4:18pm: Break time
A tense 15 minutes away from the baize for many a short stack. You'll find level 15 updates here. -- MC
4:15pm: Cody and Lappin double up
Jake Cody and David Lappin both managed to get a needed double up with 186 players still remaining.
Cody moved all in for 15,100 with [ad][qc] and was called by his recent nemesis Paul Jenkinson who held [as][ks] in the big blind. The board ran a Cody friendly [qh][3c][ah][td][3s].
Lappin told the blog he's up to 16,000 after his pocket kings were good for a double versus an opponent's queen-five. Lappin had a sweat on [q][4][6] flop but the turn and river bricked. -- MC
4:10pm: Zandvliet prospers amidst falling stars
The proximity of the bubble puts a lot of ICM pressure on players. Can they afford to go to showdown when folding might mean a sure pay cheque?
Joeri Zandvliet (415,000) has been applying maximum pressure to his table, raising frequently and attacking three-bets with abandon. He's chipping up to great effect.
In contrast here are some other notable names down at the bottom end of the chip spectrum with that cruel money-less cut-off point approaching.
This is how they are getting on:
Cody - 20,000 - very short and options dwindling, Cody is looking for the right spot to either pick up the blinds or double-through.
It's looking like a tough grind for the worldwide superstar as he hunts down this UKIPT cash.
Thomas Middleton - 38,500. Moments ago Middleton shoved and although Royston Drenthe in the big blind looked tempted to get involved ("Am i going to make my first bad call of the tournament?" - he asked himself), he did fold showing K-7.)
Middleton showed him pocket jacks with a toothy grin!
Martins Adeniya - 62,000. Martins has a little more breathing room than these but is still only one decent-sized pot away from elimination. We caught him sidling over to Jake Cody for a chat.
Noticing his small stack, he asked," They got you to huh? What was your high point?"
Cody told him he'd been at 180,000. "Yeh i was at 250,000 before," Adeniya revealed. "Depressing isn't it?" -- RS
3:55pm: Cody doubles down, Foltyn doubles up
Two of Britain's finest, Jake Cody and Paul Foltyn, have experienced very different fortunes as the tournament approached the bubble.
Cody dropped to less than ten big blinds after he made the wrong call versus Paul Jenkinson. Cody called a check-raise on a [6h][td][3c] flop before Jenkinson shoved for 72,000 (into 95k) on the [kd] turn. Cody tanked before calling with [kh][js], behind to his opponent's [as][ad]. Jenkinson survived the [6d] river.
While Cody was tanking, Paul Foltyn was shoving his last 38,200 in with [ad][9d]. Michael Cummings woke up with [ac][ks] in the next seat and made the call. No worry for Foltyn though as he made quads on the [qs][tc][9c][9h][9s] board! -- MC
3.45pm: Double elimination avoided
Winston Cotgreave is out in 187th place after shoving with [Qs][Js] for 23,000 and running into two dominating hands. He got called first by Jack Allen who held [As][Js] and then Alan Kenny re-shoved for 40,000 with [Ad][Qc] and Allen called the extra.
The [9c][10c][6d][2h][6s] board kept Kenny in front and sent Cotgreave to the rail. -- NW
3.35pm: Angels and Demons
Some players are profiting from the early stages, whilst others are faltering - following the many divergent paths tournament participation can lead down.
At the moment the winners include:
Tim Blake, who has had a successful morning - up to 135,000.
Jude Ainsworth - up to 475,000 - most likely the chip lead.
Daniel Pastor with 330,000 - steadily accumulating chips like an unstoppable force and
Ben Mayhew - still flying high with 320,000.
In contrast, faring worse are the recently eliminated Amy Trodd, WIllie Tann, Alex Lindop and Richard Milner.
More drama is guaranteed as the bubble approaches... --RS
3:25pm: Twin engine failure for the De Meulders
The Muelder brothers have both been cut from the roster within moments of each other.
The family tragedy began with Christophe running afoul of Jude Ainsworth's pocket kings with his [Ad][Kc] for his 80,000 stack. Harsh cooler.
