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McGinlay Beats Varanavicius to Claim First GUKPT Glasgow Crown

2 hours ago

Samantha Doyle 2 hours ago

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Bernie McGinlay wins first GUKPT Glasgow Main Event for £38,240.
Event drew 348 entries and a £165,290 prize pool.
Dramatic final table saw McGinlay dominate heads-up against Marius Varanavicius.

Bernie McGinlay Wins GUKPT Glasgow Main Event

Bernie McGinlay has the first GUKPT Glasgow Main Event title to his name after overcoming a 348-entry field at Grosvenor Casino Merchant City. The £560 Main Event generated a £165,290 prize pool, with McGinlay collecting a career-best £38,240 after defeating Marius Varanavicius heads-up.

The victory also gave McGinlay his first major live tournament trophy, capping an inaugural Glasgow stop that had been added to the GUKPT calendar for 2026.

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Premium Hands Shape the Final Table

Pocket aces had an immediate say in proceedings.

Andreas Olympios was the first finalist eliminated after pushing eight big blinds with ace-jack. Dean Lyall woke up with aces, which held to leave Olympios in ninth place.

Richard Kellett's exit was less straightforward. Kellett shoved his last seven big blinds with ace-king and was ahead of Andy Mackenzie's jack-ten suited, but a jack on the turn reversed the order. Kellett, who had already reached two final tables at the recent PartyPoker Tour Glasgow, settled for eighth.

GUKPT Glasgow 2026 Main Event — GUKPT Glasgow 2026: Main Event Final Table

Another big preflop collision followed. Mark Swift moved in with pocket queens, but Paul Green had aces. Neither player improved in a meaningful way, and Swift's tournament ended in seventh.

Lyall then found pocket fives with nine big blinds and moved all-in. Michael Kane called with queen-jack before pairing his jack on the flop, leaving Lyall sixth.

Green continued accumulating chips when he picked up pocket kings against Mackenzie. The latter's 10-big-blind shove with ace-jack ran straight into the kings, which held to reduce the table to four.

McGinlay had stayed out of the elimination column to that point, but that changed against Kane. Kane pushed 10 big blinds from the button holding ace-seven, while McGinlay called with kings. No ace arrived, giving McGinlay the pot and leaving Kane fourth.

Green was now one of McGinlay's main obstacles, but his stack disappeared rapidly. Green first lost a sizeable pot after getting two pair in against McGinlay, only for McGinlay to complete a river draw. His final five big blinds then went in with eight-seven against Varanavicius' ace-six.

Varanavicius held, Green departed in third, and the Main Event moved to heads-up.

Even Stacks Turn Into a Five-to-One Lead

There was no overwhelming favourite when McGinlay and Varanavicius began heads-up, with their stacks described as relatively even.

McGinlay changed that over the course of the duel. By the final hand, he had stretched his advantage beyond five-to-one, forcing Varanavicius to find a route back into contention.

The attempted comeback ended with jack-nine. Varanavicius moved all-in, but McGinlay held pocket jacks and immediately called.

The flop came seven-high, leaving Varanavicius in need of running cards. The turn failed to provide them and locked up the title for McGinlay.

Varanavicius received £25,580 for second place. McGinlay walked away with £38,240 and the trophy from the inaugural Glasgow leg.

Final Table Results

Rank	Player	Prize
1	Bernie McGinlay	£38,240
2	Marius Varanavicius	£25,580
3	Paul Green	£16,850
4	Michael Kane	£11,120
5	Andy Mackenzie	£7,570
6	Dean Lyall	£5,490
7	Mark Swift	£4,250
8	Richard Kellett	£3,440
9	Andreas Olympios	£2,860

The top 44 players were paid from the £165,290 prize pool, with McGinlay taking the largest share and becoming the first GUKPT Glasgow Main Event champion.