Priyan Wins in Blackpool
36-year Priyan de Mel has taken down the 9th leg of the 2009 Grosvenor UK Poker Tour at the G casino in Blackpool. De Mel, a property developer from London defeated a field of 287 players to scoop the £84,900 first prize and a seat in the £100,000 Champion of Champions tournament. His heads up opponent was 23-year old online pro James Williams from Swindon. After eliminating Ben Vinson in third place, de Mel went into the heads up stage of the tournament with a 2-1 chip lead. The tête-à-tête stage of the tournament did not last long before de Mel emerged victorious holding J-8 on a J-J-7-5 board. Williams bluffed on the turn holding 3-6 and needed a 4 to win the pot, but a queen on the river shipped the final pot to de Mel and earned him the title of GUKPT Blackpool champion.
De Mel just missed out on a GUKPT final table two years ago, when he finished in 10th place at the London leg of the tour. He was delighted to have put that disappointment behind him by securing this win, but also commented on a hand that took place on the first day of the tournament, when he was all-in and behind holding 5-2 on an A-4-x board. His friend Andrew Seden held pocket fours, but a 3 on the turn kept him in the tournament.
“I am delighted to have won this title, but I could easily have been out on day one if I had not hit my gutshot against Andy”
Third place finisher Ben Vinson continued to improve upon the remarkable record of his family in GUKPT events. This was his third GUKPT final table, having previously also finished third in the 2007 Blackpool main event. He also took the third place spot in the 2007 Grand Final and his father Alan and brother Adam have three final tables between them as well. One in five of the 30 main event final tables in the history of the GUKPT have now featured a Vinson.
4th place finisher Mark Taylor won his seat into the event via a super satellite on Blue Square Poker, as did 9th placed Gemal Husnu. Jeff Hemmerman in 5th, Steve Talbot in 6th, Mark James in 7th and Wasim Akhtar in 8th completed the final table line up.
This was the final regular leg of the 2009 tour, but the year is still far from over for the GUKPT as the Grand Final takes place at the Grosvenor Victoria Casino in London from 19th-29th November. The festival kicks off with the £5,000 UK Heads Up Championship on Thursday 19th and also features a full schedule of side events before the £3,000 main event gets underway on the 26th.
The continuation of the GUKPT has also now been confirmed and the full 2010 schedule will be released on Tuesday 17th November.
The Final Table Result
| Place | Player | Prize | GUKPT Ranking Points |
| 1st | Priyan de Mel | £84,900 | 125 |
| 2nd | James Williams | £52,400 | 100 |
| 3rd | Ben Vinson | £34,400 | 80 |
| 4th | Mark Taylor | £22,400 | 65 |
| 5th | Jeff Hemmerman | £16,600 | 55 |
| 6th | Steve Talbot | £13,800 | 45 |
| 7th | Mark Jones | £10,900 | 35 |
| 8th | Wasim Akhtar | £8,000 | 25 |