Ainsworth grows into an ever more intimidating chip monster with well over 400,000.
Matthias' tale was less unfortunate but equally depressing from a family Meulder point of view.
With just 25,000, he went for the blinds with [Kh][6h] - only for Andrew Chen to pick him off the [As][Tc] and survive the showdown.
Chen rises to 260,000 and the De Meulders can take some solace in the fact they have some fraternal sympathy awaiting them at the bar. --RS
3.30pm: Hugging or exploiting the bubble?
Here are some counts of the great and the good with just 10 players to go before the money bursts. Some are in a very healthy position to put pressure on the bubble whilst others are jut trying to survive:
Devilfish - 175,000
Richard Kellett - 80,000
Jake Cody - 180,000
Neil Raine - 330,000
Tom Middleton - 45,000
Fatima Moreira de Melo - 160,000
Paul Foltyn - 45,000
Martins Adeniya - 65,000
David Lappin - 40,000
Ben Vinson - 320,000
3:20pm: Chen beating up on Young
Andrew Chen is playing this UKIPT and has gone under the radar somewhat this week. Chen may not be very well known to the UK poker playing public but he's a force to be reckoned with on the global stage and is 12th on Canada's all-time money list with more than $3.3million in winnings.
He tangled, and won, two pots off Andrew Young to move up to 195,000.
In one pot Chen bet out for 22,500 on the river of a [9c][6d][7h][9h][8c] board and was heroed by Young with [6s][2s]. Chen opened [qh][th] for a straight and took the pot.
Shortly after the two had made another river heads up. Chen's 10,000 bet was called by Young on the turn before both checked the river with the board reading [2h][2d][qd][3d][4c]. Chen's aces beat out Young's nines. -- MC
LEVEL UP: BLINDS 1,500/3,000, ante 400
3.15pm: This one goes up to 11?
Thomas Ward holds the record for the most number of UKIPT main event cashes. The UKIPT3 London runner-up is hoping to make it 11 here in Nottingham. He's clinging on though as when we last looked he had just 26,000 to his name. -- NW
3.10pm: Bubble fast approaching
Players continue to perish at a frightening pace and we're down to just 205 players. With 183 players getting paid the bubble is firmly in sight. However, sadly for these players its they who've caused that to be the case as: David Barnes, Louis Salter, Steve Warburton, Shelley Bedi, Tom Langley and Michael Wellend are all out. -- NW
3.08pm: Chen the Leon tamer
Andrew Chen has a string of superb results on his CV. Accomplished, experienced and unfazed - he must be a nightmare to share the felt with.
Moments ago, we saw James Glossop raise to 5,500 from the button - called by Chen in the small blind before big blind Leon Narinsakchai squeezed to 16,000 from the big blind.
Glossop laid it down but Chen proved harder to shift and made the call.
The flop came [Qs][Ts][5s] and Chen made a quick check. Narinsakchai got a count of Chen's stack before dropping three 5,000 chips over the line.
Chen's turn to get a count, he considered thoughtfully and quietly for a few moments before announcing "all-in".
Narinsakchai couldn't stand the pressure and lost interest in the pot, folding and leaving Chen to stack the chips and move to 160,000. Narinsakchai down to 90,000 -- RS
3:05pm: Bailey on the rise
Winner of the award for the longest name with the fewest vowels - Krzysztof Blaszczyk - has fallen victim to Ed Bailey - his ace-ten failing to overcome Bailey's pocket sevens.
Bailey is smiling and up to 90,000 but there's some work to be done if he is to challenge the leading pack. -- RS
3pm: Ainsworth back in charge
Jude Ainsworth finished Day 1B as the chip leader and is now back on top of the chip charts after winning a big pot against Christophe De Meulder.
Ainsworth opened to 4,800 from under-the-gun, De Meulder called on the button and the two of them took a [4c][7h][5d] flop. First to act, Ainsworth bet 5,600, De Meulder made it 14,500 to go and Ainsworth smooth called. The [Kh] hit the turn, Ainsworth decided to lead for 25,000 and this time De Meulder was the one to smooth call.
