It was a Sunday for the ages at the Manchester235 Casino. After five superb days of live poker, it was time for the penultimate day of the 2025 PartyPoker Tour Manchester. Of course, the final day of the £500 Main Event was the star of the show. The final table was set, and the nine brave warriors were set to return at 14:00 local time to battle it out for eternal poker glory, a £21,303 first-place payout, and the coveted PartyPoker trophy. All presumptions for a thrilling day of poker were in place, and the final day of the event did not disappoint.
One Last Dance
With total of 243 entries and a £107,248 prize pool, PartyPoker should be very pleased with the numbers of the Main Event in Manchester. It had been a stellar tournament from the very beginning; all that was left now, was for a winner to be crowned.
The final nine players took their seats at the final table, and the legendary phrase “Shuffle up and deal” was delivered by the floor. From the very start, it became evident that all players had their eyes on the trophy; everyone dipped their toes in the water for the first hour, and it was kind of a slow start where everyone tried to figure out the styles of play for the opponents.
Then, fireworks went off. The first two players to be eliminated, Julian Mosquera and Jonathan Hanley, both went out in the same hand against Ronnie Marland, who became the chip leader in the process. That one particular hand almost felt like the starting point of the final table, and things only ramped up from there.
One of the players, Ion Oprea, was looking to write the story of the event. Not only was he apparent on the final table, but he also won the £150 Mini Main Event earlier in the weekend. He was going for back-to-back wins, and he got one step closer as he eliminated James O’Brien in seventh place. With his newly won chips, he would climb to second place in the chip counts, only trailing Marland.
Oprea wasn’t slowing down. Instead, he put the pedal to the metal, and eventually, he scored his second knockout, as he sent Gerard Harraghy to the rail in sixth place. Things were looking good for Oprea; in fact, PartyPoker Team Pro Jaime Staples took a stroll past the final table, and acknowledged that Oprea is having “one good week”.
At this point, there were still two PartyPoker Tour Team Ambassadors on the final table – Alexander Georgiev and Natalie Bromley. Bromley would be the next casualty, though, as an unfortunate runout would see her pocket sevens be counterfeited against Marland. With Bromley out, it would be up to Georgiev if a PartyPoker ambassador were to win the tournament.
Then came what was arguably the most important moment of the final table. Georgiev and Marland, the two biggest stacks by a fine margin, clashed all in against each other pre-flop. Georgiev was ahead all the way up until the river, but an unfortunate ace eliminated him in brutal fashion. As he exited the tournament in fourth place, Marland became a big chip leader.
With only Marland, Ohran, and Oprea left, the tension was high. It’s an educated guess that the big pay jumps played their part in the atmosphere spreading across the table. Marland was the chip leader when three-handed play commenced, but Ohran managed to snag a few pots here and there, and eventually, he was back on top of the rankings, in the same place where he started the day.
Oprea had become the shortest stack of the three, and eventually, he made a call for his tournament life against Marland that proved to be wrong. Even though he didn’t manage to snag two titles, Oprea should be very proud of his achievements during the Manchester event.
The heads-up between Marland and Ohran was intriguing. Both players had more or less equally large stacks, and they traded some pots here and there. Eventually, they agreed to a deal. Both locked up £16,235, and they continued to play for an extra £3,608 and the trophy.
Not too long after a firm handshake had sealed the deal, Ohran raised Marland all in on a J♠4♥K♣4♠ board. Marland made the call, and when the dust had settled, Ohran was declared the winner of the hand. Marland survived with less than one Big Blind, and after surviving one forced all in-encounter, he eventually came up short. That settled it; Deniz Ohran, being the chip leader going into Day 3, had won the Main Event, the £19,843 first-place payout, and the PartyPoker trophy.
£500 Main Event – Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Deniz Ohran | £19,843 |
| 2 | Ronnie Marland | £16,235 |
| 3 | Ion Oprea | £10,200 |
| 4 | Alexander Georgiev | £6,860 |
| 5 | Natalie Bromley | £5,045 |
| 6 | Gerard Harraghy | £4,075 |
| 7 | James O’Brien | £3,350 |
| 8 | Jonathan Harley | £2,800 |
| 9 | Julian Mosquera | £2,340 |
Quite the impressive feat from Orhan. He had won three packages for the PartyPoker Tour through online qualifiers, and he only had to use one bullet in the Main Event. That means that he still has two left; most likely, he’ll put them to good use in the upcoming PartyPoker Tour stops.
Overall, the 2025 PartyPoker Tour Manchester was a great event, and it most definitely lived up to the standard that was set in London a few weeks before. This is still only the beginning of PartyPoker’s return to the live poker scene, though. August 12-17, the tour will move on to Glasgow. No doubt will it be another stellar event by PartyPoker, and being the official media partner, poker.pro is thrilled to be along for the ride.
