11:50pm: Day 1C is over
The end of level 10 signals the end of the day. We expect Ben Miller to be the man who leads the field with around 270,000. Also flying high is previous UKIPT winner Joeri Zandvliet with 205,000.
The players are currently baggin' and taggin' and we'll have the full counts up shortly along with a wrap post from the day. For now though, thanks for following...
11:40pm: Snapshot from the felt
Other interesting stacks and their recent activity:
Devilfish - 65,000 - last seen raise folding [Ah][Th] when he was three-bet (he was shown A-K)
"Ace-ten of hearts - best hand I've seen for a while" he added.
Daniel Pastor - 160,000 - last seen knocking out a tablemate with A-Q v T-J to bolster his stack further.
Andrew Seabright - 135,000 - looks like he's settling down to bag up a big stack overnight. -- RS
11:25pm: Deadly aggregate
With many of the sharks having negotiated their way through the field there are some tough tables with threatening stacks out there.
One of the toughest sees Thomas Ward(90,000), Tim Blake(65,000), Karl Mahrenholz(50,000) and big-stacked Ben Miller(160,000) pitting their wits against each other.
It looks as though there is an air of caution at the table - one or two perhaps hoping the table breaks and they get an easier time of it. -- RS
11.15pm: Champions and chip counts
Four UKIPT champions are still in the field today as we approach the final 30 minutes of play. Top dog amongst that quartet is Joeri Zandvliet, the Dutchman has a stack of 160,000. Almost a hundred thousand back is Alan Gold on 64,000, Richard Evans has 40,000 whilst Fintin Gavin is the shortest of the four with just 30,000.
Other selected counts as the day winds down are: Joe Walsh (50,000), Martins Adeniya (58,000), Devilfish (65,000), Paul Foltyn (80,000), Jeff Kimber (41,000) and Matti De Meulder (28,100). -- NW
LEVEL UP: BLINDS 600-1,200 ante 200
11:00pm: Break down!
Well nine tough, outrageously packed levels are in the can.
Just one more remains and we'll be back after 15 minutes to complete what has been a record-breaking day. See you soon. --RS
10:58pm: Leading the way
There are plenty of players with their dreams trampled to dust. In contrast, here are some of the leaders who can still dare to believe:
Jordan Cousins(*) - 205,000
Orlando Anderson - 160,000
Tom Brady - 120,000
Linda Willix - 102,000
* Cousins is having the sort of day dreams are made of. Down to 6,000 just a few levels ago, he has hit a super heater and risen to what is likely to be the chip lead at this stage.
"I work 60 hours a week so don't get to play much poker. This is my first UKIPT and I've been feeling a bit rough, but I'm starting to feel a bit better now!".-- RS
10:56pm: Maguire shown the money
Kyle Maguire's fortunes have just taken a sharp uptick - sending the luckless Michael Graydon to the rail.
It was one of those tournament staples - a standard flip [As][Qd] for Graydon [Ts][Tc] for Maguire.
The hand looked in the balance till the turn - the board peeling off [7c][4h][6c][Td][4d] to give Maguire a winning set.
He rises to 75,000, Graydon drops to zero chips. -- RS
10:55pm: Amy gets Trodden on
Amy Trodd flopped top-top but ran into a set to drop back to 29,000.
She opened to 2,400 from early position and was called by Angelo Milioto (button) and Alan Gold (big blind) en route to a [7d][ks][9c] flop.
Trodd continued for 4,400 and was raised to 9,400 by Milioto. Gold moved out of the way before Trodd shoved. Milioto made an immediate call all in for 34,200.
Trodd: [ac][kc] for top pair, top kicker.
Milioto: [9h][9d] for middle set.