The [9s] fell on the river, Ainsworth checked to De Meulder who slid out a bet of 42,200. Ainsworth then counted on the call from his stack and placed it in his hand. He then leant forward, stared at the board and worked his way back through the hand. Eventually he plonked the chips over the line, "Nice hand," said De Meulder who opened [Ah][10h] for ace high, Ainsworth showed [9h][8h] for a pair of nines and said: "I'm glad the heart didn't come."
Ainsworth is up to roughly 400,000 whilst De Meulder slips to 90,000. -- NW
2:55pm: Spyrou spins down and out
Andros Spyrou came in to Day 2 with a massive 211,900 but all have disappeared.
He was down to around 24,000 when he shoved from the small blind. Jose Benedi, and his big stack, called from the big blind.
Spyrou: [8h][8s]
Benedi: [kd][9s]
The board ran [ac][kh][7h][jd][4s]. Spyrou was on his way after he saw a king appear on the flop. Benedi has gone from less than 100k up to 340,000 in less than three levels! -- MC
2:40pm: Zandvliet making waves again
Joeri Zandvliet has made four UKIPT final tables and has won two titles. He's amassed another big stack here in Nottingham and spoke to the blog in the break:
"My day's going pretty well so far, I got up from 200k to 280 so that's very good. It's been a little bit swingy but good.
"My table started off very good but Jake Cody and a couple of other better players moved in when a couple of others moved out, so that made it tougher. I just got moved to another table and Jake is sat in the exact same seat, two to my left. There's also a couple of other good players whom I know pretty well so we'll see how it goes.
"Anyway, 280k is a very good stack with the blinds going to 1,200/2,400 so I'm very happy!" -- MC
2.35pm: Bubbling under
The bubble could burst sooner than expected as we're down to 233 players, of which 183 make the money. Recent exits include: Stu Barnett, Daniel Laming, Philippe Souki, Fintan Gavin, Joey Lovelady and Dermot Blain. -- NW
2:30pm: Mayhew the Hart-breaker
Ben Mayhew has had a highly productive morning, picking up a huge pot in what he described as a "gift."
The hand in question saw Mayhew raise with [Qd][2d] on the button, called by (we think) David Hart in the big blind.
The flop fell [Ad][9s][8d], Hart led for 7,500 and Mayhew called.
The turn was the [Ts] - Hart firing out 18,000 this time - again called by Mayhew.
Finally the [6d] arrived on the river and Hart shoved for 90,000. Snap-call from Mayhew with the second nut flush - Hart could only table an aggresssively-played pair of sevens for the straight.
Mayhew rises to 310,000 which could well be good for the chip lead at this stage and he's in the mood to go deep.
"It's work now, I'm in serious mode," he told us. -- RS
2:25pm: A chat with Chris Moneymaker
The Tennessee native might not be a fan of the UK weather, but he sure likes their poker tournaments. The 2003 WSOP Champion discusses UKIPT and SCOOP in this chat with Nick Wealthall.
2:15pm: Peter rides the chip Roche
Stuart Barnett and Peter Roche just went to war prior to the break - Roche emerging victorious from the showdown.
Deservedly so, really, as he had the superior hand in pocket queens - Barnett's pocket tens failing to spike over the [6h][5h][2c][As][Kh] board.
When they counted the stacks, Barnett's 83,000 stack had Roche outchipped by a gargantuan 400 chips, leaving Roche flying high with 168,000 and Barnett needing a miraculous spin-up to get back into contention. -- RS
LEVEL UP: BLINDS 1,200/2,400, ante 300
2pm: Break time
The players are on their first 15-minute break of the day.
2pm: That was Swift for Mok
Lewis Swift's stack has moved passed the 300k-mark after he flopped a straight flush versus an opponent who flopped a set.
