It’s a new year, and many poker players will be crowned champions in 2026. The live poker scene is hotter than ever before, and there is a swarm of prestigious live poker events already during the first months of the year. For the UK players, one of the highlights of the calendar is just a few days away, as the 2026 United Kingdom Poker Championship (UKPC) is set to be played at the legendary Dusk Till Dawn between January 17-26. The Brits are set to compete for glory in the various championship events, and it’s going to be a blockbuster of a festival.
Eleven for Heaven
The UKPC has played a big part in UK poker history. After a five-year hiatus, the festival was revived in 2023, with the help of their partner GGPoker. Since then, the UKPC has grown to become one of the biggest and most prestigious recurring live poker events in the UK.
The 2026 UKPC will be played at Dusk Till Dawn, Nottingham, between January 17-26. The event has never been played anywhere else than the Dusk Till Dawn, and that makes sense; a national championship deserves the best venue that there is, and the solely poker-focused Dusk Till Dawn is the center point of UK live poker.
The festival schedule features 11 unique championship events. Naturally, the most intriguing tournament will be the £560 UKPC Main Event. The affair has six starting-day flights; five on-site (two of them being turbo flights), and one online on the GGPoker client. All contestants in the various starting-day flights will have to survive a certain number of levels before they can bag their chips for Day 2 (which will be played January 25 at 13:00). It’s a three-day event, and those who advance from Day 2 will take their seat on the final day, scheduled January 26 at 13:00.
The tournament has a £500,000 guarantee, a number that is sure to be surpassed. During last year’s edition, 1,332 entries translated to a £639,360 prize pool. Jake Betts and David Lloyd made a deal heads-up, and eventually, Betts was crowned the ultimate winner, taking home the title and the £85,270 first-place payout. Only time will tell who emerges victorious this year.
Another multi-day event is the £280 UKPC Warm Up. The tournament lives up to its name; it’ll be the one event that kicks off the entire festival on January 17, with its first out of five starting-day flights. With a £100,000 guarantee, this ought to be the perfect tournament for all players to kick off their ventures in the 2026 UKPC. Day 2 is scheduled for January 22 at 12:00, and it will play down to the last man/woman standing.
Of course, the UK’s best Omaha player also needs to be crowned. The £150 UKPC PLO will commence at 14:00 on January 22, and it’s a one-day event featuring a £10,000 guarantee. The following day, January 23, heads will roll in the £150 UKPC Bounty. Nothing beats the thrill of a live poker bounty tournament, and all contestants better buckle up for what is destined to be an action-packed bonanza.
All high roller players are also in for a treat, seeing as there are two tournaments on the schedule with a more hefty buy-in. The £1,100 UKPC 7-Max High Roller kicks off with Day 1 on January 21, and the battle will wrap up on January 22. The £1,100 UKPC High Roller is the second of the leviathans, a one-day event that will be played on January 25.
Otherwise, the schedule includes a few more championship events, as well as multiple satellites for the Main Event. Two of the aforementioned satellites have a shy £40 buy-in with a whopping 20 seats guaranteed; in other words, the presumptions to secure one’s Main Event seat for a cheaper buck are impeccable.
2026 UKPC – Tournament Schedule
| Date | Time | Event |
|---|---|---|
| January 17 | 14:00 | Event #1: £280 UKPC Warm Up Day 1a |
| 16:00 | Event #2: £60 UKPC 7-Max | |
| 19:00 | £30 Satellite to £560 Main Event (Five Seats Guaranteed) | |
| January 18 | 14:00 | Event #1: £280 UKPC Warm Up Day 1b |
| 16:00 | Event #3: £60 UKPC 8-Max | |
| 19:00 | £30 Satellite to £560 Main Event (Five Seats Guaranteed) | |
| January 20 | 19:05 | Event #4: £560 UKPC Main Event Online Day 1 at GGPoker |
| January 21 | 12:00 | Event #1: £280 UKPC Warm Up Day 1c |
| 17:00 | Event #1: £280 UKPC Warm Up Day 1d | |
| 17:00 | Event #5: £1,100 UKPC 7-Max High Roller Day 1 | |
| 19:00 | £30 Satellite to £560 Main Event (Ten Seats Guaranteed) | |
| 21:30 | Event #1: £280 UKPC Warm Up Day 1 Turbo | |
| January 22 | 12:00 | Event #4: £560 UKPC Main Event Day 1a |
| 12:00 | Event #1: £280 UKPC Warm Up Day 2 (Final Day) | |
| 13:00 | Event #5: £1,100 UKPC 7-Max High Roller Day 2 (Final Day) | |
| 14:00 | Event #6: £150 UKPC PLO | |
| 18:00 | £40 Satellite to £560 Main Event (20 Seats Guaranteed) | |
| January 23 | 12:00 | Event #4: £560 UKPC Main Event Day 1b |
| 14:00 | Event #7: £150 UKPC Bounty | |
| 18:00 | £40 Satellite to £560 Main Event (20 Seats Guaranteed) | |
| 19:00 | Event #4: £560 UKPC Main Event Day 1 Turbo | |
| January 24 | 12:00 | Event #4: £560 UKPC Main Event Day 1c |
| 19:00 | Event #4: £560 UKPC Main Event Day 1 Turbo | |
| January 25 | 13:00 | Event #4: £560 UKPC Main Event Day 2 |
| 14:00 | Event #8: £1,100 UKPC High Roller | |
| 15:00 | Event #9: £150 UKPC Mega Stack | |
| January 26 | 13:00 | Event #4: £560 UKPC Main Event Day 3 (Final Day) |
| 14:00 | Event #10: £150 UKPC Deepstack | |
| 17:00 | Event #11: £60 UKPC Closer |
All and all, the 2026 UKPC is destined to be one of the highlights of the 2026 UK poker year. In the form of a media partner, poker.pro will have live reporters on-site at Dusk Till Dawn, covering the Main Event on Dusk Till Dawn’s webpage. Daily recaps, including results, will be posted on poker.pro; make sure to follow both sites in order not to miss any of the intriguing action at Dusk Till Dawn. New UK poker champions will be crowned, and considering the magnitude of the UKPC, it’ll all go down in dramatic fashion.