The board ran out [kd][4c] so send the chips Milioto's way. -- MC
10.45pm: Boeree busts
Liv Boeree is not happy and it's not because she's just busted by running kings into aces for her last 30,000. She's still raging about an incorrect fold she made earlier (see 10pm post). "It's the worst fold of my life, I could've had the chip lead." She then looked on the bright side. "At least I've got the worst fold of my career out the way." -- NW
10.35pm: Demetriou shoves
Maria Demtriou is up to 25,000 after getting a three-bet shove through. She opened to 2,100 on the button, Zak Lawson three-bet 5,100, but folded after Demetriou shoved for 19,000. -- NW
10:25pm: It's all about the money, first prize tops £200,000!
This UKIPT Nottingham has officially become the richest stop ever in the four seasons of the tour.
The 1,223 (1,058 unique) players helped to create a £1,223,000 prize pool. The top 183 players will receive a minimum of £1,770 and if you make the final table you'll be guaranteed £20,800. The top prize is a whopping £218,300! For a full breakdown of prizes click here.
The blog caught up with Dusk Till Dawn card room manager Simon Trumper to get his reaction:
"We already held the record for the biggest UKIPT with £1,137,000 in the £700 buy in event which had 1,625 runners. It was always our goal to break that and we've done that!
"It's a massive achievement and I'm over the moon for PokerStars and the UKIPT but also for all our staff. We have 50-60 staff who work here on a weekly basis and we bring a lot of extra regular staff here because we keep hosting these massive events.
"I'm really proud of everyone and I just hope the rest of the weekend is a success." --MC
10.10pm: Stacks of information
Fatima Moreira de Melo - 71,600
Craig McCorkell - 9,000
Chris Gordon - 95,000
Joeri Zandvliet - 95,000
Tim Blake - 60,000
Carlo Citrone - 23,000
Maria Demetriou - 25,000
LEVEL UP: BLINDS 500-1,000-100
10:05pm: Original Sin washed away
Full Tilt Poker Ambassador Sin Melin has ground her stack hard today, but was never really able to gain traction.
Her exit saw her move all-in for thirteen big blinds from early position with [Kd][Qd] - only to pick up a dominating caller with [As][Kc].
Her prospects looked bleak but when the board came [Td][9s][3c], she had picked up some additional outs to spike. The [Ad] on the turn now gave her a flush draw and a gutshot - but a sad [5h] brick on the river couldn't turn the tables round for her.
She finished with a smile however and the effervescent Melin is in the mood to enjoy the rest of her evening now her tournament hopes have been scuppered. -- RS
10pm: Boeree folds best hand, misses chance to grab lead
Team PokerStars Pro Liv Boeree was close to the chip lead but open-folded the best hand in a duel versus Gary Fisher, who claimed the lofty position for himself.
Tarique Imam opened proceedings with a 2,100 raise from the hijack and was called by Fisher in the next seat and Wenbin Chen on the button before Boeree squeezed to 7,500 from the small blind.
Only Fisher called to the [7h][ad][3h] flop where he faced a 9,500 c-bet from Boeree. Call. The turn came as the [2c] and Boeree fired for 9,500 and quickly faced a raise to 50,000. She had around 52,000 back so the raise was for stacks effectively.
"Flop a set?" she asked after thinking for a minute.
"Couldn't deny it," responded Fisher. "You shove you get to see, you fold you get to see."
Eventually Boeree open-folded [ac][3d] for two-pair and was shown [as][kd]! That put Fisher up to 145,000. -- MC
9.55pm: Tom Tom's heading in the right direction
Two of the biggest stacks in the room belong to Thomas Ward and Tom Brady. Ward has 102,000 whilst Brady is sitting pretty with 90,000. -- NW
9.50pm: Slusarek departs
Both Patryk Slusarek and Jason Beazley have made deep runs on the UKIPT this season but only one of them is still in this tournament. That's because Slusarek, who finished seventh at UKIPT4 London, has just been eliminated by Beazley, who was third at UKIPT4 Edinburgh.
All the chips went in on the turn of a [3s][4d][Js][7d] board with Beazley holding [Ks][7s] and Slusarek [Qs][10s] no queen or ten appeared on the river and Slusarek is gone. -- NW
9.45pm: Brutal run out stacks two
Kevin Lee just had what might be the run out of his life, sending Tim Hong Wong and Rick Advani to the rail in a remarkable hand.