Peter Mok was the unlucky player who flopped a set of nines on [8h][9h][qh] flop. Swift had [th][jh] and took the scalp and a 230,000 pot. -- MC
1:55pm: Taxi for Devilfish
Dave 'Devilfish' Ulliott is regaling his table with tales of taxi journeys gone wrong and it may soon be time for Devilfish to get a taxi from Nottingham as he's down to 63,000. Some at the table are enjoying his monologues more than others. Jordan Cousins, playing his first UKIPT, is to his immediate right and laughing along with Ulliott. Whereas Mitch Johnson, a seasoned campaigner, gave the blog a smirk and a look to suggest he'd heard this one before. Johnson has 160,000, Cousins 260,000 and Dan Williams, who's come all the way from Canada to play this has 65,000. -- NW
1:53pm: Second precious metal smelted and felted
If you happen to be named after a lavish metallic element, it's likely to have been a bad morning for you here at DTD.
First Max Silver was melted into ingots, now Full Tilt Galway's champion Alan Gold has also been thrown into the furnace.
Most of his chips saw him squeeze with ace-king following a raise and two flat calls. The original raiser now moved all-in for 73 with jacks and Gold made the call.
He lost the resultant flip and with his smattering of chips left over were evaporated a hand or two later.
"Nevermind," he said cheerfully as he marched off to the bar. -- RS
1:45pm: Demetriou downed
Maria Demetriou worked so hard to build back up from a low of 4,000 yesterday but it wasn't to be today as she's been eliminated.
She told the blog that she was down to 15 big blinds and in the small blind with [kh][th]. An opponent raised from late position and she three-bet all in. He called with ace-jack and held. -- MC
1.40pm: Some counts
Both the De Meulder twins are off to a good start on Day 2 of UKIPT4 Nottingham2. Christophe has added roughly 50,000 to his start of day stack as he's up to 155,000, whilst Matti has climbed to 83,000. Team PokerStars SportStar Fatima Moreira de Melo has lost some ground but she's still comfortably stacked with 105,000. Elsewhere Full Tilt Ambassadors Martins Adeniya and Dermot Blain are still in with 150,000 and 79,000 respectively.
And Jude Ainsworth, who's at the same table as Christophe De Meulder is up to 245,000. -- NW
1.35pm: Cody sends Leslie packing
Team PokerStars Pro Jake Cody is up to 175,000 after busting Leslie Packer from the tournament. Packer opened to 5,000 from the cut-off, Cody three-bet the button to 11,700 and Packer smooth called. On the [Q][9][5] flop Cody v-bet 13,000, Packer jammed for 50,000 and Cody made the call. The triple-crown winner had [Qs][10s] and held against Packer's [Jc][9c].
Cody is at the same table as Joeri Zandvliet, the two-time UKIPT champion is up to 300,000 and one of the chip leaders. -- NW
1:30pm: Howden enjoys Saffari
Chris Howden was down to 22,600 and picked up pocket kings in the perfect spot to double up.
Krzysztof Blaszczyk opened the betting with a raise to 4,000 from mid position before Sebastian Saffari three-bet to 9,000 from the hijack. Howden was in the big blind and four-bet all in. Saffari called after Blaszczyk folded.
Howden: [kc][ks]
Saffari: [ts][tc]
The board ran [4c][8h][5s][jc][3h]. Saffari dropped to 102,000. -- MC
1:20pm: Hawes falls in first furlong
Richard Hawes is another man who hasn't managed to negotiate his way out of the early stages.
"Under-the-gun raised to 4,000 and a short stack went all-in for 15,000," he told us.
"With ace-king, I just shoved all-in for my 45,000 and the guy under-the-gun found pocket kings. That was that! It's a bit disappointing to travel down and bust so early but what can you do?," he said.
"Lol donkaments," he added with a touch of melancholy. -- RS
1:17pm: Silver mined by Kassam
Max Silver has succumbed in classic flip fashion to Rehman Kassam.
He gave us a quick, curt prosaic description of his exit.
"I had AK versus jacks. I didn't win!"
Rehman Kassam removes a major threat from his table and rises to 110,000. -- RS
1:15pm: Kimber talks to the blog
Jeff Kimber had made it through today, but with below average, he has work to do today. He spoke to the blog about his day yesterday and his plans for today.
