David Haye Avoids Early Knockout in Second GUKPT Outing

January 30th, 2019 | by Jason Reynolds

David Haye and the finest minds from Grosvenor Poker HQ have been back at it this week after the former heavyweight champion entered his second live event.

Retired boxing champ David Haye has made some significant improvements in his second outing on the GUKPT circuit. (Image: Twitter/Joe Beevers)

Taking to the felt for the second time since becoming a Grosvenor Poker ambassador, Haye was hoping to avoid an early knockout. Joining the £225/$294 Mini Main at GUKPT London, the British boxer-turned-poker-player almost most it to the end of Day 1.

Jacks Don’t Ruin Haye

As reported by Grosvenor Poker pro Jeff Kimber, the Haymaker had not only improved but found an extra level.

“So much progress with @mrdavidhaye and his poker journey today. He busted the #GUKPT mini main just before the end of Day 1 but played great. Card dead all day, only premium was JJ in the big blind and managed to get away from opponents QQ preflop. #progress #patience #nexttime,” reads Kimber’s January 29 tweet.

Improvements were necessary following an inglorious exit from GUKPT Blackpool back in December. Despite a crash course in tournament poker from Team Grosvenor, Haye hit the canvass in three hands in his first outing.

Being a professional athlete for more than two decades, Haye has a competitive streak and that’s clearly helped him put in a better performance second time around.

Although he failed to make it into Day 2, the knockout artist did put up a strong fight in a record-breaking tournament.

GUKPT Growing in 2019

Following another successful season in 2018, Grosvenor announced a series of innovations in December.

As well as increasing the number of online satellites, the operator added starting flights for all GUKPT main events on GrosvenorCasinos.com. In tandem with more online options, each GUKPT stop in 2019 has more low stakes tournaments.

With more ways to play, the masses have anted up inside The Poker Room, London. After collecting more than 400 entries, the GUKPT London Mini Main broke its £20,000/$26,000 guarantee by more than £60,000/$78,500.

For Haye, the chance to win a share of a record-breaking prizepool has gone. However, his latest efforts will provide a confidence boost ahead of the GUKPT Goliath in July.

As part of his deal with Grosvenor, the Brit will try to win the largest live event outside of Las Vegas.

At this stage, David beating the Goliath is a longshot. But with the boxer’s training ongoing, improvements are being made and he’ll have a puncher’s chance when the action gets underway.