The three tangled preflop - Wong and Advani holding [9h][9d] and [Jh][Jc], whilst Lee had two overs in [As][Kd].
Lee looked dead and buried when the board fell [9s][Js][Kc] - both his opponents flopping a set - but the [Kd] and [Ah] on the turn served to deliver him a highly unlikely get-out-of-jail card, leaving a shell-shocked Wong and Advani bemoaning their luck as they joined the growing throng of also rans at the bar.
Meanwhile Lee rises to 55,000... -- RS
9.40pm: Ambler walks tall
Dave Ulliott is holding court at his table - as you might expect - but even he was pressed into silence moments ago with George Achillea contemplating a tough river decision.
The hand opened with Meli Vincent raising to 1,600 from under-the-gun, Ambler putting his first bullet of pressure on by re-raising to 4,100.
Achillea called, as did Vincent.
The board fell [8c][8s][2s] - Ambler firing again for 5,700 - called by Achillea, Vincent folded.
The turn was the [7s] and Ambler chose to pull the trigger once more - 8,300 this time. Achillea considered this bet a little more carefully, getting a count of his opponent's stack - before again calling.
Come the [2d] river, Ambler unloaded the clip - betting 21,000 - enough to set Achillea all-in.
Devilfish had been in the midst of a story at this point but Achillea asked if he could give him a quiet minute to think. Devilfish happily obliged.
"Tens any good?" he asked hopefully, though Ambler was in no mood to volunteer any free information.
Eventually Achillea decided he would fold and live to fight another day - 16,500 his remaining stack. Ambler meanwhile stacked up his newly-won chips with a smile - up to 55,000. -- RS
9.35pm: The numbers are in
Drum roll please...
A total of 629 players entered the third and final starting flight taking the total number of entrants across all three days to 1,223. That means that the total prize pool is £1,223,000 which is a UKIPT record! We'll bring you the payout structure as soon as it's made available. What a fantastic effort by everyone at PokerStars and Dusk Till Dawn. -- NW
9:30pm: Make a wish, stars are falling
The big names continue to fall as Day 1C rounds the final bend of the day.
Sam Grafton, Daniel Charlton, Dave Nicholson and Roberto Romanello are no longer with chips. Grafton said, "I got policed off the table!"
Nicholson is primarily a cash game player and will hope some big games get going again over the weekend so he can get his teeth into. -- MC
9:25pm: De Meulder missed a trick as Rivera doubled
Matthias De Meulder said he would've knocked out Benjamin Garcia Rivera but Farooq Lone successfully isolated to help him double up.
The Team PokerStars Pro raised to 1,800 from mid position before Rivera three-bet all in for 5,900. Lone was in the small blind and raised to 12,000, enough to force De Meulder to fold.
Rivera: [6h][6d]
Lone: [ad][qs]
The board ran [3s][3h][9s][jd][7c] to safely see the sixes hold. -- MC
9.15pm: Hawes takes the chip lead
Richard Hawes is playing 100,000 which makes him the chip leader. He won a big pot against Fergal Nealon to climb to that total. -- NW
9.05pm: Up down and all around
As the PokerStars Blog has been told many times poker is a zero sum game, for everyone who loses 20,000 chips, someone gains them. With that in mind the chip counts of the names and notables are spread further than an internet rumour.
Most though are in the 'plus' column. UKIPT4 Galway winner Alan Gold is up to 56,000, that's one thousand less than Dean Lyall who's had a decent stack all day. At the other end of the spectrum Team PokerStars Pro Matti De Meulder has dipped to 18,000. In between these two extremes you'll find: Joeri Zandvliet (45,000), Karl Mahrenholz (32,000), Roberto Romanello (27,500), Surinder Sunar (28,000), Deborah Worley-Roberts (40,000) and Fergal Nealon (44,000). -- NW
Blinds up: 400/800, 100 ante
8:45pm: Break down and give me 15
The players are on a 15-minute break.
