Sheth falls just short of another Main Event title
Ravi Sheth came within touching distance of a rare back to back title in the £1,250 No Limit Hold’em Main Event at the 2026 Goliath festival, but Dean Hutchison denied him at the final hurdle.
A year earlier, Sheth had won the same event and collected £194,750. This time, he again made a deep run, reached heads up play and looked capable of repeating the achievement. However, Hutchison, a 2023 World Series of Poker Main Event finalist, produced the final comeback and claimed the trophy along with £163,280.
Sheth started the nine handed final table as the clear chip leader. Hutchison returned with a healthy stack, but he was still well behind Sheth and sat closer to the middle of the pack. The early expectation was that the defending champion would be the player everyone had to catch.
Kye Hamilton began the final table as the shortest stack and could not find the double up he needed. He was eliminated in ninth place for £12,800. Min Ji followed in eighth for £16,450, before Hutchison began to build momentum by knocking out Mark Earl.
Earl moved in with king queen, but Hutchison had pocket tens and the pair held. Earl’s seventh place finish brought him £21,750, which was the first five figure live score of his poker career.
Keith Littlewood, a familiar name on the UK poker scene, exited in sixth place. He committed his final 12 big blinds with pocket sevens and was racing against Yuzhou Yin’s ace queen. A queen arrived on the flop, no seven followed on later streets and Littlewood left with £29,850.
Bivol and Mychalkiw record career best results
Ion Bivol also enjoyed a major personal result. Before this tournament, his recorded lifetime earnings stood at $32,293, with his largest previous live cash worth £4,540. His fifth place finish in the Goliath Main Event changed that.
Bivol got his remaining stack in with ace five against Sheth’s king queen. The flop paired Sheth’s queen, and Bivol could not improve. He earned £42,150, giving him a new career high score.
Jonathan Mychalkiw then became another player to post the biggest live result of his career. He had cashed in both this Main Event and the £200 Goliath the previous year, and this run gave him a much larger payday.
Down to nine big blinds, Mychalkiw pushed with king ten and ran into Hutchison’s ace queen. The flop gave Mychalkiw a king, but Hutchison completed a Broadway straight on the river. That pot sent Mychalkiw out in fourth place for £61,000 and left three players in the title race.
At that point, the remaining trio agreed to an ICM based deal, while leaving £41,600 still to play for. Yin locked up £118,820, Hutchison secured £121,677 and Sheth guaranteed himself £134,000 before the title fight continued.
Sheth then removed Yin in third place. Yin three bet shoved for 20 big blinds with queen eight of hearts, only for Sheth to find pocket kings. The kings held, and Sheth moved into heads up play with the dream of another Goliath title still alive.
Hutchison survives huge swings in heads up play
Hutchison started heads up with a 60 big blind to 40 big blind lead, but Sheth quickly changed the balance of the match. The defending champion built an almost five to one chip advantage and appeared to be closing in on another Main Event win.
Hutchison then found a key route back into contention. In one important hand, he backed into the nut flush while Sheth improved to an eight high straight. Hutchison was paid off and suddenly had room to fight again.
The match then produced one of the biggest hands of the tournament. Hutchison min raised with ace jack of diamonds, and Sheth moved all in for 16 big blinds with pocket tens. Hutchison called quickly.
The flop came five four three with two diamonds, giving Hutchison major equity despite not pairing either card. The ace on the turn put him in a strong position to end the tournament. Sheth needed a very specific escape, and the river delivered it. The ten of spades gave him a set and a full double.
A few hands later, the same hand matchup appeared again in reverse. Pocket tens were against ace jack of diamonds, but this time Hutchison held the pair and was the player at risk. Sheth had river outs to win the title, but the final card was an eight, keeping Hutchison alive and extending the duel.
The final hand came shortly after. Hutchison limped with eight five, and Sheth checked with king nine. The flop landed king eight eight, giving Sheth top pair but Hutchison trip eights. Sheth check raised Hutchison’s bet, and Hutchison called.
The turn was a ten. Sheth continued with a bet worth around two thirds of the pot, and Hutchison called again. The river was an offsuit deuce. With 4,900,000 already in the pot and Sheth holding 3,120,000 behind, the defending champion chose maximum pressure and moved all in.
Hutchison called quickly. His trip eights were good, giving him the final pot, the Main Event title and the top prize after the deal. For BCPoker readers following major live poker results, this was one of the most dramatic finishes of the festival.
Final table payouts in the £1,250 Main Event
- Dean Hutchison, £163,280 after deal
- Ravi Sheth, £134,000 after deal
- Yuzhou Yin, £118,820 after deal
- Jonathan Mychalkiw, £61,000
- Ion Bivol, £42,150
- Keith Littlewood, £29,850
- Mark Earl, £21,750
- Min Ji, £16,450
- Kye Hamilton, £12,800
Brandon Sheils wins the £1,500 High Roller
While the Main Event delivered a long heads up battle, Brandon Sheils added another title to his record by winning the £1,500 High Roller at the same festival.
Sheils had recently returned from the 2026 World Series of Poker schedule, where he had also been part of the $25K Fantasy Draft for the first time. His latest result brought him £54,130 and another trophy.
The High Roller drew 211 entries, including re entries, creating a £270,610 prize pool. The top 25 players reached the money. Marc Foggin, Harry Sandford, Richard Kellett and Christopher Yong were among the players who cashed, with Yong finishing on the final table bubble.
The final table was packed with experienced players, but the field thinned steadily. Adam Wilkinson, Nicholas Swann, Mitch Johnson, Longmao Fan and Andreas Olympios all exited before Brandon Harris finished fourth for £20,270.
That left Sheils, Antony Rubin and Tu Nhat Vuong to decide the biggest payouts. The three remaining players agreed a deal. Vuong took £44,980 for third place, Rubin collected £42,230 as runner up, and Sheils finished as champion with £54,130.
High Roller final table payouts:
- Brandon Sheils, £54,130 after deal
- Antony Rubin, £42,230 after deal
- Tu Nhat Vuong, £44,980 after deal
- Brandon Harris, £20,270
- Andreas Olympios, £13,900
- Longmao Fan, £10,130
- Mitch Johnson, £7,950
- Nicholas Swann, £6,740
- Adam Wilkinson, £5,930
Goliath field continues to grow after Day 1c
The £200 Goliath event also continued during the same festival schedule. Day 1c brought in another 1,526 entries, but only 28 players survived the flight and reached Day 2.
Four players finished the flight with seven figure stacks. An anonymous player listed as P.M. ended on top with 1,765,000. Matthew Nolan followed with 1,375,000, while Kieran Collins bagged 1,295,000 and Marc Bryant ended with 1,285,000.
By 11:00 a.m. BST on July 28, the Goliath had already recorded 6,689 entries. That number suggests the 2026 edition is on course to challenge another attendance record.
With Hutchison denying Sheth a historic repeat, Sheils winning the High Roller and the £200 Goliath building a huge field, the festival has already produced several major storylines. The coming days should decide whether the event can set a fresh benchmark for participation.
