Goliath Monster Stack Ends in an 11-Way Chop
Reports differed on the field size, but the £100 event still smashed its guarantee and gave Hongtao Sun £13,255.
A £100 Monster Stack side event at the Grosvenor Goliath ended in an 11-way chop, an unusually wide live-poker deal. Hongtao Sun was announced as the champion on £13,255, while Ryan Bignell collected £4,300 after the deal.
Reports differed on the field size. PokerStrategy said the event drew 2,276 entries and more than doubled its £100,000 guarantee. PokerNews and Somuchpoker reported 2,726 entries across four flights, which built a £207,100 prize pool.
The chop came with 11 players left, after the average stack had sat at about eight big blinds for more than two hours. Seven players left with five-figure payouts, and Bignell, who was reportedly on two big blinds, turned what looked like a likely £1,000 min-cash into £4,300.
Before the deal, the original first-place prize had been expected to be around £30,000. Sun held the chip lead and still ended up with the title and £13,255.
The size of the agreement was unusual by live-poker standards. PokerNews said deals rarely stretch beyond two or three players, and Somuchpoker called the 11-handed agreement unprecedented in live poker, adding that casinos and tournament directors usually only allow deals once the official final table, typically eight or nine players, has been reached. For comparison, Somuchpoker said an 8-way chop occurred at the Goliath Main Event in 2024.
The Goliath festival has grown into a major live stop over the years. MainEventTravel said this year’s festival runs from July 27 to August 6 at Coventry Building Society Arena, and traced the Main Event’s rise from 1,765 entries in 2011 to 10,584 entries in the tenth-anniversary Goliath X.