8:40pm: Geilich and Ellwood bust
Jack Ellwood and Ludovic Geilich have also hit the rail. The detail for Ellwood's exit are unknown but Geilich filled the blog in.
There was a raise to 1,200 and a call from the small blind before Geilich squeezed all in for 11,000 (13 big blinds) with ace-six. The opener called with pocket jacks and held. -- MC
8:25pm: Bar bound
Tournament poker can be a rough ride. Here are the recent players to have fallen overboard - their chances drowning in the murky, frothy waters of variance.
369 Manuel Bardon
370 Robin Sjogren Knutas
371 Adam Forsyth
372 Doig Rudling
373 Paul Delaney
374 Michael Corrigan
375 Robert Malvasi
376 Alan Brown
377 Edward Overall
378 Dave Reed
379 Andreas Constantinou
380 Tom Clark
381 Sandiep Khosa
382 Zimnan Ziyard
383 Nick Smith
384 Arjanit Kondaj
385 Robertas Vaitkevicius
386 Anonymous
387 John Burberry
388 Lisa Mccabe
389 Chris Kearney
390 Colburn Tomlin
391 Richard Nelson
392 Humberto Guerra
393 Adam Lulat
394 Ole Andre Sletteng
395 Thomas High
396 Stephen Ralph
397 Benjamin Jenkins
398 Gianni Romano
399 Pablo Martin-romo Ruiz -- RS
8:35pm: Pastor with chips
Fintan Gavin's table was already an interesting one and the verbal quotient has just risen with the arrival of the newly-grizzled Sam Grafton sporting his wildman beard.
An interesting hand played out that saw Jack Salter raise from early position to 1375, called by Gavin and Pastor in position.
The flop fell [Kc][Qh][5h] - Salter checking before Gavin led for 2,000. Pastor called and everyone else passed.
The turn was a potentially-flush-completing [9h]. Unperturbed Gavin now bet out 4,000. Pastor called.
Come the [Jh] (the fourth heart, note) on the river, Gavin moved all-in for around 8,000. Pastor called instantly.
"Oh dear," said Gavin, ready to get his things. "One pair."
Pastor proudly showed down [Qs][Tc] for the straight.
"Oh wait, i have a straight also!" said Gavin. "Sorry about that!" - He tabled [9s][Tc] and the pair split the pot.
Gavin looked bemused at the call following his three bullet volley. "I must have the worst reputation in Europe. How can he call there!"
Pastor remained impassive - his stack up to 45,000; Gavin remains a little short with 15,000. -- RS
8:30pm: Prass-ing his luck
The on-air live crew who may have been faced with repeatedly trying to pronounce Prassanna Suryanarayanan's surname should he have run deep in the tournament are currently breathing a sigh of relief.
He has succumbed - taking a shot at a double through by grappling unsuccessfully with Costas Sarris preflop.
His [Ts][Js] was behind but live versus Sarris' [Ah][Kh] but neither man made a pair over the [2s][2c][3d][4h][4s] board and Sarris took the pot and the scalp by virtue of his superior kicker.
Good game sir. -- RS
8:25pm: Hall and flipaments
Tom Hall waited patiently to get in the tournament and he just managed it as registration closed. Was it worth it? Probably not, as he lasted less than half a level. Arron Fletcher kindly filled the blog in on the hand.
Mathis Rose opened and was called in one spot before Fletcher squeezed to 3,500. Hall then four-bet jammed for around 20,000 and only Rose called with pocket queens. Hall opened ace-king and failed to hit.
