Bryan Taylor is already so far clear at the top of Grosvenor Casinos’ National Poker League (NPL) that he has the title locked up. Taylor won his first GUKPT Main Event title in Edinburgh last year and so far he has won 4 NPL titles in 2026, his most recent coming last month in the NLH High Roller at 888 Live in London, where he took the £42,410 first prize.
The Scotsman now has a lead of over 100 points over his nearest rival, with just the GUKPT Grand Final, the Behemoth, the UKPL Coventry and a handful of G200s and G300s left before the season draws to a close at the end of the year.
Mariusz Czech is the player in second place, with Brandon Shiels a further 19 points further back. Yucel ‘Mad Turk’ Eminoglu lies in 4th with last year’s runner-up Keith Littlewood in 5th.
The National League pays a top prize of £40,000 in live event credits to the winner, with five and four figure prizes paid out down to at least 9th place. Live credit prizes are also paid out to the top finishing players in the Low and High Roller leagues.
NPL Top 10 After GUKPT Blackpool
| Position | Name | Points | Points Behind Leader |
| 1 | Bryan Taylor | 464.62 | 0 |
| 2 | Mariusz Czech | 364.47 | 100.15 |
| 3 | Brandon Sheils | 345.36 | 119.26 |
| 4 | Yucel Eminoglu | 340.35 | 124.27 |
| 5 | Keith Littlewood | 334.32 | 130.3 |
| 6 | Robert Douras | 323.85 | 140.77 |
| 7 | Aqeel Butt | 322.22 | 142.4 |
| 8 | Calogero Morreale | 304.89 | 159.73 |
| 9 | Gaoyang Yang | 297.07 | 167.55 |
| 10 | Tai Hoang | 277.43 | 187.19 |
Taylor also lies in second place in the NPL’s High Roller and Low Roller divisions. He had also been in pole position in the High Roller League, but was overtaken by Brandon Shiels, thanks to a 2nd place finish in the PLO High Roller at last week’s GUKPT Blackpool festival. Shiels now has a slender lead of just over 5.5 pts on Taylor, with Chris Balmforth a further 25.5 points further back. While the overall league is no longer competitive, due to Taylor’s vast lead, the High Roller League could go down to the wire.
NPL High Roller League Top 5 After GUKPT Blackpool
| Position | Name | Points | Points Behind Leader |
| 1 | Brandon Sheils | 159.25 | 0 |
| 2 | Bryan Taylor | 153.67 | 5.58 |
| 3 | Chris Balmforth | 128.17 | 31.08 |
| 4 | Peter Stewart | 81.78 | 77.47 |
| 5 | Adria Diazdalmau | 57.61 | 101.64 |
Additionally Taylor is also in second place in the NPL Low Roller League, but is over 55 points behind Robert Douras. While a double for Taylor is still a distinct possibility, he will have a harder time closing the gap in the Low Roller League. A clean sweep of all three may still be possible, but it will require a strong finish to have any chance of becoming the ultimate NPL champion.
NPL Low Roller League Top 9 After GUKPT Blackpool
| Position | Name | Points | Points Behind Leader |
| 1 | Robert Douras | 402.47 | 0 |
| 2 | Bryan Taylor | 347.38 | 55.09 |
| 3 | Calogero Morreale | 292.72 | 109.75 |
| 4 | Aqeel Butt | 248.31 | 154.16 |
| 5 | Mariusz Czech | 226.97 | 175.5 |
| 6 | Philip Tate | 217.06 | 185.41 |
| 7 | Keith Littlewood | 212.38 | 190.09 |
| 8 | John Bousfield | 205.39 | 197.08 |
| 9 | Gaoyang Yang | 190.96 | 211.51 |
The full list of remaining NPL events in 2026 can be found at Grosvenor Poker.
The Grosvenor Casinos National Poker League hit the headlines earlier this year for the wrong reason, when last year’s winner Thomas Clack was denied his full prize due to an online ban for RTA use, which occurred during the final online leg of the league, when Clack was already mathematically assured of the title. Some, but not all of his prize money was withheld.