The 2026 PartyPoker Tour Manchester is in full swing at Manchester235 Casino. The tour has returned to Manchester’s finest cardroom after the successful stop in 2025, and this time, the stakes are even higher. One of the two flagship tournaments, the £150 Mini Main Event, wrapped up on Thursday, June 18.
Fizzy (Vimto) Vibes in Manchester
To say that the 2026 PartyPoker Tour is “Up and running” would be an understatement. The tour kicked off with the inaugural stop in Sheffield back in January, then touched Spanish soil both in Seville and Madrid. Now, it’s back in the United Kingdom, and just like this time last year, it’s Manchester235 Casino that has rolled out the red carpet. Manchester, the home of the carbonated Fizzy Vimto drink, has a vital poker scene, and the atmosphere at Manchester235 Casino is unique, to say the least.
The nine-day festival promised a nine-day schedule featuring 20 trophy events. The Mini Main Event has always been the most popular tournament of the PartyPoker Tour in terms of entries. This ought to be the case this time as well; the six starting-day flights attracted 668 entries in total. This created a £84,000 prize pool, which was well over the £50,000 guarantee.
One hundred players on the dot made it through to Day 2. They were all guaranteed a £300 minimum cash, and when they resumed play on Thursday, July 17, the plan was to down to the final table, or until the conclusion of Level 27; whatever came first. It would be the latter, albeit by the smallest of margins, seeing as 10 players returned on Friday, June 18, to play it out for the prestigious title, the coveted trophy, and the £15,500 first-place payout.
Final Table Drama
Cards were in the air at 14:00, with Nim Rattan (the only woman left in the field) having the chip lead. One of the arguably most experienced players in the field was Ali Mallu. With almost $2,000,000 in total live earnings and more than 20 years in the game, Mallu is a tricky player who likes to put his opponents in tough situations by raising unconventionally big pre-flop. No one would “Get Malooed” this time, though, as his plan backfired early. He went out in tenth place for £900 against Imran Primohamed, who secured the chip lead going into the final table.
The aforementioned final table barely started before only seven players remained. First, David Greenough got his stack in decently good with A♠10♣ against Anwar Kanj’s K♠J♠. It was Kanj who improved to a pair on the flop, though. And Greenough wasn’t able to catch up. He went out in ninth place for £1,100, and actor Daniel Ryder followed in eighth place for £1,400 as his K♥4♥ couldn’t crack the 7♥7♣ of Kanj. Standing for the first two eliminations, Kanj now claimed the chip lead; however, Primohamed and Rattan were both breathing down his neck.
Some chips were trading owners, and as a result of this, Antony Horn became rather short with four Big Blinds. He open-shoved A♦8♥ from the Hi-jack, and couldn’t produce a miracle against Kanj’s A♣Q♠. As Horn went out in seventh place for £1,890, Kanj was gaining even more momentum.
The Blinds were high at this moment, and no one really had a super confident stack. Rattan was soon involved in a pot against Kye Hamilton. All the money went in on the 3♦2♦9♣ flop; Rattan’s 9♠6♠ was in rough shape against the A♣9♦ of Hamilton. Rattan wasn’t able to produce a miracle, and she had to settle for sixth place (£2,500).
With five players left, Primohamed and Kanj were sitting at the top of the rankings. At the bottom was Matthew Archer, playing a mere six Big Blinds. He displayed great skills of patience; in fact, at Blinds 100,000/200,000, he only had 100,000 left and was forced in from the Small Blind. It was fortunate timing as he picked up 10♥10♦ and managed to double up at the expense of 50% of Hamilton’s Big Blind. A few hands later, he tripled up with a mere pair of aces against Kanj and Andrew Matthews; was this the beginning of a Cinderella story, poker.pro live reporter Christoffer Karlén was wondering, as he covered every knook and cranny of the final table.
That would not be the case, though. Ultimately, Archer’s tournament life came to an end, as his J♣10♦ couldn’t get the work done against Primohamed’s K♠Q♠. Archer bid farewell in fifth place for £3,500, which still was impressive, seeing as he began Day 3 with the second-to-last in the chip counts with 10 Big Blinds. The new short stack was now Mathews, who moved all in for 12 Big Blinds from the Big Blind with 4♠4♦ after an opening from Primohamed on the Button. Primohamed made the call with 10♣10♥. For finishing fourth, Mathews was awarded £5,000.
The three remaining players soon went on a five-minute break. Primohamed was standing at the top of the rankings with 35 Big Blinds, while Kanj played 25. Hamilton was trailing with seven Big Blinds and had his work cut out for him. He managed to double up once, then moved all in from the Small Blind with A♣7♠. Primohamed made the call from the Big Blind with 9♣9♥, and Hamilton couldn’t get the job done. He bid farewell in third place for £7,000, and the stage was set for a heads-up showdown between Primohamed and Kanj.
Primohamed was off to a decent start in the one-versus-one duel, and he managed to get a three-to-one chip lead on his opponent. After perhaps 30 minutes into the battle, all the money went into the middle. Kanj was at risk with A♠J♦ against Primohamed’s A♣Q♦. Surely, this was going to be it; things looked even better for Primohamed as both players improved to a pair on the J♣3♣Q♠ flop. The K♦ turn brought some outs for a chop. The river wasn’t a ten, though; it was the brutal J♠, which saw Kanj claiming the chip lead.
From this moment on, it was quite the intense battle. Primohamed evened the playing field, and the stacks were somewhat even for one hour. Then, having 12,500,000 of the 26,720,000 chips in play, Primohamed got it in with A♥3♣. Once again, Kanj had picked up A♥J♠, the hand of Primohamed’s nightmares. It wouldn’t be Primohamed’s time to suck out; Kanj took a very firm lead on the 8♦J♦7♥ flop. While he 3♦ turn kept Primohamed’s dream alive, the 5♣ ultimately sealed the deal. Primohamed was declared the runner-up for £10,000, while Kanj was crowned the Mini Main Event winner for £15,500.
2026 PartyPoker Tour Manchester – £150 Mini Main Event Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Anwar Kanj | England | £15,500 |
| 2 | Imran Primohamed | England | £10,000 |
| 3 |  Kye Hamilton | Scotland | £7,000 |
| 4 | Andrew Mathews | England | £5,000 |
| 5 | Matthew Archer | England | £3,500 |
| 6 | Nim Rattan | England | £2,500 |
| 7 | Antony Horn | England | £1,890 |
| 8 | Daniel Ryder | England | £1,400 |
| 9 | David Greenough | England | £1,100 |
The Mini Main Event might be finished, but there’s a lot more action to come in Manchester. Those who weren’t battling it out for the Mini Main Event title on Thursday took their chance in the first out of a total of four starting-day flights for the prestigious £500 Main Event. Last year, Deniz Orhan conquered the field that consisted of 257 entries to take home £19,843. Considering how much the PartyPoker Tour brand has grown since its debut in 2025, it wouldn’t be surprising to see an even bigger prize pool this time around. Quick work will be made of the £100,000 guarantee, and surely, Manchester235 Casino is the place to be for the next few days.
