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The first-ever Grosvenor UK Poker Tour (GUKPT) Glasgow festival has crowned its champion, with Bernie McGinlay topping a 348-entry field in the £560 buy-in Main Event. The win earned him a career-best £38,240 payout along with the tournament trophy.
McGinlay has recorded live tournament cashes since 2012, but he doesn’t consider himself a dedicated poker player. He works as a train driver and is part of a friend group of poker regulars who have long teased him for never having a trophy of his own.
The £165,290 prize pool was shared among the top 44 finishers. Notable names such as Andrew Hawksby, James Gray, Dale Wilson, and McGinlay’s friend James McAulay all cashed but missed the final table.
The nine-handed finale saw several big-hand collisions. WPT champion Andreas Olympios departed in ninth after his ace-jack lost to Dean Lyall’s pocket aces, while Richard Kellett fell in eighth when his ace-king couldn’t overcome Andy Mackenzie’s suited jack-ten.
Further eliminations followed as Mark Swift and Lyall both exited holding strong but second-best hands, and Mackenzie was ousted by Paul Green’s pocket kings. McGinlay then knocked out Michael Kane in fourth with kings of his own before Green fell in third.
Heads-up play saw McGinlay build a commanding chip lead over Marius Varanavicius before finishing him off with pocket jacks against jack-nine. Varanavicius took home £25,580 for second, while McGinlay secured the title, the cash, and lasting bragging rights among his poker-playing friends.
