The first month of 2026 turned out to be a January filled to the brim with unparalleled poker action. The 2026 PartyPoker Tour Sheffield brought immense action to Genting Casino Sheffield, and PartyPoker kicked off the year in stellar fashion, just like they wrapped up last year’s tour.
The Festival wrapped up on Sunday, February 1, with the conclusion of the £500 Main Event. It was a long, entertaining final table, which saw one certain player turning the tables; despite entering the final stage of the tournament as the shortest stack, he managed to navigate his way through the nine-handed table, which consisted of many skillful players, to eventually claim victory and a £20,000 first-place prize.
The King of Sheffield
Last year, PartyPoker elevated the UK poker scene with the 2025 PartyPoker Tour. It was the much-anticipated return to the live poker scene for the legendary poker brand, and targeting the grassroots community, the tour filled a gap in the poker landscape. The numbers from last year’s tour speak for themselves, and there was no question about it; the tour would return in 2026, even bigger and better than before, seeing as it expands outside of the UK this year with two announced stops in Spain.
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Even though the £150 Mini Main Event was the tournament with the most entries during the Sheffield stop, the Main Event was always destined to be the most prestigious. It was a three-day affair with four starting-day flights. Twenty-five % of the field in each Day 1 made it through to Day 2, meaning that 72 players took their seats on the penultimate day. The £100,000 guarantee had been shattered; 273 entries in total yielded a £121,485 prize pool, with a juicy £22,400 first-place payout up top.
The Day 2 competitors were not in the money; 41 players would be paid, and when Kevin Ferrer busted in forty-second place after losing a pre-flop all-in with A♠4♥ against the 8♣8♥ of Mark Ridley, the remaining brave warriors were all guaranteed a £1,000 min-cash. There were still many prominent names in the field: poker podcaster and author Dara O’Kearney, 2025 PartyPoker Tour Leaderboard winner Alexander Georgiev (who, by the way, finished second in the Mini Main Event), cash game crusher Philip Clarke, and Timothy Chung ($2,836,935 total live earnings on The Hendon Mob), to name a few. The newest addition to the PartyPoker Tour Ambassador team, Spaniard Daniel Diaz, and 2025 PartyPoker Tour Manchester £500 Main Event champion Deniz Orhan were also competing in Day 2. Diaz eventually went out in twenty-third place; Orhan was looking to become the first-ever two-time PartyPoker Tour Main Event champion. He fought long and bravely but eventually finished in sixteenth place.
While all players named above displayed great poker throughout the tournament, none of them reached the final table. When Mark Ridley was eliminated in tenth place around 2:10 a.m., Day 2 concluded. The nine survivors exhaled as they bagged their chips, set to return for the final table at 14:00 the next day, Sunday, February 1.
Eventually, the time came, and the final nine took their seats at the featured table. Live-streamed on PartyPoker’s YouTube channel with a 30-minute delay, commented by Guy Taylor and Ben Shannon, the expectations were high for an entertaining affair. That being said, there was a somewhat slower start; the players were fairly deep, and they were dipping their toes in the waters, feeling out each other and trying to pick up on the strategies and tells of the various opponents.
In fact, it would be a good four hours before the first eliminations came. Benjamin Liu clashed all-in pre-flop against Muhammad Khalil; even though holding the superior pocket pair with J♠J♦, Liu’s tournament life came to an end when Khalil’s 10♠10♣ improved to a set on the river. Quite an unfortunate conclusion to the Main Event for Liu, who received £3,045 for his ninth-place finish.
This would prove to be somewhat of a “Ketchup Effect,” seeing as two other eliminations took place within the following half hour. Emmanuel Mulemwa donk-jammed at the wrong time on a jack-high flop; holding Q♠J♦, he was more or less drawing dead against the flopped top set of George Achillea. Achillea and his J♥J♣ holdings secured the pot, which sent Mulemwa to the rail in eighth place for £3,760. All things considered, Mulemwa can still look back at a good week in Sheffield, seeing as he also finished fourth in the Mini Main Event.
Soon thereafter, Csaba Kovacs went out in seventh place for £4,660. The Hungarian, who’s been living in the UK for some years now, moved all in pre-flop with A♥J♣, and ran into the K♠K♥ of Khalil. No case ace or any other help for Kovacs on the board, and his impressive run ultimately came to an end.
