Liverpudlian Paul Worsley has won the 2025 Goliath, defeating a field of 12,961 to secure the top prize of £316,640. He overcame a 10-1 chip deficit in the heads-up against Thomas Clack, to become the 15th winner of the Goliath, which once again broke its own attendance record. The tournament had the biggest field ever assembled for a poker event outside Las Vegas. It was, in fact, the 16th biggest tournament ever staged, with all 15 that were larger than it being WSOP tournaments.
Worsley was the crowd favourite to take the win, having never tasted success at the tables like this before. It was only the third cash of his life, but it somewhat dwarfs his previous best result of £1,150 for 10th in the 25/50 Series in 2024. He played in good spirits, wearing a man-kini style t-shirt throughout the final table. He wore his heart on his sleeve whenever he was in an all-in situation, pacing the stage and jumping for joy when his hands held, or got there.
In the post-event interview, Worsley confessed that he was on the verge of giving up poker and had attended the Goliath as one last hurrah before packing in playing. He had expected there to be a nine-way chop on the final, as there was last year and would have been very happy to have locked up £50,000, but some players refused to deal.
“I can’t believe I’ve won, to be honest, I’m speechless. I’ve got £600 in my bank,” he said, before Tower interjected with “not any more”. He also confirmed he would definitely be back next year.
The Final Day
Worsley returned to the Grosvenor Casino in Coventry for the final day of the £200 buy-in event, in possession of the fourth largest stack of the 40 players who remained in contention for the title. But before the second level of the day was completed, the field was reduced to 27 players.
The early casualties included Last year’s runner up Gilbert Black, who hit the rail in 32nd, followed by Joker’s Wild winner Josh Guant in 31st. Both departed with £4,180 for their three days of hard graft.
- Read More: Joker’s Wild Raises the Roof at the Goliath
Donna Hughes was the last lady left in the tournament, which was now being played 8-handed, however she departed in 17th place for £7,720. Broken armed Jaz Meegan, who had been one of the chip leaders at the start of the day went close to making the final, but was ousted in 12th for £11,820. Also cashing for the same amount was Richard Steggles in 11th and after Joel Freedman became the 10th place finisher (£13,990), the final table was reached.
The Final Table
Unlike in 2024, there was no 9-way deal before play began. Several players, including Worsley and Clack, were short-stacked, but these two would soon move north on the chip count leaderboard. It was the Redtooth duo of Ben Parkin and William Tagg who commanded the largest stacks and there were high hopes from the Redtooth crew that they could go all the way.
| Player | Seat | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| Ben Parkin | 9 | 98,150,000 |
| William Tagg | 1 | 61,025,000 |
| Vasilica Luca | 2 | 43,850,000 |
| Velupillai Kalahmohan | 4 | 31,475,000 |
| Keith Roy Tuckley | 7 | 24,700,000 |
| Jason Smith | 6 | 19,450,000 |
| Ryan Johnstone | 5 | 18,625,000 |
| Paul Worsley | 3 | 16,050,000 |
| Thomas Clack | 8 | 10,150,000 |
With almost £300,000 separating 1st and 9th payouts, play on the final table began cagily. After Keith Tuckley (9th for £17,410), Ryan Johnson (8th for £23,640) and Jason Smith (7th for £33,490) had hit the rail, Parkin and Tagg were still the runaway chip leaders, with almost double that of Luca Vasilica, who sat in third place at the time.
But William Tagg’s luck soon ran out and after losing one big pot, he had his tournament life ended by fellow Redtoother Parkin, who held A♠A♣ versus his Q♠9♥. He did connect with another queen on the flop, but it was not good enough and he exited in 6th place, for £48,270.
But it was also not Ben Parkin’s day to lift the title and after Velupillai Kalahmohan hit the rail in 5th (£68,950), he became the 4th place finisher, securing a six-figure payout of £100,470.
When play was three-handed, the chip situation shuffled itself frequently, with all three remaining players taking turns to lead the way.
Three-Way All-In
The heads-up battle began after a three-way all-in hand, which could have ended the tournament right there and then, in Worsley’s favour. With the blinds at 3m-6m (6m ante), Thomas Clack holding Q♠J♠ moved all-in from the button for 114.8m chips. Next to act was Luca Vasilica, who had picked up 9♥9♣ and called the bet, for his last 56.5m chips.
By this point Worsley, who had been in and out of his seat regularly throughout the final, was already standing, thinking it over for a few seconds before making the call with A♦Q♦.
Worsley’s vocal support on the rail cheered him on, willing his hand to hit and bring proceedings to a close. Meanwhile in the commentary booth, Heald and Harwood could barely contain their excitement, with Tower proclaiming
“oh my word, this could be the greatest ending of Goliath (ever)”
After a flop of 6♣7♥K♥ Vasilica’s nines were still holding and when a further six fell on the turn, it looked like the end for Clack. But the J♥ spared his tournament life, sending Luca Vasilica to the payout desk to collect his £144,800 prize for third place.
