Day 2 of the UKIPT5 Super Series held the promise of a rich day of poker full of incident and so it proved - a classic day's poker unfolding before our eyes as Dale Garrad, friend of PokerStars LIVE! at The Hippodrome Casino, translated his start of day chip lead into an an end of day chip lead - an impressively consistent performance.
92 players returned to The Hippodrome Casino's poker arena with hope in their heart, a glint in their eye and swagger in their step but precious few would survive the frenzied start that saw a third of the field perish in the wake of the first few levels.
With the waters of variance frothing like a group of frenzied sharks feeding in a bubble bath, player after player was sent flying to the rail, the field shorn apart in quicksmart fashion during this tumultuous period.
39 players would receive monetary compensation for surviving the carnage the players became naturally more reluctant to commit their chips as the payment cut-off point approached.
Eventually Ergo Kalamees was the man to miss out on payment by the slenderest of margins - one of Julien Rouxel's many victims of the day. Once the unfortunate Estonian had claimed the bubble for his own, the shackles were off and all-out war was resumed once more.
Jake Cody had come into the day with a shortish stack, but with the help of some useful cards and his usual high calibre of play, he began to look like a threat for the title.
His charge up the leaderboard took him well into the money but faltered prior to the latter stages. EPT commentator James Hartigan was another to make hay during the day and he too earned a berth within the cashspots before busting with a smile on his face.
"I thoroughly enjoyed it," he beamed as he sauntered over to collect his hard-earned payday.
It was a less enjoyable experience for Chaz Chattha, the hitsquad member looking like making a run at the chip lead before a flush versus flush cooler against Julien Rouxel stopped him in his tracks 2 spots off the money.
Once the payments were assured, the earlier high attrition rate continued unchecked and in no time, the players found themselves nine-handed.
With the official final table just one elimination away, Kai Brown was the man to miss out - Russian Andrey Veselov polishing him off with aces.
That left the remaining eight players lined up as follows, Dale Garrad snatching the lead from fellow big stack Julien Rouxel right at the death:
| Name | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|
| Dale Garrad | United Kingdom | 1640000 |
| Rouxel Julien | France | 1516000 |
| Andrey Veselov | Russian Federation | 1116000 |
| Steve Critchley | United Kingdom | 786000 |
| Alex Kaczmarek | United Kingdom | 704000 |
| Andy Purser | United Kingdom | 630000 |
| Sebastian Jung | France | 421000 |
| Jorge Barcelo | Spain | 408000 |
The final table will play out tomorrow at 1.00pm. The players will have the luxury of 50 minute levels to engage in and it should be an absorbing tussle for the title.
A UKIPT champion will be crowned and we can't wait to see who it is. Join us as we find out who the latest man to taste UKIPT glory will be.
To read updates from levels 13-17, click here.
To read updates from level 17 onwards, click here.
For all the confirmed payouts and the final prize structure, click here.
PokerStars Blog reporting team at PokerStars UKIPT5 Super Series: Rod Stirzaker. Photos courtesy of Mickey May.