The 2026 PartyPoker Tour Sheffield is in full swing, bringing immense action to the UK live poker scene. The festival has reached halfway, with still a weekend full of poker to go. Some players have already claimed trophies in the various side events, while the £500 Main Event has kicked off with its first starting-day flights.
One of the most popular tournaments, the £150 Mini Main Event, wrapped up on Friday, January 30, around 22:00. It was an entertaining final table with nine very competent players who all competed for the title, the coveted trophy, and the £10,120 first-place payout. After roughly seven hours of play, the dust settled, and a local hero emerged victorious after surviving a two-hour-long heads-up.
From £10 to Poker Heaven
Last year, PartyPoker made its much-anticipated return to the live poker tour after a few years’ hiatus. To say it was a slam dunk would be an understatement; with five stops all across the UK, the 2025 PartyPoker Tour was very appreciated by the grassroots community, and it’s an educated guess that the Brits were thrilled to hear the good news that the tour would return this year, not only in the UK, but also in Spain.
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The first stop of the 2026 PartyPoker Tour is currently ongoing in Sheffield. It’s the first time in years that Genting Casino Sheffield has seen a live poker event of this magnitude, and the atmosphere in the tournament area can’t be described in any other word than electrifying. In terms of entries, the aforementioned Mini Main Event has been the most popular tournament so far, just as expected.
The tournament kicked off with its first of four starting-day flights on Tuesday, January 27. Fifteen percent of the entries for each Day 1 flight progressed to Day 2, and were all guaranteed a £300 min-cash. Day 2 commenced on Thursday, January 29, and that is when the numbers were confirmed. An impressive 476 entries created a £59,500 prize pool, with a juicy £10,120 first-place payout. That’s a decent number compared to the relatively shy buy-in, and all contestants had their eyes on the prize.
Seventy-two players took their seats on Day 2, and the short stacks went out as fast as heavy cream becomes spoiled in the Sheffield sun. There were many prominent names chasing for Day 3 bags, such as 2010 Irish Poker Open €3,500 Main Event runner-up Paul Carr, 2022 PartyPoker Championship Malta €550 Main Event winner Oliver Hutchins, and 2026 PartyPoker Tour ambassador Barry Carter. All of the aforementioned players ultimately busted during Day 2, with Hutchins’ elimination the most noteworthy, losing with quad jacks to the quad kings of Emmanuel Mulemwa.
The penultimate day wrapped up around 2:00 a.m. the night to Sunday, when Farida Ahmed bubbled the final table as the last woman standing in the tournament. After sealing their bags, the nine survivors hit the hay, ensuring they’d be well rested for the final table.
Said final table kicked off at 15:00 on Friday, January 30. Judging by The Hendon Mob, Lee Mulligan was the most experienced player going into the final stage of the tournament, having been a solid grinder on the UK live poker scene ever since 2012. He entered the final table last in the chip counts, but there was no doubt regarding the skills the gentleman possessed. The chip leader going into the final table, Edin Hrnjic, had great presumptions for a super-deep run, but it was never going to be a walk in the park. One player breathing down his neck was Alexander Georgiev, who was second in the chip counts. Georgiev won the 2025 PartyPoker Tour leaderboard, and he was determined to claim yet another PartyPoker trophy. All in all, the stage was set for a showdown of epic proportions.
A Final-Stretch Marathon
Eventually, the clock struck 15:00, and the excited players took their seats. The live-stream commenced 45 minutes later on PartyPoker’s YouTube channel, commented on by Ben Shannon and Guy Taylor. It didn’t take long before the well-merited Mulligan became the first casualty, just as the chip counts indicated. He managed to double up his stack once, but shortly thereafter, he ran into the A♠A♥ during an all-in pre-flop encounter against Daniel Stoica. No miracle runout for Mulligan’s A♦K♠, and he went to collect £1,040 for his ninth-place finish.
