Volume Game Paying Off as Douras Leads Taylor and Sheils With 186.03 Points
Less than three months into the 2026 season, Robert Douras has turned consistency into a leaderboard advantage. With 186.03 points across 17 qualifying cashes, he sits atop the National Poker League standings ahead of Bryan Taylor (169.39) and Brandon Sheils (143.51) as of March 13.
The NPL scores players on their 20 best results of the year, which explains the gap between Sheils and the top spot. His GUKPT London Main Event and High Roller double at the turn of the year produced a combined £138,320, but he has only eight qualifying cashes to his name. Douras has racked up 17. Only Taylor and Calogero Morreale have also hit double figures in qualifying results.
Douras' biggest cash of the season thus far came at GUKPT Manchester. He finished 18th in the Main Event for £3,380, and the day before that, ran runner-up in the £200 No-Limit Hold'em Turbo for £2,220. In the Low Roller League, his lead is even more pronounced: 148.77 points to Morreale's 100.02 in second.
Taylor Finding His Feet in Tournaments
Scotland's Bryan Taylor sits second in the overall standings, continuing what has been a deliberate shift from cash games to tournaments. Last October he won the GUKPT Edinburgh Main Event for a career-best $43,920. In 2026, he added £13,910 for fourth in the £340 Mini Main Event at GUKPT London, £6,610 for seventh in the £2,500 High Roller at the same stop, and £5,020 for eighth at the UKPL Luton Main Event final table.
Sheils, for his part, has not been idle since London. He followed his double victory with a runner-up finish in the £1,100 UKPC High Roller for £20,500, though that result falls outside the NPL's qualifying events. GUKPT Manchester did not go his way, but GUKPT Manchester did not go his way, but he remains third in the standings.
Balmforth on Top in the High Roller League
Chris Balmforth leads the High Roller League with 54.18 points despite only logging his first Hendon Mob entry in late August 2025. His 2026 High Roller results include a fourth in the £1,100 PLO High Roller at GUKPT London, eighth in the £2,500 GUKPT Coventry High Roller, third in the £1,100 PLO High Roller at GUKPT Manchester, and third in the £1,500 GUKPT Manchester High Roller. Sheils (36.10) and Yucel Eminoglu (30.95) sit second and third.
A Tight Pack Below the Top Three
In the overall NPL standings, Tai Hoang (134.57), Morreale (134.31), Mariusz Czech (112.33), Eminoglu (111.69), Keith Littlewood (109.77), Wendy Watson (108.62), and Balmforth (105.81) round out the top 10. The clustering is largely a function of everyone still being short of their 20-result threshold. As the qualifying count builds, the standings will begin to stretch.
Points are on offer across G200 and G300 events, the Goliath, the Behemoth, 888poker UKPL stops, and live and online GUKPT festivals throughout the year. The next major stop is GUKPT London, running April 9-19 at The Victoria in central London.
