Vincent Meli wins the UK & Ireland Poker Tour Main Event in Nottingham

Vincent Mele – Image source: Eloy Cabacas/Rational Intellectual Holdings Ltd.

Vincent Mele has won the PokerStars award Poker Tour UK and Ireland The main event was hosted in Nottingham at Dusk Till Dawn. The French poker player took home his first tournament win as well as nearly $200,000 in prize money. The 43-year-old has lived in London for 15 years and has recently made the switch from cash games to tournaments. This is his biggest result in the tournament since making the switch.

“It was perfect, no one doubled, players were caught one by one. I knew I was probably going to face Patrese. It was perfect to squeeze the little piles,” he continued: “You dream about it.” Always, but when it doesn’t, it takes time to get a result. I still believe, but I feel that it is far away. I didn’t even think about the possibility of winning, not even at the final table. IM so happy.”

The £1,100 buy-in No Limit Hold’em tournament attracted a field of 1,227 runners over five starting flights (including one flight that took place at the London Hippodrome) to build a total prize pool of $1,444,248. The top 185 players took home at least $2,044 in prize money, and Day 2 saw several players return to make the final ten.

Millie was fourth in chips at the start of the final day, and scored two quick goals through chip leader Matthew Bonham during early play. He then overtook the chip lead when his four queens topped a full house for Bonham to give Millie the top chip stack.

Mele finished the job against Bonham when he took him out in the seventh after a while. Millie returned to the action again by eliminating John Farrell in fifth place and Thomas Middleton in fourth place.

Patrice Brandt then singled out Andrew Tuxworth at third to retain the leadoff lead in singles. The numbers were 21 million for Brandt and 15.7 million for Milli to start the final title showdown.

A deal was then struck between the latter two that gave Brandt the top prize money of £168,425, and Millie taking home £157,325. The players left with £2,000 plus the trophy and title to play for at the end.

Play continued for another hour with Millie leading before the final hand ended. That hand saw Brandt go all-in pre-flop with a 33and Millie covered him holding Q6. The final panel was distributed to A1045s, and the River Queen gave Millie the tournament win. Brandt received the lion’s share of the prize money as a nice consolation, and the German poker player now has more than $900,000 in career tournament winnings.

Here’s a look at the payouts Boy Points awarded at the final table:

This was the event UKIPT Season finale for 2023. Stay tuned for details of the 2024 season when they are released on Card player Poker tournaments page.