Perhaps 30 minutes later, Mulligan got company on the rail by Ryan Hetherington. After an opening from Georgiev and two callers, Hetherington moved all in with A♦J♥ from the Small Blind, hoping to secure the dead money in the middle. That would not be the case, though, as Georgiev was offered a decent prize to call Hetherington’s shove with K♥10♥. Georgiev hit a king on the flop, and Hetherington was drawing dead once his opponent improved to trips on the turn. As such, Hetherington bid farewell in eighth place for £1,260.
With seven players remaining, it was time for the first 20-minute break of the day. Georgiev had now claimed a decent chip lead over the rest of the field, and considering his achievements from the 2025 PartyPoker Tour, it’s an educated guess that he was the favorite amongst many at this point.
Right before the break, Djamel Aoun had lost almost all of his stack with Q♥J♥ against the A♦Q♦ of John Leslie. Aoun managed to double up once after that, shortly before being all in three-ways with 3♦3♣. There were four over cards to dodge, and it was no other than his nemesis, Leslie, who secured the pot with a straight. This ended Aoun’s tournament life in seventh place for £1,540.
The next victim would eventually prove to be Oliver Grice. After a donk bet from Emmanuel Mulemwa on the turn, Grice was convinced his opponent was on a draw. He raised all in with 6♦6♣, but much to his displease, Mulemwa had turned top-two with 10♥9♥. As Grice bid farewell and went to collect £2,030 for finishing in sixth, Mulemwa improved his stack and overtook the chip lead from Georgiev.
Mulemwa maintained his chip lead during the second break. Play resumed on the crucial Level 30, featuring Blinds 100,000/200,000, with a 200,000 Ante. That translated to Mulemwa being in the driver’s seat with 30 Big Blinds, while his competitors all had between 10 and 25 minimum bets. The previous level had been somewhat dull with not too much action, and the question was whether it was the calm before the storm.
Thanks to the structure, Leslie swiftly became the chip leader after winning an all-in encounter with 9♠9♣ against Mulemwa’s 6♠6♥. The fact that he went from the bottom of the chip counts to leading the field suggests how shallow the stacks were at that point.
While Mulemwa and Leslie were trading the chip lead back and forth (essentially just by winning smaller pots and picking up the blinds), Daniel Stoica was getting shorter and shorter. Eventually, he moved all in for five Big Blinds after a min-raise from Hrnjic. Getting a good price, Hrnjic made the call, and he would prove to be in much better shape than he thought. He had Stoica’s 10♣8♣ dominated with J♠10♦, and despite picking up a flush draw on the turn, Stoica was ultimately eliminated in fifth place for £2,620.
Mulemwa was the chip leader at this point, but he would soon experience a poker nightmare on behalf of Leslie. After an opening from Leslie, Mulemwa three-bet all in with A♥8♣, and Leslie made the call instantly with A♦A♠. No miracle for Mulemwa, who was now alarmingly short. Perhaps two hands later, he moved all in with Q♥2♠ from the Big Blind after another previous opening from Leslie. Leslie made the call and, once again, turned over the goods, A♦A♥. There was nothing for Mulemwa to do except maybe laugh. For his fourth-place finish, he was awarded £3,430.
With three players left, Hrnjic, who started the final table as the chip leader, was now the shortest stack. He then lost half his pot against Leslie, who – you guessed it – picked up pocket aces for the third time in 15 minutes. Soon enough, Hrnjic moved all in for six Big Blinds with 7♥6♦ from the Small Blind. Leslie peeked at his hole cards in the Big Blind; it wasn’t rockets, but A♥J♥ was, obviously, a major premium holding at this point. He made the call, and after hitting a flush on the river, Hrnjic’s impressive run came to an end in third place for £4,420.
The stage was not set for a heads-up clash between Leslie and Georgiev. Leslie was the chip leader, but one double-up would make it an even battle. That double-up happened within three hands; Georgiev flopped top-two against Leslie’s top-pair, and all the money went in. The board ran out without any nasty surprises from Georgiev’s point of view, and he edged the gap considerably. At this point, the two contestants decided to make a deal. The £10,120 first-place payout and the £6,540 runner-up prize were adjusted; Leslie locked up £7,640, and Georgiev secured £7,420. They would continue to play for £1,600, the trophy, and the prestigious title.
