As the Grosvenor UK Poker Tour (GUKPT) 2024 season continued with its fourth stop in the Scotland’s picturesque capital, the Edinburgh leg of the tour brought a maiden victory for Scotland’s own Paul McAulay. McAulay clinched the £1,000 Main Event title, keeping the trophy on home soil as he secured the top prize of £34,810.
In the intense heads-up battle, McAulay faced off against Matthew Davenport, the 2022 GUKPT Player of the Year and an overall formidable opponent currently ranked third on the 2024 leaderboard before the Edinburgh event. McAuley ultimately overcame Davenport to claim his first recorded tournament win, which marks his second biggest earning of his career, after coming in fourth at the WSOP Circuit UK in Dusk Till Dawn in 2019, where he earned £55,000.
2024 GUKPT Edinburgh Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize |
| 1 | Paul McAulay | £34,810 |
| 2 | Matthew Davenport | £26,180 |
| 3 | Andrew Hawksby | £18,480 |
| 4 | David Johnson | £12,320 |
| 5 | Kevin Frame | £8,770 |
| 6 | Greg Thomson | £6,620 |
| 7 | Edward Spencer-Small | £5,390 |
| 8 | Thomas Clack | £4,620 |
| 9 | Calum Gordon | £4,010 |
2024 GUKPT Edinburgh Final Table Recap
The £1,000 GUKPT Edinburgh Main Event saw a thrilling final table unfold with 184 entries, creating a prize pool of £153,980. Nine players entered the final table, with Greg Thomson starting as the chip leader, holding 108 big blinds, and Callum Gordon as the short stack, closely followed by Matthew Davenport.
The action kicked off quickly with Gordon pushing all-in with his 11 big blinds and, unfortunately, running into the pocket kings of David Johnson. Despite his early exit, Gordon had a remarkable run at GUKPT Edinburgh, cashing in 7 events and making an incredible six final tables. Positioned second on the 2024 National Poker League leaderboard, Gordon is hot on the heels of the leader Calogero Morreale, posed to close the gap on the Italian further.
Paul McAuley, who started the day in the middle of the pack, quickly started picking up steam. He moved all-in from the small blind with 10♣5♦ and was called by Thomas Clack holding A♥5♣ in the big blind. The board dramatically ran out 4♦9♦3♠K♦A♦, giving McAuley a flush and eliminating Clack in eighth place.
Edward Spencer-Small was the next to leave the table, pushing with ace-eight only to see Johnson’s call and straight on a board of 2523. There was small hope of a split, but the river was a blank, sending Spencer-Small out in seventh.
Start-of-the-day chip leader Greg Thomson hit the rail in sixth place as he shoved with ace-jack, and McAuley called with seven-six. Scotsman flopped a pair and rivered two pairs, seizing a chip lead. He continued with his elimination spree, taking out Kevin Frame next. Frame shoved on McAuley’s open with ace-seven, but McAuley called with king-jack and hit a jack on the flop for a massive lead with more chips than the remaining three players combined.
Now the short stack, David Johnson found an ace-queen but ran into McAuley’s jack-nine. McAulay came from behind again, knocking out Johnson in fourth place. With the table reduced to three players, one hour was needed for the next one to hit the rail. It was Andrew Hawksby who found himself all-in with king-seven suited against Matthews Davenport’s pocket aces. With no help from the board, Hawksby was eliminated, and the stage was set for a heads-up battle between McAuley and Davenport.
The final duo saw the lead exchange several times in the next hour or so, with both players fairly even until a pivotal moment occurred. Davenport, with a slight chip disadvantage, three-bet all-in with pocket threes, which McAuley snap-called with pocket nines. The board ran out without any drama, and Paul McAuley emerged victorious, celebrating his first-ever live tournament win and taking home the GUKPT Edinburgh Main Event title.
