The Kav Cup has signed off in the best possible way. 888poker ambassador Ian Simpson won the tenth and last edition of the charity tournament at the Grosvenor UK Poker Tour stop in Blackpool over the weekend, then handed his £4,950 first prize straight back to the cause. His gesture helped push the event past the £100,000 mark it had been chasing since its first running in 2015.
The £60 tournament drew 250 entries and a prize pool of £21,080, with 33 players finishing in the money, according to PokerExklusiv’s report from Blackpool. In total, £20,100.25 was raised for charity this year, comfortably the biggest sum in the event’s history. The previous best was £12,951, set in 2023.
A tournament built around one man
Rick Gilby launched the Kav Cup as a single poker night for the British player Derek “Kav” Kavanagh, who had been diagnosed with terminal cancer. That first night sold out and raised more than £7,000, so Gilby turned it into a yearly fixture. Kavanagh was still fighting his illness when the second edition came round in 2016, and he died in 2017. Since then the event has carried on in his memory, with the registration fee from every buy-in going to charity.
Going into the finale, the running total stood at £86,648.42. This year’s haul took it to £104,748.67, as detailed in PokerNews’ write-up of Simpson’s win, which also lists every champion since Adam Southworth won the inaugural event. Over the ten editions, 2,277 players took part and £194,930 was put up in prize money.
Simpson’s message to the poker world
After the win, Simpson thanked Gilby and the team behind the event and used the moment to make a wider point. “Whilst the £100,000 target was hit and the Kav Cup has come to a close, keep charity on your minds, gang,” he said. “There’s a lot of good people doing hard work that need money to keep it going. The money flying around poker is insane. If you can spare a few quid, think of your favourite charity.”
Blackpool festival carries on
The Kav Cup was only the second event on a busy schedule in the seaside town, which is hosting the penultimate leg of the 2026 GUKPT. The festival schedule includes a £250 Mini Main with a £100,000 guarantee, a PLO High Roller and the £550 GUKPT Cup, while the £1,250 Main Event starts on Thursday 5 November with £250,000 guaranteed and Day 3 scheduled for Sunday 8 November.
It is a packed month for live poker in Britain, with the WSOP Circuit also heading back to Nottingham, as we reported when the Dusk Till Dawn schedule was announced. For the Kav Cup, though, the story is complete: ten editions, one target, and a final champion who chose to give his winnings away.
