Umberan Akhtar Takes the Trophy After a Four-Way Deal at BPS Carnival Main Event

The British Poker Series Carnival had already spent two weeks handing out trophies at Genting Casino Stratford, but there was still one rather important piece of silverware left on the table.

After 671 entries and a four-way deal at the business end of the £300 Main Event, it was British regular Umberan Akhtar who walked away with it. Akhtar was crowned BPS Carnival Main Event champion, collecting £20,112 from a £165,735 prize pool and adding another London title to a live record stretching back two decades.

There wasn't much room for an easy run.

The Main Event featured ten starting flights before the surviving field returned to Genting Casino Stratford for the finale. Players began with 25,000 chips, while the Day 1 structure moved through 12 30-minute levels followed by two 40-minute levels.

By the time the tournament reached the money, 72 players remained with at least £500 locked up.

There were plenty of familiar UK circuit names among them. Anthony Sapiano finished 24th for £1,295, while Euan Lewis and Pawan Thaper also made the money. Elizabeth-Rose Morgan, who won the BPS Ladies Event during the same festival, reached 18th for £1,655.

The final nine eventually came down to Akhtar, Adam Miles, Dillan Patel, M H, Duncan Campbell, Sinead Davenport, Iulian Capriean, Dongze Hao and Justin Moutousamy.

*The top four agreed an ICM deal. The positions above reflect the official BPS payout sheet rather than the subsequent play for the trophy. 

The payout table makes this one look a little strange at first glance.

Once play was four-handed, Akhtar, Miles, Patel and M H agreed an ICM deal. That locked up £21,135 for Miles, £20,112 for Akhtar, £20,018 for Patel and £15,160 for M H. Rather than ending the tournament there, however, play continued to decide who would actually become BPS Carnival champion.

Miles technically collected the largest payout, and the official results therefore place him first on the payout sheet. Akhtar, though, was the player left with the trophy when the remaining poker was done, and the British Poker Series officially names him as its 2026 BPS Carnival Main Event champion.

Akhtar is hardly a new name on the British circuit.

His recorded live results date back to 2006, when he cashed in the Gutshot.com European Series of Poker in London. Since then, his résumé has accumulated results across the GUKPT, partypoker Tour, APAT and other UK events.

One of his biggest previous runs came at the 2023 Goliath GUKPT Main Event, where he finished sixth for £14,400 in the event eventually won by Matt Davenport. He has also previously won BPS silverware, taking down the Carnival PLO 4/5 event in 2024.

The Carnival title has already led into another busy spell. Akhtar was selected to represent Team BPS at the OLA Poker Tour at King's Resort in Rozvadov this month, where he promptly finished runner-up to Sebastian Wise in the opening €125 Morning Turbo after the pair agreed a heads-up deal.