Elliot Marais managed to seal the victory in the 2017 Grosvenor UK Poker Tour Goliath tournament, which took place from 27th July to 6th August, boosting his bankroll with £85,760 ($111,665) in cash prize after outplaying a packed field of 6,835.
Elliot Marais claimed the first prize in the annual Grosvenor UK Poker Tour Goliath, which took place at the Grosvenor Casino in the Ricoh Arena in Coventry. The event attracted a record-breaking number of players, who decided to give it a shot. With a packed field of 6,835 poker hopefuls, the event turned out to be the largest live poker tournament in the history of Europe. The event featured 7 starting days. Due to the great interest in the event, the prize pool reached the life-changing amount of $890,000.
But what seems to be the most enticing part of the event was the fact that the players could compete for a bigger slice of the pie by paying a buy-in as low as £120 ($156). The winner of the event, and more particularly Elliot Marais showed the world how to turn £120 into £85,760 only in a few days. Prior to his solid winning in the Goliath, the champion had only $1,111 in live tournament winnings. In a post-victory interview, Marais explained that his main priority was to have fun.
Marais entered the final table against 8 more poker heavyweights, who demonstrated perfect strategy and skills. By the time the final table was set, the eventual winner was well ahead of his opponents, even though not the chip-leader. The game took a fast pace as it was needed only an hour for the first 3 players to leave the final table.
By the end of the second hour, there were only 4 players left, who fiercely kept their seats and Marais was among them. The start of the four-handed game saw Marais still anchored in 3rd place, but he did not lose his confidence even for a second. Probably the reason for that was his aim to enjoy the game itself, and, of course, any prize money would be an extra achievement for the player.
However, it was Elliot Marais and Tai Hong, who entered the two-handed battle. In fact, Hong enjoyed a great support from his fans, as he turned out to be the favorite at the final table. This was not a setback for Marais, who went on a hot streak and eventually melted his opponent’s stack of chips and secured the crown. Hong needed to console with the runner-up position and a prize of $80,806. Marais proved one more time that experience matters, but it is not the most important in a game of poker.