Heads Up for the Title, the Trophy and the Money
Having been one hand away from ending it, Worsley now found himself at a significant disadvantage, facing a mountain to climb, with just 29m chips versus Clack’s 292m.
In tennis terms, he was down 40-0 on his opponent’s serve and facing a match point.* But he dug deep, switched to uber** aggressive mode and quickly turned the tables back in his favour.
After shoving and not being called on the first hand of the heads-up, Worsley achieved the double on the second hand. Continuing in the same fashion, the gap closed further over the next few hands and it was not long before he had retaken the chip lead. Having only won one pot heads up, Thomas Clack’s stack had shrunk from 292m to just over 100m and it was Worsley who now had a 2-1 advantage.
With 106m chips left, Thomas moved all-in with a suited gapper, 9♠7♠ and once again Paul rose out of his seat, asked his opponent if he wanted to gamble and then went for it.
He was in great shape, his 10♣9♣ dominating Thomas’s hand. As soon as the cards were flipped Clack seemed resigned to his fate, briefly covering his face with his hands for a few seconds before standing to witness the board being dealt out.
The flop came down J♥9♥3♥, which doubled Clack’s pre-flop outs from three to six, as a further three would give him a chop, but he needed a seven to win the hand.
The A♠ on the turn made the situation more interesting for Thomas, as he now had another 15 outs to chop the pot. However, the 10♠ delivered the killer blow for Worsley, bringing the record-breaking tournament to an end.
Suffice to say, Worsley’s win was met with rapturous applause by the largely Liverpudlian front row of the audience. Having been highly animated in pots where he narrowly escaped with his tournament life, he looked almost stunned in the immediate aftermath, gently kissing the trophy as he tried to take in the magnitude of what he had just achieved.
Although he did not secure the win, the £217,500 second prize was Thomas Clack’s biggest live score to-date and rockets him to the top of the National Poker League standings, overtaking Keith Littlewood. He is now in pole position to take the NPL chequered flag and claim the £40,000 Grosvenor Poker sponsorship.
*Credit goes to my taxi driver Mohammed Suliman for suggesting this analogy on the ride back to my hotel
**Had to get another taxi gag in, sorry, i’ll get me coat…
2025 Goliath Final Table Payouts
| Position | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Paul Worsley | £316,640 |
| 2nd | Thomas Clack | £217,500 |
| 3rd | Vasilica Luca | £144,800 |
| 4th | Ben Parkin | £100,470 |
| 5th | Velupillai Kalahmohan | £68,950 |
| 6th | William Tagg | £48,270 |
| 7th | Jason Smith | £33,490 |
| 8th | Ryan Johnstone | £23,640 |
| 9th | Keith Tuckley | £17,140 |
Pokernews Cup
The £550 PokerNews Cup was another huge field event, with 797 entries delivering a prize pool of £378,580. Bracelet winner Steve Jelinek was the overnight chip leader and he maintained a big stack all the way to the final table. However he was unable to convert it into the win, having to settle for 6th place and £9,990.
Kully Sidhu, a former GUKPT Manchester winner took second place for £56,370, but the win went to Kartik, who took the title and the £76,600 first prize.
Huge Main Event Travel Open Smashes £100,000 Guarantee
The £300 Main Event Travel Open had both its last starting day and its final day on Sunday. By the time Day 1d was completed, the field had risen to 1,377, producing a prize pool of £340,120, over 3.5x the £100k guarantee. In total 166 players made it into Day 2, all of whom were in the money, collecting at least £600 each.
When it reached the final table, a deal was done and all finalists went home with at least £16,355. It was won by Pratikkumar Chavda, who secured £33,800 and took down the trophy. George Ciubotaru (2nd for £28,965) and Thomas Simmons (3rd for £27,185) were the next highest finishers.
Paul Kenwright Wins Goliath Seniors
The £150 Goliath Seniors saw a grand total of 402 old codgers take to tables in search of some money to pay next winter’s fuel bills. This created a prize pool of over £50,000, which was shared by the top 50 finishers, but not equally of course. Min-cashers had to settle for a £290 handout, while those on the final table all made it into four-figures.
There was a heads up chop, with the last two agreeing to take £9,000 each and play on for the remaining £900. Paul Kenwright booked the win for a £9,900 payout, while Vance Martin was second. Linda Iwaniak took third for £5,510.
Redtooth at the Goliath
Pub poker league Redtooth held several tournaments at the Goliath this year, with two taking place on the final day of the festival. One of these was the team Event, in which 50 teams of four took to the felt. This article will be updated with the result of this event shortly.
The other Redtooth tournament was the fast and furious £100 Hyper-Turbo, in which 284 entries were made, generating a prize pool of £22,720. Thirty-three players made the money and the last four players did an even chop of the remaining kitty, taking £3,262.50 home each. They played on for the trophy and it was all over when Olga Orlova was the last player standing, taking down the title holding A♦4♦. James Crowley, David Withers and Karl Watson were the others involved in the deal.
