Stephen Barnes captured the first major title of his career on Sunday, closing out the win in the finale of the 2024 888poker LIVE Manchester £1,100 Main Event at Grosvenor Casino. Barnes topped a 279-entry field to win after a strong performance that saw him near or at the top of the counts during the entire final table that was also streamed by 888poker LIVE.
Barnes earned a career-best £58,000 after a two-way deal with eventual runner-up Zhicheng Miao. The chop gave Barnes £48,000 and Miao £44,000 and left another £10,000 for the champion, which Barnes quickly claimed soon after he won a major collision with Miao early in heads-up action. The big hand left Barnes with roughly 95% of the chips in play, and though Miao doubled up once, he got no closer, and the tourney concluded when Miao got his last chips in with K-7 against Barnes's Q-7, only to see Barnes spike a queen on the turn that sealed the win.
Third place and £30,000 went to Jamie Walden, while David Gee, who led the final table when Sunday's action began, finished fourth for £20,000.
The final table at 888poker LIVE ManchesterOnly two years of experience for Barnes
For the 27-year-old Gateshead resident, it's been a quick climb to major poker success. He began playing poker only two years ago, after discovering the game on a casino trip with a friend. It's been only a little over a year since Barnes began appearing at live events, and he logged his first live win in April. He's so new to live poker that both of the largest poker-results databases have his cashes mixed up with another 'Stephen Barnes', a US player, who's logged occasional cashes in Las Vegas over the last decade.
