We knew what to expect of the second flight of UKIPT Marbella, players and lots of them. Another 457 joined the fray today and when you add them to the 293 from yesterday you get bang on 750 which means the guarantee of €500,000 was smashed. Such was their number that for much of the day the players were housed in two different rooms, only combining under one roof near the end of the day.
Up until the final hand of the day a familiar face was at the top of the chip charts as Team PokerStars Pro Jake Cody sailed serenely through the day to end of 131,300. He got off to a flyer, flopping a set and getting a double up from top pair, a short time later he flopped a better straight than an opponent and was up to 90,000. His rise to near the the top of the tree is in stark contrast to his journey to get to this tournament. It took him three flights and 21 hours to travel from Las Vegas to Marbella, it only took him one flight of poker to climb to third overall heading into Day 2. Read more about his recent exploits here.
But, on the final hand of the day Denis Ursu won a 50,000 chip pot against Peter Jaksland to claim the chip lead because as a result of that pot the Moldovan finished on 146,300 to leapfrog Cody into the lead. He wasn't the only player to break through the 100,000 chip mark as Sam Goodman (117,100) and Peter Jaksland (114,600) also managed that feat. Indeed Jaksland would have been chip leader but for losing that final hand to Ursu. A special mention to Odd Langset who reached 125,000 chips by level five but was out before the end of level six!
Cody wasn't the only patched up player in the field today as Team PokerStars was four strong with representatives from both Team Pro and Team Online. Team PokerStars Pro Leo Margets was on home turf and she safely negotiated her way through to Day 2 with 34,700 chips. She'll be joined by Spanish Team Online member Vicente Delgado. The online wizard had a great last quarter to rocket from 46,000 to 97,500 in chips to be well placed heading into Day 2.
The UK's own Team Online wizard, Dale Philip, was in grind mode for most of the day, never seemingly getting his stack into positive territory until the final level. Indeed he ended the day with 21,900 and will be one of those looking to improve on Day 2.
As usual the second starting flight attracted a host of big name players some prospered, whilst others will be occupied by the beach, the pool, the football or side events for the rest of the festival. Some of those through to the knockout stages on Day 2 are: Adrian Mateos (69,200), Gaelle Garcia Diaz (35,900), Paul Berende (50,900), Sam Grafton (53,000) and Nick Wealthall (17,900).
Whilst among those topping up their tan will be: Sin Melin, Duncan McLellan, Fintan Gavin and Fraser Macintyre. To catch up on all the Day 1B action click on the links below. Keep an eye on the widget on the right and the @PokerStarsBlog twiiter account for overnight chip counts and seat draw which will be uploaded when they're made available. We'll be back at noon tomorrow for Day 2, but for now to bed, if only there was some sport to watch.
Photos copyright of Danny Maxwell and Rene Velli.