The tournament progressed and eventually reached the critical level featuring Blinds of 50,000/100,000. Playing eight Big Blinds, Abdul Mukit made the call for his tournament life from the Big Blind, after being forced all-in by Max Burnley in a Blind versus Blind encounter. Mukit had the best hand pre-flop with 8♠8♦, but Burnley’s K♥6♥ improved to a flush on the river. Mukit bid farewell to the remaining five players as he went to collect his £5,750 sixth-place payout.
The chip lead with five contestants left was traded back and forth, as there were a few all-in and call situations, which resulted in the various players claiming big pots. Khalil eventually became the shortest stack with a mere four Big Blinds. He moved all in with K♦9♣, and getting a good price from the Big Blind, Siddharth Sudunagunta made the call with 9♦7♠. Despite being dominated by his opponent, Sudunagunta hit a pair of sevens to send Khalil to the rail in fifth place for £7,100.
Achillea would soon enough become the next one to go. Achillea is a Genting Casino Stratford, London, regular, and as there were many players from the UK capital on-site in Sheffield during the event, he had several people cheering for him. He got it in good with A♥K♥ against Sudunagunta’s Q♣7♣. Just like he did when he eliminated Khalil, though, Sudunagunta paired his seven once again, and Achillea wasn’t able to catch up. Achillea earned £8,670 for his fourth-place finish.
It’s safe to say Andrew Teng was the most experienced player on the final table, not only with three players left, but also overall. He proved this by making some utterly insane plays on the final table; one hand, especially, in which he managed to lose the bare minimum with pocket aces, was a perfect example of the skills that Teng possesses. Eventually, he moved all in with K♣8♦, and was called by Max Burney’s A♣10♣. Teng didn’t manage to extend his tournament life, and as he went out in third place for £10,630, the stage was now set for a heads-up battle between Burney and Sudunagunta, where Burney had a three-to-one chip lead.
Sudunagunta was up for the task, though, and after a sublime river bluff, he was able to close the gap to Burney significantly. Being very even in chips, the two players agreed to a deal; Burney locked up £17,120, and Sudunagunta secured £16,390. They would continue to play for £3,700 and, more importantly, the coveted trophy.
Sudunagunta eventually claimed the chip lead after winning some pots here and there. Soon enough, he flopped a full house with 2♠2♣, and he played it very aggressively from the get-go with check-raise on the flop. He continued with a bit bet on the turn, and Burney decided to move all in with A♥6♠, perhaps thinking ace-high was good; in worst case, he must’ve thought the nut flush would still be good, where he to hit it on the river. Sudunagunta made the call without hesitation, and Burney saw the bad news. He was drawing dead on the turn, and that settled it. The two contestants shook hands before Burney went to collect his £17,120. He finished as the runner-up, while Sudunagunta could exhale with a smile on his lips. Despite entering the final table with the least in chips, he’d managed to turn it around, ultimately emerging victorious and cashing for a total of £20,000.
2026 PartyPoker Tour Sheffield – £500 Main Event Final Table Payouts
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Siddharth Sudunagunta | India | £20,000 |
| 2 |  Max Burnley | United Kingdom | £17,120 |
| 3 | Andrew Teng | United Kingdom | £10,630 |
| 4 | George Achillea | United Kingdom | £8,670 |
| 5 | Muhammed Khalil | United Kingdom | £7,100 |
| 6 |  Abdul Mukit | Scotland | £5,750 |
| 7 |  Csaba Kovacs | Hungary | £4,660 |
| 8 | Emmanuel Mulemwa | United Kingdom | £3,760 |
| 9 | Benjamin Liu | United Kingdom | £3,045 |
After Sudunagunta’s impressive Main Event win, there was still some Sunday side event action ongoing at Genting Casino Sheffield. When Kevin Ferrer eventually conquered the £60 poker.pro Sunday Party Madness Crazy Pineapple Bounty around 2:00 a.m., the 2026 PartyPoker Tour Sheffield officially came to an end. It’s safe to say PartyPoker kicked off their 2026 campaign in fitting fashion, and it’s an educated all players are excited for the upcoming stop in Seville, which will take place March 16-22.
The whole team at poker.pro is beyond grateful to be the official media partner of the 2026 PartyPoker Tour, and considering the action in Sheffield last week, the 2026 PartyPoker Tour in its entirety will be a tour for the ages.
