Renee Xie made history in poker: she is the first woman to win a GUKPT Main Event – CodigoPoker

British poker has a new historic chapter and it bears a woman’s name. Renee Xie

Xie survived a field of 396 players in the £560 buy-in tournament and ended up taking home a prize of £35,435, in addition to the title that made her a pioneer within one of the most important circuits in the United Kingdom. “It means a lot to me. I was speechless, I can’t believe it,” Xie said after her victory.

The win also had a special component due to her personal history within the circuit. The player had already been very close to achieving it: in 2017 she finished second in the Leeds stage, a result for which she had earned £33,000, until then the best cash of her career.

Nine years later, Xie finally won her first Main Event title and, in the process, set a record that no one had been able to reach during the first 20 seasons of the GUKPT.

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A final that ended with history in the GUKPT

The final table had Xie among the protagonists from the decisive stage. In the final heads-up she faced Sanjay Ranchhoddas

Ranchhoddas raised to 300,000 with A-3 of hearts and was left with less than a million chips behind. Xie called with 10-8 and the flop showed 10-9-9. Xie checked and her opponent bet 375,000. The player responded by putting Ranchhoddas all-in and received the call. The turn was a 7 and the river a Q. Xie’s hand held up and Ranchhoddas was eliminated in second place.

Before the heads-up, there was also a deal among the last three players, based on the ICM, which left an additional £9,100 for whoever was finally crowned champion.

Thus, Renee Xie not only achieved the biggest prize of her career but also became the first woman champion of a GUKPT Main Event, an achievement that will be recorded in the history of the British circuit.

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