In what turned out to be a glorious nine-hour affair, the Redtooth Invitational, part of the 2025 Kings of Tallinn, didn’t disappoint. A massive rail of nearly 40 people gathered, with many others watching on the Redtooth Poker live stream, witnessed Michael Ashton secure himself a Las Vegas package valued at €1,800. He will eventually be playing for a share of £25,000 and a chance at becoming the latest UK Pub Poker Champion from May 25-31.
The cards came at the right time for Ashton, who seemingly played a solid game of poker en route to victory with the heads-up affair against the short-stacked Brad Perkin lasting just a single hand.
This was most players’ first trip to Estonia, let alone the luxurious Olympic Park Casino and the Hilton Tallinn Park for the 10th anniversary of the iconic Kings of Tallinn. Many players will be off on a food tour tomorrow, while others expressed their plans to enter events before returning to the United Kingdom over the next few days.
The vibrance of the Redtooth Poker community was infectious, with hosts Pete Thompson and Glenn Brown leading the way with a fantastic combination of class, humor, and camaraderie.
Redtooth Invitational at the 2025 Kings of Tallinn Payouts
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Michael Ashton | United Kingdom | €1,800 Vegas100 Package |
| 2 | Brad Perkin | United Kingdom | €1,000 |
| 3 | Hugh O´Donnell | United Kingdom | €710 |
| 4 | Darren Ledbury | United Kingdom | €480 |
| 5 | Paul Joynson | United Kingdom | €340 |
| 6 | James Thomas | United Kingdom | €260 |
| 7 | Bruce Low | United Kingdom | €210 |
| 8 | Iain Bowers | United Kingdom | €170 |
| 9 | Graham Gorton | United Kingdom | €130 |
| 10 | Andrew Carney | United Kingdom | €102 |
Redtooth Invitational at the 2025 Kings of Tallinn Action
A total of 81 players from various Redtooth Poker pub leagues across the United Kingdom converged in the majestic Estonian capital of Tallinn. Paul Razzell bubbled the event before the action was still hand-for-hand on the final table bubble.
The final table began shortly after Andrew Carney lost a flip with jacks against the ace-queen held by Hugh O’Donnell to exit in 10th place for €102. The eventual champion, Ashton, held the chip lead, but there were not one but two Cinderella stories in the making, with both Darren Ledbury and Paul Joynson coming into the final table with three big blinds each.
Ledbury instantly gained some breathing room with a pair of double-ups before Graham Gorton was the first player at the final table eliminated in ninth place for €130 after James Thomas delivered him a bad beat with ace-seven improving to a straight against ace-jack.
Hugh O’Donnell nearly hit the rail next after he called off on the turn with a flush draw with ace-eight suited and nailed what he was looking for against Iain Bowers, who flopped Broadway with ace-jack. Bowers was left with fumes after the bad beat and was instead the next one out the door in eighth place for €170.
Shortly after, it was Bruce Low’s turn to accept his fate with a bad beat in seventh place for €210. He called off his stack good with two-pair holding jack-ten. Redtooth’s Glenn Brown said, “he has the Dolly Parton,” after Ledbery tabled the nine-five for an open-ended straight draw. The straight completed before Ledbury’s momentum continued to eliminate two more players in the same hand.
Joynson got his short stack in with tens before Thomas called off his stack of slightly less with sevens. Ledbury looked up both players with jacks, and for a change of pace, the jacks held to oust Joynson in fifth place for €340 and Thomas in sixth place for €260.
The Cinderella story was over for Joynson and soon after that was the case for Ledbury as well. Ledbury got it in good with ace-jack but wasn’t able to hold against Perkin’s king-eight to exit in fourth place for €480.
Ashton then took charge once again and had most of the chips in play after his queens held against queen-ten suited to eliminate O’Donnell in third place for €710. The next hand, Perkin jammed his ten-four suited and had to settle for the runner-up prize of €1,000 after not improving against Ashton’s ace-queen.
Congrats to Michael Ashton on winning the Redtooth Vegas100 trip valued at €1,800. Stay tuned at poker.pro as we begin our coverage on Monday in some of the core events of the 2025 Kings of Tallinn.