Other Brits to hit the rail recently include Ben Jenkins, Ben Davies, Nick Hicks, Barny Boatman and Ben Jackson. -- MC
8.15pm: A few counts
Team PokerStars Pro Liv Boeree is on the table nearest the rail and there's been a few fans eagerly watching for most of the day. It's certainly not put her off her stride though as she's up to 40,000. Louise Duffy was running a 'Big 2' card school in the poker tent at Dusk Till Dawn last night, she's in action today but has dipped a little below starting stack as she's got 19,000 and Tom Brady, who final tabled the Irish Open is 2013, is going along swimmingly with 45,000. -- NW
8.10pm: Martins Adeniya - superman comes to the supermarket
Full Tilt Poker Ambassador Martins Adeniya is the most helpful supermarket staff member ever. I'll explain.
You know when you're in a supermarket and you ask where you can find the beef jerky* and a member of staff merely points you in the general direction before getting back to their work. The poker equivalent of that is when you ask a player how much they're playing and they say 'about 40' or 'somewhere around 50'.
When the PokerStars Blog asked Martins Adeniya how much he was playing he didn't respond like that though, he dutifully cut down his stack and told us that he was playing exactly 61,250. That's the supermarket equivalent of taking you to the aisle, pointing out the product and any other similar products. Mr Adeniya we salute you. - NW
*or whatever it is you can't find.
8pm: Various chip counts
Tim Davie - 5,300
Jakub Szczotka - 82,000
Edward Overall - 73,000
Nick Hicks - 20,400
Carlo Citrone - 59,000
Dave Ulliott - 69,000
Chris Dowling - 26,000
Paul Foltyn - 38,000
Roberto Romanello - 17,000
Sin Melin - 13,000
Jeff Kimber - 33,000
Fergal Nealon - 40,000
Tom Hall - 20,000
Patrice Brandt - 62,000
Tomasz Kozub - 61,000
Peter Mok - 59,000
Steve Mulcair - 58,000
Costas Sarris - 48,000
Krzysztof Wolanski - 48,000
Fatima Moreira de Melo - 47,000
Christopher Kadji - 44,000
David Milby - 44,000
Nathan Davies - 43,000
George Baldock - 40,000
Zak Lawson - 39,000
--MC/RS
Blinds up: 300/600 ante 75
7.50pm: Seyadi doubles
Ferhad Seyadi threw his final 2,050 chips into the middle of the table with the manner of a man who thought that even if he doubled up it would matter for little as he'd still be in danger. He rested back into the bosom of his seat to wait for his fate.
One by one they folded until action reached Jack Shutt and he announced call. With a flick of the wrist Seyadi showed pocket tens, he would only have to dodge the one over card as Shutt held [As][9c]. And dodge it he did as the board ran [4h][2h][Kd][Jc][3c] to double him up. -- NW
7:40pm: Williams runs into a house
It's okay, he was hurt a bit but Kevin Williams is still intact and alive with 18,500 chips.
He was battling heads-up with Jonathan Slater and they had made it to the turn with the board reading [8d][td][8c][4c]. Slater checked from under the gun and called when Williams bet 4,500 from the next seat. The board completed with the [as] and Williams thought long and hard about betting again but checked behind.
Slater opened [tc][th] for a flopped full house. Williams nodded and smiled as he slid his cards to the dealer. -- MC
7.35pm: Gudger gone
Down to around 9,000 in chips Eleanor Gudger, who finished third in the UKIPT High Roller on Wednesday, committed her chips with [9d][9h] and found a willing caller in the shape of Dave Maudlin. The Teesider had pocket queens and they stayed ahead on a [4s][Kh][7s][Jd][Kd] board and she took her leave from the tournament arena. -- NW
7:28pm: Stroke of luck
Tim Blake is one of the more genial players you'll meet on the circuit. Always quick with a one liner or joke, he brings a levity to the felt few can match.
Blake has recovered from a recent stroke and this might have knocked the stuffing out of many a player, but the ever-optimstic Blake bounced back with his trademark black humour.
"I'm having a good time - feeling really well. After my stroke I think a little bit of my brain got damaged. Now I'm actually starting to understand how all these young kids are playing!"
