* Day 1B over. A full wrap can be found here.
* Day 1A is over - read a full report of the day here.
* Day 1B Players (39 of 161 remain).
* Day 1C starts tomorrow at 11am.
9:50pm: Day 1B in the books
That's all for updates from an exciting Day 1B. A full wrap can be found here. --MC
9.35pm: Last four hands of the night
Level 12 - Blinds 1,00-2,000 (300 ante)
Each table will play four more hands before bagging up for the night. -- MC
9.32pm: Not to be outdone...
Level 12 - Blinds 1,00-2,000 (300 ante)
The action from her neighbouring table might've been too much to bear for Sirilux Ho as she was soon back in the action herself, and back on the rise, after losing a chuck of her stack again.
Mark Wates raised to 6,000 and was called in one spot before Ho moved all in from the big blind. Wates called all in for around 55,000 and the third player folded.
Ho: [8c][8d]
Wates: [ts][td]
The board ran [8h][7h][2d][5s][2s] to make Ho a lucky full house and a 106k stack. "That's why we play poker!" said a philosophical Wates. --MC
9.20pm: Nikolaidi flushed with chips, a lot of chips
Level 12 - Blinds 1,00-2,000 (300 ante)
The Ladies Day torch has passed from Sirilux Ho to Irina Nikolaidi, the latter taking over the chip lead (with 280,000) after a huge pot versus Daniel Palsson.
She raised to 6,000 from mid position and then emptied the clip with bets of 8,000, 16,000 and 40,000 on each street of a [js][2h][ah][qh][4s] board. Palsson was in the big blind and called all the way but mucked upon seeing Nikolaidi's [kh][5h] for a flush. -- MC
9.02pm: Last level of the night
Level 12 - Blinds 1,000-2,000 (300 ante)
9pm: Queen Sirilux
Level 11 - Blinds 800-1,600 (200 ante)
Sirilux Ho's stack had dropped back from the dizzying heights it was at earlier on, but she just knocked out Kevin Barden to get back up to 195,000.
Ho raised from early position and Barden peeled from the big blind to see a [jd][5d][2h] flop appear. Ho continued for 5,000 and called after Barden check-raised all in for around 60,000.
Ho: [qc][qs] for an over pair.
Barden: [as][kd] for two overs and the nut flush draw.
The board ran out [3c][2c] to see the queens hold up. -- MC
8.45pm: It's now ladies night, and the feeling's right
Level 11 - Blinds 800-1,600 (200 ante)
We have four women remaining at the end of this day we dubbed ladies day, due to the dominant performances from the females in the field. It's only right that one of them end the night as chip leader, right?
Well, it's certainly a possibility, as here's how they stack up right now:
Sirilux Ho - 211,000
Irina Nikolaidi - 185,000
Leo Margets - 136,000
Maria Lampropoulos - 82,000 --JS
8.38pm: Ice, Iceland, baby
Level 11 - Blinds 800-1,600 (200 ante)
Haukur Bodvarsson, who's part of an ever-growing crew from Iceland that love, and travel, to play the UKIPT, has dropped down to starting stack after losing a race.
He squeezed all in after a raise to 4,000 and a call from Christian Friedel. The raiser folded but Friedel called all in for 28,600.
Friedel: [8h][8c]
Bodvarsson: [as][qh]
The board ran [2d][8s][jh][ac][5d] to make Friedel a set. Bodvarsson was disappointed to lose the hand but happy to hear his friend - Daniel Palsson - is one of the chip leaders on 187,000. -- MC
8.25pm: Ladies event rolls on with Lampropoulos
Level 11 - Blinds 800-1,600 (200 ante)
We've been mentioning it throughout the day, but Day 1B really is all about the ladies. Adding to that theme just now was Maria Lampropoulos, fresh off her second-place finish at Eureka Rozvadov (her boyfriend, Ivan Luca, took that title down).
Anyway, before the blinds went up Lampropoulos began the hand with an open to 2,600, before Jason Lam 3-bet to 6,200. Anthony Harnden in the big blind then jammed for his last 11,000, resulting in a shove from Lampropoulos for he remaining 33,200. Lam made the call and the three revealed their cards.
"OHHH!" roared the table, as both Lam and Harnden turned over pocket jacks (Lam had the reds, Harden the blacks). But an even bigger "OHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" came when Lampropoulos turned over her [kh][kd].
