First-Ever Standalone THMC a Huge Success at Dusk Till Dawn
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For decades, The Hendon Mob has been the place to track poker tournament results. If you’ve played a live event, chances are your name—and your winnings—are somewhere in its legendary database. But did you know that THM has also been dipping its toe into the live poker scene?
After years of partnering with other tours, The Hendon Mob Championship (THMC) took a brave step this month, hosting its first-ever standalone festival at the iconic Dusk Till Dawn Casino. The series featured nine tournaments, including seven THMC trophy events, and every single guaranteed event smashed its target—including the ￡280 Main Event, which soared past its ￡100,000 guarantee.
Needless to say, THMC’s solo debut was a massive success.
A Surprise Face Among the Cashers
Across three Day 1 flights, the ￡280 THMC Main Event saw 440 entries pile into the action, building a hefty ￡105,600 prize pool. With 65 players making the money, one name stood out—especially for fans of Real Madrid and Everton FC.
Former soccer player Royston Drenthe found himself among the ￡500 min-cashers, adding a poker payday to his resume. Once a rising star in the beautiful game, the Dutchman spent five years on Real Madrid’s books, including a loan spell at Everton, before hanging up his boots in 2023 after a stint with Kozakken Boys.
This was Drenthe’s first recorded poker cash since 2023 and the 24th of his career. His live tournament journey began in 2014, and he’s racked up $38,130 in earnings since, with his biggest payday coming at the 2016 WSOP, a $6,202 score in the $1,500 NLH Bounty event.
THMC Main Event Victory Pushes Zheng Above $100K
While Drenthe may have captured some of the spotlight with his face on the scene, Qing Zheng was firmly the centre of attention after the last card was dealt.
Zheng was down to his last big blind when four players remained, but some help from the deck in all-in encounters saw him book his heads-up showdown with Danny Ball after Virginia Grasu and Alessandro Collaro bowed out in fourth and third place respectively.
Ball had close to a 2:1 chip advantage as he looked to seize the ￡20,500 and $1,500 Cape Town Million Package winner's prize. Zheng flipped the script, take the lead and sealed the deal after a seven-minute heads-up match after his superior ace remained best when the chips piled into the middle.
THMC Main Event Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Qing Zheng | England | ￡20,500 |
| 2 | Danny Ball | England | ￡13,250 |
| 3 | Alessandro Collaro | Italy | ￡9,250 |
| 4 | Virginia Grasu | England | ￡6,150 |
| 5 | Artur Craciun | England | ￡4,500 |
| 6 | Daniel Turner | England | ￡3,500 |
| 7 | Tim Wright | Wales | ￡2,750 |
| 8 | Allan Graham | England | ￡2,250 |
THM's Boothby Among Festival Winners
While all eyes were on the THMC Main Event, a series of side events delivered plenty of impressive victories. From deepstack battles to bounty brawls, several players etched their names into the THMC history books.
Luis Pereira kicked things off with a win in the ￡60 THMC Deepstack, outlasting a 155-entry field to take home ￡1,500. In the ￡60 THMC 8-Max, Ian Morris emerged victorious, turning his ￡60 buy-in into ￡1,631 after navigating through 132 runners. Meanwhile, Mark Hodgson triumphed in the ￡90 THMC Freezeout, pocketing ￡1,537 from the ￡5,472 prize pool.
One of the standout performances came from Granville Mitchell, who dominated the ￡60 THMC Monster Stack, securing a ￡1,724 payday. Neil Strong also found success in the ￡120 THMC Bounty, where he scooped ￡1,088 for his efforts.
But the final spotlight belongs to Roland Boothby, the Head of Partnerships at GPI/The Hendon Mob, who fittingly closed out the festival with a victory in the ￡60 THMC Closer. Boothby battled through a 129-entry field, banking ￡1,590 in the process.
THMC Nottingham Full Results
| Event | Entries | Prize Pool | Winner | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ￡60 THMC Deepstack ￡5K GTD | 155 | ￡6,600 | Luis Pereira | ￡1,500 |
| ￡60 THMC 8-Max ￡5K GTD | 132 | ￡6,336 | Ian Morris | ￡1,631 |
| ￡280 THMC Main Event ￡100K GTD | 440 | ￡105,600 | Qing Zheng | ￡20,500+$1,500 Cape Town Million Package |
| ￡560 Luxon Pay High Roller ￡25K GTD | 106 | ￡50,880 | John Duggan | ￡16,535+$4,000 MPP Package |
| ￡90 THMC Freezeout ￡5K GTD | 76 | ￡5,472 | Mark Hodgson | ￡1,537 |
| ￡60 THMC Monster Stack | 128 | ￡6,144 | Granville Mitchell | ￡1,724 |
| ￡120 THMC Bounty | 113 | ￡5,198 | Neil Strong | ￡1,088 |
| ￡280 Pot-Limit Omaha | 46 | ￡11,040 | Anonymous | ￡3,225 |
| ￡60 THMC Closer | 129 | ￡6,192 | Roland Boothby | ￡1,590 |
