From Sixty-Five Down to One
With 25 players bagging at the end of Day 1c, The Hendon Mob Championship Nottingham was set to play down to a winner. Day 2 began with 65 players, and action quickly picked up. After all was said and done, Qing Zheng made a Herculean comeback to best Danny Ball in heads-up play to take home their first THMC trophy. They claimed the lion’s share of the prize pool, earning £20,500 and a $1,500 Cape Town Million package, while the total prize pool came to £105,600.
2025 Hendon Mob Championship Nottingham Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Qing Zheng | England | £20,500 + Cape Town Million Package |
| 2 | Danny Ball | England | £13,250 |
| 3 |  Alessandro Collaro | Italy | £9,250 |
| 4 | Mihaela Grasu | England | £6,150 |
| 5 | Artur Craciun | England | £4,500 |
| 6 | Daniel Turner | England | £3,500 |
| 7 |  Timothy Wright | Wales | £2,750 |
| 8 | Allan Graham | England | £2,250 |
Flushes appeared to be hot early in the day, as multiple players found them within the first hour. Jack Allen was one such player, as back-to-back check-throughs allowed him to river the nut flush. One of Day 1b’s standouts, Andreas Constantinou, eliminated a fellow player after turning a set of jacks. At the first break of the day, Qing Zheng and Gareth Gardner led the field with 3,900,000 and 3,050,000 chips, respectively.
Still Banter a Plenty into Day 2
Nikita Voroncovs found himself in a battle with Constantinou while on a short stack.
“My friend, you want to play this hand friendly?” Voroncovs asked.
“Play however you like,” came the reply from Constantinou after an all-diamonds flop.
Voroncovs kept it friendly—until the turn paired the board. He led out and received a quick fold, revealing the flopped nut flush with a straight flush redraw. Constantinou still held a healthy stack of 1,800,000, while fellow Day 1b chip leader Cristian Enache had recently hit the rail.
Rivers continued to play a significant role, helping players improve their hands. First, Danny Ball saw a second king hit the river—delightful news as he held pocket kings to take the pot. Michal Szczeblewski found a magic eight on the river to stave off elimination and soar to 1,100,000. Shortly after, Matthew Wootton was drawing nearly dead after his opponent flopped a set of sevens. Wootton burned his one time as the river brought one of the two remaining kings to give him the bigger set.
Zheng Dominates with Three Tables Left
With just 27 players remaining at the next break, Mihaela Grasu stood as the last woman in the field. A full seat redraw took place, and action resumed shortly after. With 4,600,000 chips in play, Zheng remained the chip leader. His dominance continued as a queen on the river completed his Broadway straight, while also improving his opponent’s hand to top two pair. Zheng now sat with 5,000,000 chips, maintaining his lead.
Players continued to fall quickly, bringing about the two-table redraw. By the next break, Zheng had increased his stack to 7,500,000, trailed by Thomas Garment with 4,500,000.
From Bad to Worse for Voroncovs
Just before the break, Voroncovs fired 200,000 on the river. Garment moved all in, putting the shorter-stacked Voroncovs at risk. He used all of his time banks before folding, left with just 600,000 chips. He begged Garment to show if it was a bluff, but the calm and collected Garment offered no response, simply mucking his cards.
Not long after, Zheng sent Voroncovs to the rail, winning a flip with big slick against pocket nines. Zheng now held just shy of 10,000,000 chips, eclipsing nearly all the remaining players by a wide margin.
Luck wasn’t on Garment’s side, either, as he ran into Daniel Turner’s turned two pair. Garment overbet the river, forcing the shorter-stacked Turner all in. Turner called with two pair, leaving Garment on crumbs. Turner scooped those as well, eliminating Garment in 12th place.
Even on his birthday, Stephen Docherty ran out of luck. He and Douglas Hogan both moved all in and were called off by Alessandro Collaro. Hogan was a massive favorite with kings against Collaro’s jacks and Docherty’s sixes. However, a jack in the window flipped the odds. The board failed to improve either at-risk player, bringing the field down to an eight-handed final table. Collaro took the chip lead with 11,245,000, followed by Turner (10,015,000) and Zheng (8,162,000).
Danny Ball Controls the Final Tables Action
Entering the final table as the short stack, Danny Ball fought his way off the ropes. First, he called off from the big blind, facing an at-risk all-in. His suited king-jack made two pair to double him up to 5,200,000. Shortly after, Ball became the aggressor from the small blind, forcing Allan Graham all in. Coincidentally, they held the same hand—king-jack of clubs. Ball flopped a flush draw and turned a king, leaving Graham needing one of three remaining aces. The deal was sealed as the 5♥ completed the board, bringing Ball to 10,600,000.
Queens are Hot
The last woman standing, Grasu, picked up pocket queens and used them to full effect. Timothy Wright moved all in for 2,000,000, and Grasu re-shoved for 3,000,000. Her queens were a solid favorite and even more so after the flop brought another queen. The turn left Wright drawing dead, sending him out in seventh place (£2,750).
Artur Craciun continued the trend of the day, spiking a queen on the river to stay alive. He and Collaro both sat with 6,400,000 chips. Unfortunately, he hit the rail shortly after, running ace-king suited into Grasu’s pocket aces. Shortly after, Ball won the biggest pot of the night after Zheng triple-barreled into his top pair with a middling kicker. Zheng was left crippled with just 520,000, while Ball surged to 25,000,000.
David vs Goliath; Zheng vs Ball
Grasu With three players short-stacked, Ball seemed poised to end the tournament quickly. Grasu managed to find the river to double up to 4,300,000. However, she hit the rail soon after in fourth place after the short-stacked Zheng doubled up multiple times. He bested her in a cooler where he flopped top pair with ace-nine. Grasu flopped a flush draw and turned a gutshot, but couldn’t improve by the river. Zheng climbed to second in chips with 10,500,000.
Collaro doubled through Zheng in a blind-versus-blind confrontation, calling off and finding a favorable flop to flip the odds. He held, narrowing the gap. Collaro continued to find doubles, calling off with ace-ten against ace-jack and once again managing to flip the odds—this time against Ball—by flopping a ten and holding. He now sat as the chip leader with 17,000,000 to Ball’s 16,700,000.
Unfortunately, his run came to an end after he moved all in for 3,625,000. Both opponents called and checked it down. Collaro had plenty of equity with a middle pair and a flush draw but couldn’t improve, hitting the rail in third place.
Heads-up play ended shortly after as Zheng called off Ball’s A♠7♦ all-in for 11,325,000 preflop. His A♥9♠ had Ball dominated. A third heart on the turn only made it worse for Ball, who failed to improve and was sent home in second place (£13,250).
Congratulations to Qing Zheng for taking down the 2025 edition of The Hendon Mob Championship Nottingham. Stay tuned for all your live coverage and poker news needs. You can check all the results from the THMC festival here.