At his dinner break, he's reached a healthy 32,000, primarily as a result of having run aces into jacks for a double-through. -- RS
7:18pm: Fraser frowns on exit
EPT Madrid runner-up Fraser McIntyre came back from dinner with just 4,075 and didn't waste much time in getting them in the middle. He found a premium had too with ace-king suited.
He was called by an opponent also holding ace-king suited who went on to make a flush. McIntyre was actually all smiles on defeat and will probably head to the bar or jump in a big cash game. -- MC
7.15pm: Ward once again ahead of the pack
The average stack in the tournament is 26,000 so that makes Thomas Ward's stack of 46,000 almost double the average. And it's a position Ward is used to on the UKIPT as his 10 Main Event cashes mean he has the most main event cashes in the history of the tour. Here's his roll of honour:
UKIPT1 Coventry - 34th
UKIPT2 Edinburgh - 4th
UKIPT3 Galway - 54th
UKIPT3 Newcastle - 57th
UKIPT3 Edinburgh - 29th
UKIPT3 London - 2nd
UKIPT4 Marbella - 62nd
UKIPT4 Galway - 46th
UKIPT4 Isle of Man - 31st
UKIPT4 Edinburgh - 45th
His biggest cash, and near miss to a UKIPT title, came in London in Season 3 when he lost heads-up to Sergio Aido for the title. His runner-up finish was good for £116,845 and he told the PokerStars Blog in Edinburgh in January that it had enabled him to travel more and play more live events.
He'll have to keep on his toes though as his nearest rivals have eight main event cashes and great UKIPT pedigree. They're none other that UKIPT3 leader board winner Tom Hall, UKIPT3 Online Qualifier of the Year Dara O'Kearney and former king of the UKIPT cashes Rupinder Bedi.
Will Ward hang onto his lead? Only time will tell. -- NW
7:10pm: Salter kicks Gavin
Jack Salter's kicker helped him win a pot off Fintan Gavin who was dominating him pre flop.
Salter raised from the cut-off and called after Gavin three-bet him from the next seat. The flop fell [2s][qd][3d] and both players checked to the [jh] turn where Salter check-called a 4,400 bet. The board completed with the [6s] and both players went back to checking.
Gavin opened [ac][kh] but lost out to Salter's [ks][qs]. Gavin dropped to 16,000 and Salter rose to 25,000. -- MC
7pm: Slater burns Wicks
Jonathan Slater is up to the dizzy heights of 48,000 after winning a chunky pot against Daniel Wicks. The former bet 10,000 on the river of a [5c][Jh][Kh][3h][As] board, Wicks called but sent his cards into the much when Slater showed [Jd][Jc] for a flopped set. -- NW
6:55pm: Leading the fray
The 50% of players currently tucking into the buffet have been analysed, assessed, sorted and typed up.
Here are the players leading the charge along with some of the more familiar names:
Watch out second tranch of soon-to-be-dinnering players. You'll be next to fall under our numerical microscope. -- RS
Linda Willix 63,000
Dean Lyall 58,000
Martins Adeniya 57,000
Kenneth Coote 51,250
Tom Brandy 51,000
Toni Pettersson 48,000
William Elliot 47,000
Orlando Anderson 46,000
Thomas Ward 46,000
Ismail Yusuf 45,500
Jack Shutt 45,000
Brian Warren 45,000
Paul McTaggart 40,000
Neil Kilgour 37,000
Jamie Roberts 37,000
Barny Boatman 34,000
Deborah Worley-Roberts 34,000
Fintan Gavin 24,000
Andrew Seden 20,500
Jeff Kimber 20,075
Ben Jenkins 19,900
Jack Salter 19,700
Zimnan Ziyard 11,200
Fraser McIntyre 4,075
6:50pm: Grafton: He's loud, proud and not an alternate anymore
It's taken until after dinner for Sam Grafton to get in the Main Event, but he's in for level 6 with those who've just finished their dinner break.