"It was a real struggle to be honest. I was card dead but had good fun sitting next to Ben Jenkins. It was good fun but my day was testament to the good structure; card dead, didn't play any big pots and didn't get any big hands. I still had around starting stack around the last level and I got a double up with jacks versus nines. With 58,000 I still have enough to play with now.
"Obviously you don't want to be blinding into the money but the job is to get some money back for two days work and then make a run at getting a big stck for the final. I think I've cashed in one UKIPT in six or seven attempts and never made a final table. It's about time I did and this is the big one and the right one to do it!"
Kimber's into the second level of the day and has tweeted his progress so far:
First level report. Raised once, got 3b folded. Seen one flop. Lost. Won 0 hands. Got 15bb and having a wonderful time
— Jeff Kimber (@jeffkimberpoker) May 10, 20141.05pm: Bull busted by Mayhew
Ben Mayhew won the battle of the UKIPT champions at table 14 as he eliminated Robbie Bull at the end of the previous level. "Robbie raised the button to 3,200 with [A][7], I three-bet from the big blind to 6,900, he shoved for about 30,000 and I called," he told the PokerStars Blog. "It was actually a good flop for him," Mayhew continued. "as it came [K][6][6] but I turned a nine." -- NW
1pm: Streaming for the exits
The first level Day 2 of a UKIPT is brutal, filled with bust out after bust out and cries of "seat open." This curious phenomenon holds true no matter how many (or few) levels you play on Day 1.
In the opening 60 minutes of play 50 players have busted out of the tournament, they include: Martin Mulsow, Richard Hawes, Shaun Conning, Robbie Bull, Vicente Delgado, David Clifton-burraway and Martin Sutcliffe. -- NW
Blinds up: 1,000/2,000, 300 ante
12:58pm: Jordan tries to slam dunk
Jordan Cousins has started today as he finished yesterday, trying to run over his opponents. One pot he tried it didn't work out well for him though.
He raised to 3,300 from the hijack and George Phiniotis defended his big blind en route to a [4s][3s][7h] flop. Cousins continued for 6,200 but was check-raised to 15,000. His response was to shove but he winced when Phiniotis called all in for 46,700.
Phiniotis: [6h][5d] for the nut straight.
Cousins: [th][3h] for bottom pair and back door flush draw.
Cousins was drawing live on the [jh] turn but the [7s] river changed nothing. Cousins took the knock but is still standing strong with around 220,000. -- MC
12:55pm: Double strength Cody
It's been a flying first level for Jake Cody as he's up to 130,000 which is almost double his start of Day 70,000. He's played an interesting hand which he's recounted on his twitter feed - @JakeCody - and he's running another of his #playwithjake competitions as a result. -- NW
12:50pm: Lacey terminated
With the blinds rising to a serious level, players are looking to gamble their stack up to a worthy amount or go out swinging - it's been a fast start.
One elimination of note includes Stephen Lacey, who shoved over the top of a Richard Horton button raise from the big blind for around 30,000.
Horton looked a tad uncomfortable but made the call with pocket sevens - flipping versus Horton's [Ad][Qs].
His pocket pair slender advantage held over the [Th][9c][6c][Kd][6s] board and he sent a sad Lacey to the rail. -- RS
12:45pm: Good start for Raine
Playing day 2 if ukipt Nottingham good start so far up to 243k bb1600 around 300 left @UKIPT #UKIPtnottingham
— Heffs976 (@neilraine) May 10, 201412:40pm: Clay clobbered
Dean Clay is another early casualty on Day 2 although he told the PokerStars Blog he's sticking around to play the £330 Nottingham Cup at 7pm this evening. He was also kind enough to tell us about his exit hand: "I min raised with pocket kings from a stack of 30,000 and Sebastian Saffari peeled from the big bling. The flop came [7][8][9], I c-bet, he set me in and given the hands he can have I called. He had [8][7] and I didn't get there. -- NW
12.35pm: Coming out swinging
The seating draw has thrown up a number of eye-catching matchups.
Table 11 sees Day 1B's chip leader, Jude Ainsworth, match up versus Thomas Ward, the man who holds the record for the most UKIPT cashes. Throw talented London stalwart Daniel Laming into the picture and we can expect fireworks from this table.
