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Gold Rush at Stratford: APAT Produces a Weekend of Winners

26 Oct 2026

Samantha Doyle 26 Oct 2026

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The 2026 British Championship of Amateur Poker featured Hold'em, Omaha, and mixed-game events in Stratford from October 19–25.
Winners included Shiu Man (PLO), Christopher Saleh (8-Game), Pai-Chien Shih (8-Max), and Irina Maluhina (PLO8).
The championship maintained APAT’s tradition of diverse formats, with medals changing hands throughout the weekend.

A weekend at APAT rarely meant playing the same game for three days straight. This poker season, Stratford stuck to that tradition firmly.

The British Championship of Amateur Poker brought Hold’em, Omaha and mixed games to Genting Casino Stratford from October 19–25, with championship medals changing hands throughout the weekend as the £140 Main Event worked its way towards Sunday’s conclusion.

Among the winners were Shiu Man in the opening PLO Championship, Christopher Saleh in the 8-Game and first-time tournament player Pai-Chien Shih in the 8-Max, before Irina Maluhina added the PLO8 title on Sunday.

You can find the complete recap here.

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APAT Stratford Results at a Glance

Event	Winner	First Prize
PLO Championship	Shiu Man	£2,630
8-Game Championship	Christopher Saleh	£2,500
8-Max NLHE Championship	Pai-Chien Shih	£2,060
PLO8 Hi-Lo Championship	Irina Maluhina	£1,650

The British Amateur Poker Championship Reaches Its Finish

The 2026 centrepiece was the £140 British Amateur Poker Championship, which had three starting flights before bringing the remaining players together for Sunday’s final day.

Players began with 100,000 chips, while each opening flight continued until only 15% of its field remained. Those survivors returned already guaranteed a payout, with the final day switching to longer levels before shortening once play became four-handed.

Main Event Detail	Infromation
Event	British Amateur Poker Championship
Buy-in	£115 + £25
Starting Stack	100,000
Starting Flights	October 22–24
Final Day	October 25
Format	NLHE
Re-entry	1 per starting day
Qualification	Flights played to 15% remaining

Shiu Man Opens the Championship With Another PLO Win

Shiu Man was the first player to collect his championship title in Stratford, winning Thursday’s £140 PLO Championship for £2,630.

This win came as a bit of a rerun to Man, since he had already won an APAT PLO championship at Stratford in 2025 for £2,065.

Saleh Works Through Eight Games for Gold

Christopher Saleh had a taller game order to tackle. The £140 8-Game Championship began on Friday and returned for a seven-handed final table on Saturday, rotating through No-Limit Hold’em, Stud, Omaha Hi-Lo, Razz, PLO, Limit Hold’em, Stud Hi-Lo and 2-7 Triple Draw.

Saleh reached heads-up with Drew Johnson while holding a sizeable chip advantage and eventually converted it into the championship title and £2,500.

Pai-Chien Shih Wins the First Tournament He Plays

The most unusual winner of the 2026 APAT bunch came from the £140 8-Max. Up till this point, Pai-Chien Shih has primarily been a cash-game player and, according to APAT, had never previously entered a poker tournament.

Considering all of that, tournament number one went reasonably well. Shih won the 8-Max title for £2,060 and an APAT gold medal, skipping the usual introductory phase where a new tournament player learns about short stacks, escalating blinds and the particular misery of bubbling.

Maluhina Takes Sunday’s PLO8 Title

Irina Maluhina added another mixed-game title to the Stratford results on Sunday, winning the PLO8 Hi-Lo Championship for £1,650. She reached heads-up against Danny Strange, with the lead moving between them before Maluhina eventually closed the tournament out.

This wasn't her first APAT Omaha podium. Maluhina finished runner-up in the UK Championship PLO event in 2024, earning £1,145, so Sunday’s win moved her one medal colour better two years later.