18 Sep 2026
Leeds Hosts Tenth GUKPT Festival with Over Half a Million in Guarantees
The 2026 Grosvenor UK Poker Tour returns to Leeds for its tenth consecutive hosting at Grosvenor Casino Leeds, running from September 23 through October 4 and delivering at least £550,000 in combined prize pool guarantees across the full schedule, according to the published festival details.
Multiple Day 1 flights feed into the flagship Main Event, which carries a £200,000 guarantee and a £1,000 buy-in, while the £150 Warm Up event stands at a £75,000 guarantee; satellites and additional side events round out the program to reach the overall minimum total.
Schedule and Venue Details
Grosvenor Casino Leeds opens its doors for the festival on September 23, 2026, with the series concluding on October 4 after twelve days of continuous play, and this marks the tenth time the venue has welcomed the GUKPT Leeds leg since the tour began rotating through major UK cities.
The central location in Leeds provides players with easy access via major transport links, and the casino floor expands its poker area during the festival to accommodate the expected volume of entrants across all events without overlapping with regular gaming operations.
Flagship Tournaments and Guarantees
The £1,000 Main Event features multiple starting flights spread across the first week, allowing participants to choose convenient entry points before survivors combine for later days, and the £200,000 guarantee ensures a substantial payout structure regardless of final player numbers.
Alongside it, the £150 Warm Up carries its own £75,000 guarantee and serves as an early highlight, drawing entrants who prefer a lower buy-in while still competing for significant returns before the Main Event reaches its later stages.
Both headline events follow standard GUKPT structures with deep starting stacks and extended blind levels, which data from previous editions shows helps maintain balanced play throughout the multi-day formats.
Satellites and Supporting Schedule
Satellites run daily from the opening day onward, offering routes into the Main Event at fractions of the direct buy-in cost, and additional side events fill gaps in the calendar with varying buy-ins and formats to keep tables active across the full twelve-day period.
The combined guarantees across satellites, side events, and the two primary tournaments push the festival total to at least £550,000, a figure that remains fixed even if actual turnout exceeds projections in any individual component.
Observers note that the layered schedule allows players to enter multiple events without schedule conflicts, while those who study similar UK series often discover that consistent satellite availability increases overall participation rates year after year.
Historical Context of the Leeds Stop
This tenth hosting builds on nearly a decade of annual visits to the same venue, during which the GUKPT has established Leeds as a reliable stop on the UK circuit with steady growth in both event count and total guarantees offered.
Records from earlier editions indicate that the festival consistently attracts regional players alongside visitors from farther afield, supported by the central casino facilities that handle the increased footfall without disruption to non-poker guests.
Conclusion
The 2026 GUKPT Leeds leg therefore presents a self-contained twelve-day program anchored by the £200,000 Main Event and £75,000 Warm Up, supported by satellites and side events that together meet or exceed the £550,000 minimum prize pool commitment at Grosvenor Casino Leeds from September 23 to October 4.