A little over two months ago, Gaverin Warner helped himself to his first five-figure score. He finished fourth in a £300 Main Event Travel Open at the GUKPT Goliath festival for £29,330. Fast-forward to today, and Warner has helped himself to a £22,430 prize and the title of 888 LIVE London Crazy 8 Opening Event champion.
The £500 buy-in Crazy 8 Opening Event drew in a crowd of 279 entrants who created a £119,270 prize pool. The top 33 finishers saw a return on their investment, with the likes of Philippe Souki and Aqeel Butt among the in-the-money finishers.
£500 Crazy 8 Opening Event Final Table Results
| Rank | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gaverin Warner | £22,430* |
| 2 | Zhenzhe Sun | £15,080* |
| 3 | P.S. | £18,610* |
| 4 | Cush Berlyn | £12,040* |
| 5 | Christopher Day | £5,840 |
| 6 | Ka Wing Pun | £4,290 |
| 7 | Sooraj Sairam | £3,380 |
| 8 | Lee French | £2,790 |
| 9 | Kieran Collins | £2,370 |
*reflects a four-way deal
Kieran Collins‘ time at the final table was limited because he busted in ninth place for £2,370. Lee French joined Collins on the sidelines after his tournament ended in an eighth-place finish worth £2,790.
Seventh place and £3,380 went to Sooraj Sairam before Ka Win Pun came unstuck in sixth for a £4,290 addition to his bankroll.
Christopher Day, who finished fourth in the 888 UKPL Luton Main Event in February, bowed out in fifth place in this event and walked away with £5,840.
Four-Handed Deal Struck
With the dangerous Day defeated, the final four players paused the tournament clock and discussed a deal for the remaining prize pool. Those discussions bore fruit, and the original payouts were altered.
The deal benefited Cush Berlyn the most because he busted in fourth place and scooped £12,040. Berlyn is riding the crest of a wave right now, having reached three other final tables in the past month, including winning the GUKPT Leeds Main Event for £43,490.
An anonymous player going by “P.S.” finished third for £18,610, which left Gaverin Warner heads-up against Zhenzhe Sun. Warner came out on top and claimed a £22,430 prize, leaving Sun to collect a £15,080 consolation prize.
Smith Takes Down the Turbo Dash Side Event
Mark Smith also found himself in the winner’s enclosure after outlasting 63 opponents in the£250 Turbo Dash event. Smith defeated Mohsen Khalifpour heads-up, earning him £6,210 from the £19,000 prize pool.
Upcoming 888 LIVE London Tournaments
888LIVE London continues until October 18 with an action-packed schedule.
The next big event is the £340 Mini Main Event. Day 1a took place on October 11. Including re-entries, it saw 89 players buy in and only 16 advanced to Day 2. Tomas Dailidonis (351,000) is the current chip leader with Matthew Foulkes (250,500), and Simon Lousky (199,000) rounding off the podium places.
The £100,000 guaranteed Mini Main wraps up on October 14, and there are two more flights remaining. Day 1b starts at 3:00 p.m. BST on October 12, with a turbo-structured Day 1c set for 12:00 p.m. BST on October 13, four-and-a-half hours before Day 2 shuffles up and deals.
Matthew Pitt
Senior Editor