Table 14 hosts an interesting blend of characters. The quiet, efficient but deadly 2013 UKIPT London winner Robbie Bull and boisterous Ben Mayhew have almost polar opposite personalities, but both have undoubted skills at the felt and the chips to showcase those skills.
Will it be the Bull the deadly assassin or Mayhew, the man who spent most of yesterday dressed as a waitress, who will come out on top?
Perhaps the table of death is table 15 which hosts 2010 UKIPT Dublin winner Max Silver, online dynamo Matthias De Meulder, the highly-capable Andrew Chen and local favourite Maria "chilli" Demetriou. It will take some astute footwork to avoid the field of landmines lying in wait here.
Another super-tough table boasts the combined talents of Alan Gold , 2013 Galway Poker Festival Main Event champ, online superstar and EPT Barcelona champion Thomas Middleton and Full Tilt Poker Ambassador Martins Adeniya. Definitely one to watch.
Lastly we have Richard Kellett, 2nd in this week's High Roller tournament and well-stacked going up against Full Tilt Poker Ambassador Dermot Blaine. With Richard Gryko also lurking with bad intentions at this table, no one's going to get an easy ride here.
The permutations are fascinating and we can't wait to see how this unpredictable day unfolds. -- RS
12:25pm: Vinson gets there, gets paid
Great Start for Ben Vinson. A flopped pair backed into a straight to see his stack rise to 235,000.
He was battling with Daniel Gagne and it looked as it there had been a three-bet-call pre flop before a [3h][jh][kd] flop appeared. Gagne was in the small blind and led for 7,600 and was called by Vinson (hijack).
The turn was the [9c] and Gagne fired for 11,200. Vinson called once more before he bet 27,800 on the [qc] river when Gagne checked to him. Gagne called and mucked upon seeing Vinson's [jd][td] for a straight. -- MC
12:15pm: Starter for ten
10 players have bitten the dust in the opening 15 minutes here at Dusk Till Dawn as the start of Day 2 carnage commences. Ross Loggie, Leo Mcclean, Dean Lyall and Karl Mahrenholz are amongst the players who find themselves on the rail. -- NW
322 David Capon
323 Karl Mahrenholz
324 Dean Lyall
325 Thomas Blair
326 Rahim Tadj-saadat
327 Harprit Singh Gurnam
328 Nicholas Mingoia
329 Syed Zaidi
330 Leo Mcclean
331 Ross Loggie
12pm: What goes up must come down
For the past three days we've all been focused on how high the number of entrants might climb to. Today the question is how far that number will drop.
When late registration closed yesterday the total number of runners had reached 1,223 creating a record UKIPT prize pool. Just 331 of those players return today and the first number on everyone''s mind is 183. That's the number of players who'll share in the £1,223,000 prize pool. A min-cash is worth £1,770, they should start getting dished out around level 15 today. Of course given that this event was a single re-entry event a min-cash might not be enough for some.
And for others a min-cash might not be enough because their expectations, given their chip stack at start of play, are far loftier. Leading the way is Ben Miller, the Day 1C chip leader will start with 264,200 in chips whilst Day 1B chip leader Jude Ainsworth starts second with 238,600. Other players who are well positioned are: Richard Kellett (228,700), Neil Raine (180,900) Alex Spencer (171,900) and Ben Mayhew (134,900)
The Red Spade is five strong heading into Day 2, leading that charge is Team PokerStars SportStar Fatima Moreira de Melo the Dutch gold medal winner starts with an above average 124,700. Both De Meulder's are also through, Christophe has bragging rights with 106,000, whilst Matti has 51,200 and Jake Cody stars with 70,000. Meanwhile Team Online member Vicente Delgado has some work to do with 39,500.
We think the plan is to play 10 levels today although it may be reduced depending on the rate of exits. You can see the Day 2 seat draw here, cards are in the air at noon.
PokerStars Blog reporting team at PokerStars UKIPT Nottingham2: Marc Convey, Rod Stirzaker and Nick Wright. Photos by Danny Maxwell.