First Tournament, First Gold: APAT Stratford Finds an Unlikely New Champion

While most poker players spend their first tournament working out why the blinds suddenly feel so expensive, Pai-Chien Shih had other plans and a much shorter route.

A cash-game player entering his first tournament, Shih sat down in the 8-Max Championship during APAT’s British Championship of Amateur Poker at Genting Stratford and left with £2,060 and a gold medal.

His result is one of the better stories from a festival that spent four days shifting between Hold’em, Omaha and mixed games. Shiu Man opened the championship schedule with a PLO victory, Christopher Saleh took the 8-Game title and Irina Maluhina won Sunday’s PLO8 event, while the £140 Main Event played through its final day alongside them.

The 2206 edition began and ended with Omaha champions.

Shiu Man won Thursday’s PLO Championship for £2,630, adding another APAT Omaha title after winning a PLO event at Stratford in 2025.

Irina Maluhina then took the PLO8 Hi-Lo Championship on Sunday, beating Danny Strange heads-up for £1,650.

Maluhina had come close to APAT Omaha gold before. At the 2024 UK Championship she finished second in the PLO event behind Alex Isen, collecting £1,145. Two years later, the Stratford PLO8 tournament moved her from silver to gold.