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British Players Take Control at 888poker LIVE London as Hector Berry Leads Main Event

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Samantha Doyle 2 hours ago

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Hector Berry leads the 888poker LIVE London Main Event after Day 1A with a chip count of 384,000.
Bryan Taylor wins the £2,000 High Roller for £42,410, adding to his successful 2026.
Hungarian player Richard Broda claims victory in the £340 Mini Main, while John Duthie achieves two final tables.

There is still plenty of poker left at The Vic, but British players have given themselves a good share of the early headlines.

Hector Berry leads the 888poker LIVE London Main Event after its first starting flight, Bryan Taylor has won the £2,000 High Roller and John Duthie has managed a title and another final table during the same week.

The £1,250 Main Event now has two more starting flights to get through on Friday before the survivors meet on Saturday. At least £250,000 will be distributed by the time a champion is found on Sunday.

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Berry Leads a British-Heavy Day 1A Leaderboard

WSOP bracelet winner Hector Berry ended Thursday with 384,000 chips, the largest stack among 18 survivors from 106 Day 1A entries.

Frenchman Julien Sitbon is his nearest challenger on 345,000, but several familiar British circuit names sit immediately behind them.

Chris Balmforth finished third with 311,000 and Simon Burns fifth with 231,500. 888poker ambassador Ian Simpson also survived with 192,500.

Rank	Player	Chips
1	Hector Berry	384,000
2	Julien Sitbon	345,000
3	Chris Balmforth	311,000
4	Longmao Fan	308,500
5	Simon Burns	231,500

Berry's name at the top is not particularly out of place. The Brit won a WSOP bracelet in Las Vegas in 2024 when he took down the inaugural $600 PokerNews Deepstack Championship.

There is still a large amount of registration to come, however. Day 1B starts at noon on Friday and the turbo flight follows at 8 p.m., so the current leaderboard is very much a first draft.

Bryan Taylor Adds Another Win to His 2026

Bryan Taylor's year has been difficult to miss on the British live circuit.

He arrived at 888poker LIVE London leading Grosvenor's National Poker League standings, and Thursday's £2,000 High Roller gave him another result to add to the list.

Taylor beat Andrew Hulme heads-up to win £42,410, with the pair occupying the top two positions in an 80-entry tournament. Martin Kopernicky prevented an all-British top three by taking third, while John Duthie finished fourth and Chris Balmforth sixth.

Place	Player	Prize
1	Bryan Taylor	£42,410
2	Andrew Hulme	£28,320
3	Martin Kopernicky	£18,460
4	John Duthie	£13,000
5	Arthur Conan	£9,580

Taylor had only been fourth in chips going into the final day. Overnight leader Ben Philipps held more than 1 million, while Taylor returned with 528,000.

The Scot ultimately made the final heads-up against Hulme and won the last pot with ace-five against ace-four.

It is also his second major High Roller success at The Vic this year, following his GUKPT High Roller victory at the same venue in April.

John Duthie Gets Two Results From One Week

Taylor was not the only British player having a productive few days. John Duthie had already won the £550 Big Shot for £12,470 before taking fourth in the High Roller for another £13,000.

The Big Shot drew 98 entries and generated a £47,050 prize pool. Duthie defeated Rafael Robles heads-up, with Ernst Revendaes taking third and Michael O'Brien fourth.

That title was followed almost immediately by the High Roller run, where Duthie made another final table against a field containing Taylor, Hulme, Balmforth, Brandon Sheils and 888poker ambassador Lucia Navarro.

The Mini Main Goes to Hungary

The home players have not had everything their own way.

Hungary's Richard Broda won the £340 Mini Main, which attracted 402 entries and produced a £114,560 prize pool. Broda collected £26,220 after beating Guang Yang heads-up.

Richard Broda Wins 888poker Live London £340 Mini Main — Richard Broda Wins the £340 Mini Main

British regulars were scattered throughout the paid positions, including Adam Wilkinson, Christopher Day, Vikram Mehta and Yucel Eminoglu, but none made it into the final three.

Gaverin Warner had earlier won the £500 Crazy 8 Opening Event for £22,430 after a 279-entry field created £119,270 in prizes.