It was a day full of surprises, but the final table of the UKIPT Nottingham 6-max now has a final table in place. The field was reduced from 31 to just six in a little more than eight-and-a-half hours, pushing former chip leaders and notables aside to make way for the cast who will be the main feature at Dusk Till Dawn tomorrow afternoon.
Of that six, that name that stands out is David Clifton-Burraway. He returns as chip leader tomorrow, bagging up 2,200,000 tonight and the advantage over the field. His play was thoughtful and effective today, rarely found to be putting a foot wrong and winning a key hand against Chris Brammer to cement his lead.
Chip leader going into tomorrow's final table: David Clifton-Burraway
Clifton-Burraway's lead was at one stage enormous, but was gradually pegged back. Close behind him is Tony Salmon on 1,996,000, part of the fierce line-up of competition to contest the £100,000 first prize tomorrow. Salmon continues to play great poker and seems never to have been far from the lead throughout the event. He used the same formula to find success today.
Tony Salmon
The same goes for the likes of Ben Vinson and Sergio Aido. Both though have shown exceptional talent, as well as the desire that will be required for success tomorrow.
Aido, on course for a UKIPT double following his win in London last season, was unlucky at times today (the Mayhew effect), but even when against the ropes showed patience and confidence to regroup, and regroup he did, closing on 1,342,000 tonight.
Sergio Aido
Vinson brought the day to a close eliminating Richard Lawlor to bag up 1,648,000. A regular at DTD and with close a million dollars in tournament earnings, he has yet to bag his first major title. That could change tomorrow.
Ben Vinson
Of all the players at the final table perhaps Ben Mayhew will look back and wonder how he'd done it. Mayhew is a talented player and was perhaps overly-graciouos at times, but that was only because he survived at least four double ups, often coming from behind, to survive.
Ben Mayhew
Down to 69,000 after a bad period midway through the day, he seemed most keen on getting out of here at one point, but went on a run of double-ups. It wasn't quite so bad, but Mayhew was sheepish after each, except for the last one which doubled him up through David Clifton-Burraway to the tune of 1,451,000.
The sixth player at the final was a former chip leader in the Main Event, Tim Wong, who seemed always to hover around average today, his knack of always being able to recover lost chips providing his salvation.
Tim Hong
But towards the close he had his eyes on a place in the final and his stack paid the price. He'll return as the short stack tomorrow with 447,000.
Here's how they'll line up for the final. You can find details of each on the player profile page.
1. Tim Hong Wong - 447,000
2. Sergio Aido Espina - 1,342,000
3. Ben Vinson - 1,648,000
4. David Clifton-Burraway - 2,200,000
5. Tony Salmon -- 1,996,000
6. Ben Mayhew - 1,451,000
The day started in much the same was it had left off. There was no shortage of eliminations as the returning 31 players got started this afternoon. Brendan Keenan was first to go and was quickly followed by the likes of David Jones, Emmett Mullin and Rupinder Bedi.
One of the early surprises was the departure of John Eames in 22nd place who clashed with Sergio Aido, who would be a central character throughout the day.
The eliminations would continue. Charles Akidiri followed Eames, with Viktor Leonov, Ben Spraggons and Abhishek Khaitan all making their way to the rail.
Ben Spraggons
Perhaps the biggest surprise though came in the elimination of Chris Brammer.
The chip leader coming into the day, Brammer continued to add to his stack for most of the day. If he trailed it was only because others leapfrogged his stack, and he was never slow to regain the advantage. But then came a hand against Clifton-Burraway that could prove the defining hand of the tournament.
All smiles: Chris Brammer
It took about ten minutes to play, most of which to the sound of Clifton-Burraway's phone ringing in his pocket. That he didn't answer was testimony to how still he remained as his river bet of 500,000 was pondered by Brammer. The board read [kd][jh][7h][8s][7d] and after much thought Brammer called, only for Clifton-Burraway to show sevens over kings to take a massive pot.
The immediate effect on Brammer, like most things one assumes, was minor. He winced slightly and nodded, but that was all. But his stack was now just 400,000 strong, and while others chose to nurse such amounts Brammer made his move with [td][9d]. Clifton-Burraway called with pocket fives, made a set on the flop and took what little Brammer had left as he departed in seventh.
Seven handed action
That left seven around one table but the departure of Richard Lawlor brought play to an end,
Lawlor had played well throughout the day, coming alive after a seat change with two tables remaining. Suddenly he started playing more pots, attacking big stacks to transform his own. Then he suffered from the same volatility that 6-max had bestowed upon the others, and suddenly short, he pushed against Ben Vinson's ace-queen with pocket eights. The queen on the turn brought his tournament, and the day, to a close.
Out on the final table bubble: Richard Lawlor
For a full list of the day's finishing positions check out the official pay-out page.
Catch up on all the action from the day at the relevant links. This one will take you that from levels 17 to 20, while this one will do the same for levels 21 to 23.
Until tomorrow then, when the final table begins at the slightly later time of 2pm, it's good night from Nottingham.
Stephen Bartley is a PokerStars Blog reporter.