Jen Shahade wins Women’s Summer Festival Main Event for £22,200

The Women’s Summer Festival took place in London from August 12–17, 2025, at The Clermont, Charing Cross Hotel.

August 18, 2025

Events

by Jack Stanton

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6 Minute Read

Brought to you thanks to reporting from the event’s Media Coordinator, Dana Immanuel.

Team PokerStars Pro Jen Shahade triumphed in the £400 Women’s Summer Festival Main Event at London’s Hippodrome on Sunday night (August 17), outlasting 193 entries to claim the £22,200 first prize and trophy from a £100,000 prize pool.

Just 22 players from 193 entries returned for the third and final day, and by the time they reached a final table of nine, Shahade had taken over the chip lead. Action began slowly but soon picked up when Valerie Morris (8th), Miri Balen (7th), and start-of-day chipleader Morgane Fevrier (6th) fell in quick succession.

Clare Taylor took the lead five-handed, but Shahade was never too far behind. The two took it turns to knock out Akiko Ota and Tanya Masters in fifth and fourth, respectively. Then Shahade busted Lynne Beaumont in third to take a 2:1 lead into heads-up.

Shahade and her heads-up opponent, Taylor

Despite Taylor’s resilience, Shahade maintained control throughout the duel. It all came to an end when Shahade’s king-four cracked Taylor’s pocket sevens, leaving Taylor with a £14,000 consolation. 

The winning moment when Shahade’s king-four rivered a broadway straight

This is Shahade’s best score on British soil and takes her career winnings up above half a million bucks. Congrats, Jen!

Check out photo galleries from the festival here.

£400 Women’s Summer Festival Main Event results

1. Jennifer Shahade (USA) – £22,200 (Team PokerStars Pro)
2. Claire Taylor (UK) – £14,000
3. Lynne Beaumont (UK) – £10,000
4. Tanya Masters (Ireland) – £7,650 (PokerStars Qualifier)
5. Akiko Ota (Japan) – £5,900
6. Morgane Fevrier (France) – £4,530
7. Miri Balen (Brazil) – £3,770 (PokerStars Qualifier)
8. Valerie Morris (UK) – £3,150 (PokerStars Qualifier)
9. Saara Benlamine (Finland) – £2,600 (PokerStars Qualifier)

CHECK OUT:

Underdog to champion: How a gifted Silver Pass led Daley to High Roller title

PORTER LEADS AFTER MAIN EVENT DAY 1A

Marta Porter got her Main Event off to a flyer, bagging 274,000 and a hefty chip lead on Thursday’s Day 1A. 

Porter is the one to catch

The first of three starting flights drew a total of 64 entries – 46 unique players, plus 18 second bullets. Porter, who finished third in the Main Event at last year’s Women’s Winter Festival, headed a list of 13 survivors who progressed to Day 2 on Saturday. 

Two out of the three Team PokerStars Pros who played today also feature on that list – Jen Shahade and Marle Spragg both made it through Day 1A on 133,00 and 54,500, respectively.

SILVER PASS WINNER DALEY WINS HIGH ROLLER

Daley used a Silver Pass to play

Bernadette Daley emerged victorious in the £1,100 High Roller, beating a 31-strong field to win £11,300 – her best ever live tournament result. 

What makes it even better is that Daley, a lawyer by trade, used a Silver Pass won on PokerStars to enter the event. 

She entered the final table second in chips, but faced a tough line-up. Only five places paid, and unfortunately for Shahade and her fellow Ambassador Marle Spragg, both busted before the money (Spragg fell on the stone bubble, finishing in sixth).

Japan’s Shiina Okamoto (who won the WSOP Ladies Event for the second consecutive year this summer) finished in third, followed by the USA’s Nan Min in second. 

£1,100 High Roller results

1. Bernadette Daley (UK ) – £11,300
2. Nan Min (USA ) – £7,290
3. Shiina Okamoto (Japan) – £4,840
4. Cheryl Catrair (USA) – £3,500
5. Cristina Ilie (Romania) – £2,830

ABOUT THE FESTIVAL

PokerStars has revealed that the highly anticipated Women’s Summer Festival will take place in London from August 12–17, 2025, at The Clermont, Charing Cross Hotel. The event promises exciting guarantees and a fantastic opportunity for female players to compete in a welcoming and supportive atmosphere.

Following the success of the Women’s Winter Festival held at the Hippodrome Casino in November 2024, this summer edition aims to build on that momentum, offering another standout series for women in poker.

Not only is there a £100,000 guarantee on the £400 Main Event, players can also look forward to a £1,100 High Roller and the popular £220 50/50 event, which requires players to enter as a team of two: one female and one male. 

Live satellites for bigger events will also run throughout the festival, but players can also book their seats online through online qualifiers on PokerStars (more info on that below).

In addition to the poker action, players can enjoy a range of exciting off-the-felt activities, including poker bootcamps and tutorials, where they can hone their poker skills. More information on these will be announced ahead of the event.

WOMEN’S SUMMER FESTIVAL – KEY DATES

• £400 Main Event, £100K gtd – August 14-17
• £1,100 High Roller – August 13
• £220 50/50 – August 16

ABOUT THE WOMEN’S SUMMER FESTIVAL

The Women’s Summer Festival is the brainchild of PokerStars Ambassador Kerryjane Craigie, also the Hippodrome Director of Poker. 

It follows the inaugural Women’s Winter Festival, which Craigie set up in response to clear demands for more dedicated events for women. The festival included higher guarantees and high roller events, attracting big-name players including Marle Spragg, Kyna England, Vanessa Kade, and Caitlin Comeskey. 

That event was a great success. A record-breaking 271 players in the Main Event made it the largest women’s poker event held outside of Las Vegas.

The Women’s Festivals are the brainchild of PokerStars Ambassador Kerryjane Craigie

“It’s really encouraging to be able to organise a second women’s festival, and it shows that the demand for events that offer competitive, world-class poker in a dynamic and supportive environment is more popular than ever,” said Craigie. 

“These festivals are all about encouraging and growing women’s participation in poker and giving players the best of both worlds: top-quality events, a welcoming atmosphere, and heaps of fun.”

Lizzie Wilson, Marketing Communications Manager at PokerStars, added: “PokerStars is committed to growing the game and creating more opportunities for women to shine at the tables. We’re delighted to see the Women’s Festival returning to London.

“The first event was so much fun, and this one will be full of women coming back for more poker, along with new faces discovering the excitement of live poker for the first time.”

Maria Lampropulos took down the Winter Festival Main Event for £20,000

QUALIFY ONLINE AT POKERSTARS

Online satellites awarding Main Event Seat & Expenses packages start on the PokerStars client on June 1 and will run for 10 weeks. 

There will be five seats guaranteed every week, and a Mega Satellite on July 20 will guarantee five ‘Seat & Expenses’ packages. 

Players can also win their way via the nightly Power Path with a Silver Power Pass Bundle available that includes a Main Event and High Roller entry, plus expenses.

LIVE QUALIFIERS AT THE FESTIVAL

Players who miss out on the online satellites will still have a chance to qualify at the event itself.

There’s a High Roller satellite running August 12, a Super Satellite to the Main Event on August 13, and a qualifier to the Main Event on August 14. A satellite to the Turbo Bounty will run on August 17. 

FURTHER READING

Find out what happened at the Women’s Winter Festival here.