British player Daniel James has won the record-breaking 2019 Unibet Open London Main Event for £80,200. He beat fellow Brit Ben Winsor heads-up to take first prize and the prestigious Unibet Open trophy.
The festival took place from May 22-26 at the Poker Room at the iconic Grosvenor Victoria Casino on Edgware Road. It was the tour’s eighth visit to the UK capital and the biggest Unibet Open ever held in the city.
This was James’s first cash on the Unibet Open tour. The 29-year-old history student from Guildford in Surrey now has more than $140,000 live tournament earnings to his name. There was an exciting mix of players on the final table, including Damian Bell, who took down the High Roller title earlier on in the week.
James said: “I ran pure at every point during the tournament. When I got short and needed a hand, it came.” The win for James came in unusual circumstances after he had to return home to North London early from his honeymoon and was reminded of the event by friends. Despite having to cut his holiday short, he has now turned the scenario into a double celebration.
Winsor, 31, from Broadstairs in Kent, took £48,600 for his runner-up finish. Winsor is no stranger to success in London; he secured one of his biggest live cashes to date at The Poker Room for £178,600 back in 2015.
This year’s £900 + £90 Unibet Open London Main Event broke records for the biggest field, biggest first prize and biggest prize pool. There were a total of 456 entries for the flagship £990 buy-in Main Event, creating a total prize pool of £410,400, shared by a total of 63 players.
Among those who cashed were Unibet’s Belgian ambassador Charlotte Van Brabander (23rd, £3,550), Jeff Kimber (28th, £2,850), Steve Watts (34th, £2,550), Unibet esports player Craig “ONSCREEN” Shannon (35th, £2,550), Unibet ambassador Alexandre Reard (40th, £2,250), Twitch streamer Fabien ‘kiocsgo’ Fiey (52nd, £2,000),and Unibet DSO Malta winner Daragh Davey who snagged £1,800 after just making the money in 63rd place.
There were a dozen tournaments on the schedule. In addition to the Main Event, events included the two-day £2,200 High Roller won by Main Event finalist Damian Bell for £41,700, a £220 Turbo Bounty tournament, the £460 + £40 Unibet Deepstack Open Cup and the ever-popular £110 #QUEENRULES Ladies Event won by Frida Anderson for £900, with media influencer Dehlia de Jong third for £400. Unibet Ambassador Alexandre Reard and Mario “RaptorDaRaptor” Joos took down the Tag Team Championship while Peter “Suntouch” Logan emerged victorious in the invitational £10,000 Unibet Battle Royale. Suntouch will be back at the next Unibet Open in Malta in September to defend his Battle Royale title.
Other big names who attended this year’s Unibet Open London included Unibet Ambassadors Ian Simpson, GPI Global Poker Awards podcast winner David Lappin and Espen Uhlen Jorstad. Also competing were UK stalwarts Laurence Houghton, Willie Tann and James Mitchell along with two-time Unibet Open champions Mateusz Moolhuizen, Dan Murariu and Martin Soukup, who won the first Unibet Open of 2019 in Sinaia.
Players from all over the world took part in the Main Event including around 160 qualifiers who won their full prize packages online at Unibet Poker.
Unibet Open London live stream
Unibet London had a live stream running throughout the festival with Unibet Ambassador David Vanderheyden following the action on the feature table along with Henry Kilbane as co-commentator.
As always, Unibet players were treated to plenty of entertainment including a Welcome Drinks party at the brand new BrewDog bar in Paddington and the Unibet Open Players Party at the glamorous Café de Paris.
Unibet Open London history
2019: Daniel James, UK, won £80,200; 456 entries, £410,400 prize pool
2018: Andreas Wiborg, Norway, won £56,807; 349 entries, £314,100 prize pool
2017: Gerret Van Lancker, Belgium, won £71,950; 419 entries, £377,100 prize pool
2016: Dave Shallow, UK, won £62,000;418 entries; £313,500 prize pool
2014: Iaron Lightbourne, UK, won £70,000; 399 entries; £319,200 prize pool
2012: Pratik Ghatge UK, won £85,050; 315 entries; £78,000 prize pool
2010: Paul Valkenburg, NL, won £109,550; 273 entries; £255,000 prize pool
2009: Thanh Doan, Finland, won £187,000; £584,910 prize pool
Nataly Sopacuaperu, Unibet’s Head of Events and Sponsorship, said: “Unibet Open London is always a very popular stop, attracting a wide range of players from all over the world as well as scores of UK locals. Congratulations to our latest champion, Daniel James.
“We’re now looking forward to the next Unibet Open in Malta which is being held at Casino Malta in the buzzing resort of St Julians from September 11-15. This will be followed by our final stop of the year when we’re heading to Paris for the second time.”
For full details, please visit www.unibetopen.com. To view images from the event, please visit the Unibet Open Flickr channel.
Forthcoming Unibet Open events
The next Unibet Open event will be in Malta in September. Unibet Open Malta is being run in conjunction with Casino Malta at the Intercontinental Hotel from September 11-15. The final stop of 2019 will be Unibet Open Paris from November 28 to December 1.
For full details, do visit the Unibet Open website.
About the Unibet Open
The Unibet Open is the hottest live poker tournament circuit in Europe, with ever-growing numbers of players from amateurs to professionals battling for six-figure prize pools in some of the continent’s most glamorous locations. Since 2007, the Unibet Open has been synonymous with a great poker experience – not only running the best tournaments with the Main Event regularly selling out above cap, but also taking advantage of amazing locations and making sure that every Unibet Open player has the time of their life.
