. This saw Fowler once again taking the chip lead, albeit with the smallest of margins.
He managed to take some more valuable chips from Sakinala, who eventually was down to her last ten Big Blinds. These were committed to a pre-flop shove with 6♠4♠, a bet that Fowler called. Holding 6♦6♥, Fowler was looking good to secure the win. The 8♣8♥K♥ flop didn’t bring much hope to Sakinala. She picked up a straight draw on the 7♥, but the 3♦ didn’t help her. That settled it; Sakinala was eliminated in second place, meaning that Fowler was declared the winner of the £185 Main Event of the 2025 Beer Poker Tour September Edition. Still a good birthday for Sakinala, though, who claimed the largest cash-prize thanks to the deal.
2025 Beer Poker Tour September Edition – £185 Main Event Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Hugh Fowler | England | £6,700* |
| 2 | Nikhila Sakinala | England | £13,000* |
| 3 | Stefan-Claudiu Paunescu | England | £10,060* |
| 4 | Jonas Pattichis | England | £10,685* |
| 5 | Christain Calvera | England | £11,360* |
| 6 | Joshua Mahmmud | England | £3,500 |
| 7 | Thomas Harbrecht-Parker | England | £2,700 |
| 8 | Ladislav Schneider | England | £2,200 |
| 9 | Chun Li | England | £1,800 |
*Denotes a five-way deal
Even though the clock was 03:30, Fowler didn’t look too tired. He was visibly pleased with his biggest tournament win. He quickly summarized his journey throughout the tournament:
“I had some luck during Day 1 and finished perhaps fourth or fifth in the chip count. I was a little dry at the start of Day 2. At one point, I was all in with pocket jacks against aces, and my opponent had me covered, but I hit a lucky jack on the flop. At the final table, I’m glad we agreed to a deal. I got more than I would’ve gotten had I finished fourth, and I had between two and three Big Blinds when we were five players left.”
Before the short interview concluded, Fowler expressed his appreciation for the Beer Poker Tour:
“It’s been a real fun event. The vouchers are fantastic; they add another element. Free foods and drinks at the break, hats, hoodies, you name it… fantastic.”
It is true that the Beer Poker Tour is something else, and the vouchers are a great example of Hassan’s mastermind. Every time the blinds increased in the Main Event, a voucher was added to the pot at each table. The one who won the first pot of the new blinds level won the voucher, which then could be traded in for various merchandise. No doubt, there’ll be similar niches during the next edition of the Beer Poker Tour, which will be played October 13-19 at Genting Casino Stratford, London.
The poker.pro crew extends their gratitude to Hassan for pulling off yet another stellar event, and also the biggest of congratulations to Fowler for taking his biggest career win. The only piece that does not fit in the puzzle is that Fowler doesn’t drink beer. Maybe he’ll learn to appreciate the taste in time for the October event.
