Wednesday, December 18, 2024

Double Delight For Davenport, Winning the NPL and UKPL Player of the Year

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It has been a memorable 2024 on and off the felt for British grinder Matthew Davenport. The Macclesfield native’s incredible performances at the felt saw him become the National Poker League (NPL) and UK Poker League (UKPL) Player of the Year, earning him a £75,000 sponsorship package from Grosvenor Poker and $10,000 worth of 888poker LIVE packages.

Those who frequented Grosvenor Poker and 888poker UKPL events this year will almost certainly have bumped into Davenport. You may have busted, but Davenport will have been making his way to another final table.

Davenport won the NPL in 2022 and has captured the 2024 edition. Throughout 2024, Davenport’s results in Grosvenor-run live events were nothing short of phenomenal. He racked up 81 cashes, 36 saw him reach the final table, four were runner-up finishes, and five were outright victories. In all, Davenport cashed for around £278,000.

For his efforts, Davenport will become a fully-fledged member of the Team Grosvenor stable. His £75,000 sponsorship package consists of £40,000 worth of live tournament credit, a £15,000 Las Vegas package, and £20,000 worth of credit with MainEventTravel. That’s bad news for Grosvenor regulars because it means Davenport will be a regular feature on the circuit in 2025!

Gordon and Morreale Bag £30,000 Packages

Callum Gordon
Callum Gordon

Callum Gordon finished second in the NPL, earning a £30,000 Diamond Package, including £20,000 of live credit. Gordon cashed in 75 tournaments, navigated to 30 final tables, and banked £160,000.

Calogero Morreale
Calogero Morreale

Third place was claimed by another familiar face, Calogero Morreale. He won the NPL in 2023 and continued his rich vein of form by finishing in the money 58 times and winning six tournaments for a combined £175,000. Morreale also collected a £30,000 Diamond package.

The NPL’s First-Ever Female Top Ten Finisher

Sinead Davenport
Sinead Davenport

A special mention must go to the eighth-place finisher, Sinead Davenport. Known as Sinead Priestley for most of 2024, she and Matthew Davenport married in August and created the United Kingdom’s poker power couple. Sinead’s 45 cashes, 20 final tables, and two wins earned her £116,000. The leaderboard points she collected were enough for her to become the first-ever female player to finish in the NPL top ten.

No female player has ever won a GUKPT Main Event in the tour’s 17-year history. Mrs Priestley will be going all out in 2025 to change that fact, and who would bet against her?

2024 National Poker League Package Winners

Rank Player Points Prize
1 Matthew Davenport 955.42 £75,000 Sponsorship Package
2 Callum Gordon 843.03 £30,000 Diamond Package
3 Calogero Morreale 765.89 £30,000 Diamond Package
4 Robert Douras 684.12 £15,000 Diamond Package
5 Abdulkadir Ahmed 631.97 £15,000 Diamond Package
6 Thomas Clack 597.74 £10,000 Diamond Package
7 John Bousfield 540.16 £10,000 Diamond Package
8 Sinead Davenport 533.04 £10,000 Diamond Package
9 Yucel Eminoglu 514.81 £10,000 Diamond Package
10 Alex Montgomery 490.17 £10,000 Diamond Package
11 Glen Gains 487.23 £10,000 Diamond Package
12 David Johnson 457.95 £10,000 Diamond Package
13 Lin Chen 412.66 £10,000 Diamond Package
14 Christopher Johnson 410.31 £10,000 Diamond Package
15 Sebastien Jung 404.99 £10,000 Diamond Package
16 Ravi Sheth 374.94 £10,000 Diamond Package
17 Zhicheng Miao 360.31 £10,000 Diamond Package
18 Michael Rosaman 348.84 £10,000 Diamond Package
19 Alex Todd 343.90 £10,000 Diamond Package
20 Joshua Wooldridge 305.43 £10,000 Diamond Package

Players who finished in 21-95th place will fight it out in a live playoff tournament for a £5,000 Platinum Package, with those who finished 96-209th locking horns online for a share of £10,000 worth of NPL tournament tickets.

Davenport Comes Out On Top in the 888poker UKPL

UKPL

Davenport shone brightly not only in the GUKPT and other Grosvenor Poker events but also in the 888poker UKPL. During the UKPL, he left a trail of supremely talented individuals in his wake, finishing top of the tree and scooping five 888poker LIVE packages worth a combined $10,000.

As was the case in the NPL, Callum Gordon was the runner-up. His prize is main event entries for an entire year of the UKPL.

Alex Montgomery finished third and helped himself to $1,585 worth of 888poker XL tickets, giving him more chances of a big score in the online poker realm.

888poker UKPL 2024 Leaderboard

Rank Player Points Prize
1 Matthew Davenport 283.70 5x 888poker LIVE packages ($10,000)
2 Callum Gordon 191.39 Yearly Subscription to UKPL Main Events ($4,750)
3 Alex Montgomery 185.22 2x $525, 1x $320, and 1x $215 888poker online tickets
4 Christopher Johnson 173.82 1x $525 and 1x $320 888poker online tickets
5 Calogero Morreale 171.90 1x $525 and 1x $215 888poker online tickets
6 Robert Douras 171.39 5x $109 888poker online tickets
7 Abdulkadir Ahmed 150.57 5x $109 888poker online tickets
8 Sinead Davenport 134.97 4x $109 888poker online tickets
9 Yucel Eminoglu 113.42 20x $20 BLAST tickets
10 Thomas Clack 111.96 10x $20 BLAST tickets

A New NPL Season is Underway

The Behemoth

The 2025 NPL season is underway in Coventry, with points available in the £250,000 guaranteed Behemoth. Points are available in all live and online editions of the GUKPT, 25/50, Mini Fest, UKPL, UK Open, and Goliath.

Some changes have been made to the 2025 NPL. First, only a player’s best 20 results count earn points. Second, the top 18 finisher will be invited to a playoff where £100,000 will be won. Will that stop Davenport from running riot again? Probably not.

author

Senior Editor

Matthew Pitt hails from Leeds, West Yorkshire, in the United Kingdom, and has worked in the poker industry since 2008, and worked for PokerNews since 2010. In September 2010, he became the editor of PokerNews. Matthew stepped away from live reporting duties in 2015, and now concentrates on his role of Senior Editor for the PokerNews.

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