He's been drawn at the same table as Fintan Gavin and EPT Grand Final runner-up Jack Salter. He's out of position to both and says the challenge will be, "Fun." --MC
6:45pm: Tag
We're not saying the entire field is tight-aggressive, not in the slightest. But the half of the field that have just played level six are now on dinner break, whilst the other half of the field have returned to their seats to play level six, -- NW
6:40pm: Fintan's a fan
Fintan Gavin has played more UKIPT's than most, and even won one, so when the man speaks you should listen.
This is a amazing tournament. Well done @UKIPT @ @rob_yong best ever #UKIPT
— Fintan Gavin (@fintangavin) May 9, 20146:30pm: Exits
There's no easy way to say this but the dream is over for: Ross Jarvis, Charles Chattha, Ellie Biessek, Lawrence Gosney, Gordon Huntly, Jason Herbert and Diego Gomez. -- NW
6:25pm: Kamel gets there
"Always get there, Tam!" said David McConachie to Tamer Kamel after he paid the EPT9 London finalist to help him up to 21,000.
Was it a case of him let him get there, though?
Kamel raised from under the gun and was called by McConachie in the next seat and three other players. The flop fanned [2h][9d][8h] and McConachie bet 1,650. Michael Cummings (button) and Kamel called to the [5d] river.
Kamel led for 3,500 and only McConachie called after tanking. Kamel opened [6c][7c] for a straight, beating out McConachie's set with [2c][2s]. -- MC
6:15pm: Tournament titbits
- Chris Moneymaker is now in the tournament and he's been sat to the direct left of Richard Evans. The affable Welshman, who won UKIPT3 Dublin and €75,500 after qualifying for just €15 and then won the UKIPT Champion of Champions to get entry to every stop this Season lent over to the PokerStars Blog and whispered. "I'm sitting next to Chris Moneymaker!" Evans has him outchipped as he's up to 27,500.
- Chris Dowling is up to 27,000 and Craig McCorkell has 25,000.
- Sin Melin just moved all-in for 3,950 over the top of a 1,000 chip open. Her opponent folded an ace and she said: "You had an ace what's that about?" before adding. "I had an ace too." -- NW
6:05pm: Gavin as good as he gets
You can't keep a good man down and Gavin has continued his recent recovery, picking up several pots in quick succession to rise to over 21,000.
Firstly he peeled a raise from Niall Murray after Craig Goddard had called on the button from the big blind.
The flop came [Ts][7c][6s] - Murray led out 825 and Goddard and Gavin both called.
The [7s] on the turn saw all three check before the final [Td] was checked to Goddard(wielding an impressive 57,000) who bet out 2,250 in position.
Gavin called, turning up [As][7h] for a full house, which was good versus Goddard's bluff with [Ad][Kh].
Next up Gavin called a raise from Nick Lynn in position - leading out the [Ks][6s][5h] board for 1,150 which Lynn check-called.
The turned [6h] saw both players check before Lynn now fired out 2,000 on the draw-completing [9s] river. Gavin made a quick call and Lynn mucked quickly.
"I'd show your cards against him!" chided Salter. (16,000) "Against the other players that's ok, but not against this guy," he said, eliciting a chuckle from Gavin as he swept up the pot to reach 26,000. -- RS
6pm: Huntly squeezed to death
Gordon Huntly was up to a high of 38,000 but he busted after a "funny old day."
William Elliot raised from under the gun before Leon Narinsakchai three-bet from the button. Huntly was in the small blind and shoved for 9,025. Elliot called but Narinsakchai folded.
Huntly: [qs][td]
Elliot: [as][ad]
It was a case of bad timing for Huntly and he failed to get out of trouble on the [ks][5d][8d][8c][qc] board.