Leslie was still the chip leader, but Georgiev was up for the task. After Georgiev value-bet with a rivered straight, Leslie re-raised his opponent. After a few minutes’ worth of pondering, Georgiev made the call; Leslie had a lower straight, but it’s an educated guess that he had turned his hand into a bluff, considering he had the nut flush blocker. This saw Georgiev taking the chip lead for the first time in the tournament for several levels.
Eventually, Leslie moved all in for 15 Big Blinds with Q♦9♦, and he was called by Georgiev’s A♣8♥. Georgiev rose from his chair, realizing he was close to victory, but Leslie flopped top pair and a flush draw. He turned trips, and Georgiev was drawing dead; back to the drawing board from the Bulgarian, as there now was half of a Big Blind separating the two players. History repeated itself; Georgiev again went down to less than 10 Big Blinds, and then, he doubled up with A♥10♣ against Leslie’s Q♥10♦.
At this point, the heads-up had been going on for roughly two hours, which truly was lengthy considering the shallow stacks. No edition of the Mini Main Event during the 2025 PartyPoker Tour had come close to reaching Level 34 with Blinds of 250,000/500,000. The same pattern followed once again; Leslie got Georgiev down to critical conditions, Georgiev doubled up, and Leslie slowly took the lead again. The stakes were so high at this point that just by taking down to limped pots on the flop, the player would basically even out the stacks.
The two players clashed all-in pre-flop again, at a time were Georgiev now held the chip lead. Georgiev realized he was in good shape with A♦9♦, and when he improved to a pair of aces on the flop, things were not looking good for Leslie’s J♠5♥. He had a mere 8 % chance of winning the hand, but the Poker Gods had his back. He hit a runner-runner two-pair to survive, taking his most commanding chip lead thus far through the heads-up.
Georgiev had fought hard and well and had recovered multiple times. Eventually, though, it all came to an end. Despite getting it in good with K♦Q♣ against Leslie’s Q♦J♥, Leslie was the one taking the lead on the jack-high flop. No help for Georgiev on the runout, and that settled it. After roughly two hours of heads-up play, Georgiev was eliminated in second place, and the local hero Leslie could breathe out. All chips now belonged to him, and after a blockbuster of a final day, he was declared the winner of the £150 Mini Main Event.
2026 PartyPoker Tour Sheffield – £150 Mini Main Event Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  John Leslie | United Kingdom | £9,240 |
| 2 |  Alexander Georgiev | Bulgaria | £7,420 |
| 3 | Edin Hrnjic | United Kingdom | £4,420 |
| 4 | Emmanuel Mulemwa | United Kingdom | £3,430 |
| 5 |  Daniel Stoica | Romania | £2,620 |
| 6 | Oliver Grice | United Kingdom | £2,030 |
| 7 | Djamel Aoun | United Kingdom | £1,540 |
| 8 | Ryan Hetherington | United Kingdom | £1,260 |
| 9 |  Lee Mulligan | England | £1,040 |
It’s worth mentioning how Leslie got into the tournament in the first place. For a mere £10, he qualified online through the PartyPoker satellites, claiming his £150 seat and stay in Sheffield. The qualifiers are, hands down, the secret sauce of the PartyPoker Tour, and considering they’re sending 2,000 players to the live field this year, the value is immense.
While the Mini Main Event is done and dusted, the 2026 PartyPoker Tour Sheffield is far from over. The festival will wrap up in style this weekend, as the winner of the £500 Main Event will be crowned on Sunday, February 1. The poker.pro live reporter Christoffer Karlén is on-site at the picturesque Genting Casino Sheffield, providing live coverage of the flagship tournament. All the action can be followed live at poker.pro, and the excitement over who’ll become the first PartyPoker Tour Main Event champion of the year is unbearing.
