Hit Squad hat trick as Mahrenholz wins GUKPT Cardiff

Hit Squad hat trick as Mahrenholz wins GUKPT Cardiff

Monday, 7 September 2009


The field may have been the smallest ever for a GUKPT Main Event - just 120 runners - but the final table was one of the toughest in the tour’s history. The final nine included a WSOP Main Event finalist in Jon Kalmar, an EPT Main Event winner in Andreas Hoivold, a London Open winner in Iwan Jones not to mention two-time Amsterdam Classic finalist Tristan McDonald and full time pros Craig Swotton and Daniel Nutt.

In the end it was The Hit Squad’s Karl Mahrenholz who beat all of them though. The 27-year-old, who was appearing at his third GUKPT final table, came back from a three to one chip deficit against heads up opponent Iwan Jones to win the title.


After an hour of grinding, Mahrenholz worked his way back into the heads up match flopping a straight against Jones’s flush draw. It was all over soon afterwards when Jones’s AQ ran into Mahrenholz’s AK. There was no miracle for the Welshman who was forced to push his final 13,000 chips in holding 10-7 on the very next hand. The Hit Squad member’s A-4 held up giving him the title, £38,700 and a place in the GUKPT Champion of Champions event.


Mahrenholz is the third Hit Squad member to win a GUKPT main event joining Praz Bansi and Sunny Chattha.


The next stop for the GUKPT is the Isle of Thanet, which runs from 12th to 18th October.


The final table positions and payouts were as follows:


1. Karl Mahrenholz £38,700


2. Iwan Jones £25,200


3. Craig Swatton £17,400


4. Andreas Hoivold £10,800


5. Jon Kalmar £7,800


6. Tristan McDonald £6,000


7. Andreas Papantoniou £4,800


8. James Martin £3,200


9. Daniel Nutt £2,400


You can qualify for future GUKPT Events at Blue Square Poker.



Tags: Poker News, Hit, Squad, hat, trick, as, Mahrenholz, wins, GUKPT, Cardiff