Barny Boatman's stack was shrinking earlier bur he's got himself up to 34,0000. Partly due to hitting quads, apparently. -- MC
5:50pm: Death by Devilfish
"I'm bashing them up kid," said Dave 'Devilfish' Ulliott to the PokerStars Blog as a mass of unstacked chips sat in front of him. When he was done stacking them it looked like he had around 54,000. -- NW
Blinds up: 200/400, 50 ante
5:40pm: Nealon and Lyall up with the leaders
The first half of the day has been kind to Fergal Nealon and Dean Lyall. They've got 55,000 and 58,000 respectively and are up there with the chip leaders. Other selected counts include:
Barny Boatman - 41,000
James Greenwood - 16,000
Joe Grech - 18,500
Gordon Huntly - 8,800
Eleanor Gudger - 21,400
Tim Wong - 30,000
Fraser McIntyre - 4,400
5.30pm: Moneymaker bemused by inclement conditions
"Does it ever not rain in England?" asked Chris Moneymaker - a question many of the natives ask themselves from time to time.
"When the sun comes out, it's like everyone's saying 'What's this thing?!'"
He'll be pleased to know the grey clouds outside have cleared temporarily, leaving Nottingham bathed in golden sunshine - just in time for him to play out the tournament inside. -- RS
5.25pm: Gavin a laugh
Genial Irishman Fintan Gavin has seen his 20,000 stack reduced to 6,000 over the first four levels. It was looking like an early bath for Gavin, but he's managed to recoup some of those losses, refusing to fold pocket fours on an 8-8-x board versus an aggressive opponent and being rewarded for his obstinacy with his opponent showing down a pair-less ace-ten.
Gavin survived through turn and river and is back to 13,000 and back in with a shot. -- RS
5:15pm: Don't mess with Adebayo!
"I've been waiting for this!" shouted Adebayo Odetoyinbo after he raked in double up chips.
He was heads up with Brendan Keenan to a [jc][6c][kc] flop. Keenan had 1,625 out in front of him and Odetoyinbo raised to 6,000. Keenan took a while before shoving and Odetoyinbo snap called all in for 17,000.
Odetoyinbo: [kd][jh] for top two pair.
Keenan: [ks][td] for top pair.
The board ran out [ts][3h]. Keenan was left with 33,400. -- MC
5pm: Joe Walsh - talkSPORT freeroll challenge winner
Back in April PokerStars and talkSPORT ran a series of freerolls to win a seat to UKIPT4 Nottingham2. 252 players qualified for the final, there was one seat up for grabs and Joe Walsh, 34 from Cork was the last player standing. "I qualified to the final at my second attempt I think," he told the PokerStars Blog. "The final took about three hours, I can't remember any specific pot where I got lucky but I don't think I was ever in the top ten until the final table, but then I just gradually crept up."
And it was a rare foray to the felt for Walsh as he's busy studying Computer Science. "I used to play a fair amount of small stakes poker but I don't get to play much poker these days as I'm in college and busy with exams. I've actually got an exam on the day of the final table, but I wasn't expecting to win!"
And he may well have to skip that exam as he's off to a flying start. "This is my first UKIPT, I'm playing really tight and I'm up to 30,000." Good luck Joe.-- NW
4:55pm: Fatima is back and she wants a WIN!!
PokerStars SportStar Fatima Moreira de Melo chats to UKIPT Host Nick Wealthall about her ambitions in Nottingham.
4:50pm: The Moneymaker is back
UKIPT4 Nottingham is booming and the man partly responsible for starting the poker boom back in 2003 - Chris Moneymaker - is back for more.
He's still some way down the alternate list but should get in before dinner break. --MC
Key UKIPT Nottingham Facts:
- 20,000 starting stack
- Blinds starting at 25/50 for 400 big blinds
- One hour levels and we'll play ten today.
- This is the final Day 1 then on Saturday survivors will merge for Days 2, 3 and 4 until a winner is crowned (cue winner's photo, trophy swinging around, celebrations in the bar).
- The £330 UKIPT Nottingham Cup starts at 21.00 local time, it carries a £100,000 guarantee and there are two start days.
- Full UKIPT schedule here
PokerStars Blog reporting team at PokerStars UKIPT Nottingham2: Marc Convey, Rod Stirzaker and Nick Wright. Photos by Danny Maxwell.