The board ran out [7d][as][7h][5h][qd] and Lampropoulos raked in the whole shebang, continuing the dominant performances of the females in the field here today. She's up to 82,000 now. --JS
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8.15pm: Level 11 has arrived
Level 11 - Blinds 800-1,600 (200 ante)
Only two more levels of play today before the remaining players bag and tag. There are 56 players still in this one. --JS
8.10pm: There's always the London Cup on Saturday
Level 10 - Blinds 600-1,200 (200 ante)
The UKIPT6 London Main Event is over for: Team Online's Mickey Petersen,
Jonathan Reynolds, Mohammed Abdullah, Eric Le Goff, Robin Fisher, Mark Lane, Shane, Marcin Milde, Fabio Sperling, Deborah Worley-Roberts, Amar Al Hussona, Cristina Illie, Chris Yong, Martin Leines, Moshe De Leon, Eirimas Livonas, Javier Sanchez Zarco, Virgo Laansoo, Vimal Patel, Matias Ruzzi, David Lopez Llacer, Peter Feher, Alexander Zeligman, Alastair May, Terence Jordan, Simonas Rimsa, Adrian Memed, Micael Raschdorf, Tobias Wenker, Terry Schumacher, Philippe Karim Souki, Alejandro Perez Torres, Najam Qureshi, Rain Koov, Matthew Davenport, Lev Belsky, Kevin Walshe, Andrew Keep, Shvan Frost, James Gray, Christian Mihu, Benjamin Raven, Yiannis Liperis and Jesse Algranti. -- MC
8pm: Sick, sick hand, but you can't crown Jewell the winner
Level 10 - Blinds 600-1,200 (200 ante)
It might not have been the biggest pot, but that might have been the sickest I've seen today.
I picked up the action on the [jh][9d][8d] flop - a very wet board indeed. Gavin Jewell put out the first bet, before Rodrigo Strong raised it up. Then David Murphy shoved all-in for 18,300, Jewell called that bet, and Strong moved all-in himself for about 30,000 on top. Jewell snap-called and the cards were on their backs.
Gavin Jewell - [td][7d]
David Murphy - [js][8s]
Rodrigo Strong - [ad][jd]
Everyone had something big. Jewell had flopped a monster with his straight and up-and-down straight flush draw; Murphy had flopped two-pair; and Strong had top pair and the nut flush draw.
Both Strong and Murphy were all-in and needed to hit. Well, the [4d] his Strong hard. He now had the nut flush draw and took the lead over Jewell. At this point, Murphy was going to be headed to the door.
But then Boom! The case [jc] hit the river, giving Murphy a full-house and a full treble-up. Strong still won a decent side pot.
When the dust had settled, Strong had 60,000, Murphy had 56,000, and Jewell was crippled down to just 5,300. He doubled up on the next hand though, so we could see an epic comeback coming.
Sick hand, eh? --JS
7:46pm: King Connolly
Level 10 - Blinds 600-1,200 (200 ante)
PokerStars Staff member Richard Connolly was happy for us to include the following hand after he had secured the pot for more than a double up.
Wenbin Chen opened to 2,600 from the hijack and was called in one spot before Connolly squeezed all in for 19,100 from the small blind. Chen shoved as well and the third party folded.
Connolly: [kc][kh]
Chen: [ad][jc]
The board ran [tc][6d][4c][8c][8h] and Connolly relaxed after living anxiously through every street of the board. -- MC
7.30pm: Back to the action
Level 10 - Blinds 600-1,200 (200 ante)
The 67 players have returned from their break and we're now in Level 10. Here are the biggest stacks in the room right now:
Sirilux Ho - 252,000
Daniel Palsson - 186,000
Irina Nikolaidi - 138,000
Jason Lam - 152,000
James Mitchell - 120,000 --JS
7.15pm: Last break of the day
Three more levels after the players come back from a 15-minute breather.
7.10pm: Ladies day in full swing on the UKIPT
Level 9 - Blinds 500-1,000 (100 ante)
We half jested in the blog earlier that today (being a Thursday of a festival) was the unofficial ladies day of the UKIPT, due to the high turnout of the fairer sex. Fast-forward a few hours and two of those ladies are dominating.
Irina Nikolaidi, who's already been on our radar today, is still cruising with 145,000 but Sirilux Ho has come from nowhere to lead with a massive 275,000!
Nikolaidi has been moved from her original table and was a raising machine for the period we viewed her new table. One of her 3x raises was called by Josh Green in the big blind and a [7d][jc][9d] flop appeared. Nikolaidi continued for 3,000 and Green check-called to the [th] turn. Both players checked before Green check-called an 8,000 bet on the [3h] river. Nikolaidi opened [jh][jd] for top set and Green said nice hand before folding.
We haven't seen any of Ho's hands today but a tablemate told the blog that she made six/seven straights in a row. In one hand she made a straight to eliminate a player who held two pair and then she took care of the talented Neil Raine. The latter made a move with a flush draw but Ho was already sitting there with a made ten high straight. -- MC
7pm: Raising issues lead to sick run-out
Level 9 - Blinds 500-1,000 (100 ante)
Eww. That was pretty gross.
Donal O'Connor had made a standard open which was 3-bet by Finn Stewart to 6,500. O'Connor then min-raised to 13,000, which Stewart then intended to call, but accidently put out enough chips that it had to be considered a raise.
Tournament Director Luca Vivaldi was called over to inform Stewart that he had to make it the minimum bet of 19,500. He threw in the extra chips to complete his accidental raise and the action was back on O'Connor.
He then jammed for 63,500 total, obviously sensing weakness. And Stewart snap-called, having him covered.
It was the [qh][qc] for Stewart, who was in fine shape when O'Connor gingerly turned over his [9h][th]. All eyes were on the felt as the dealer put out an [8d][kd][9d] flop. O'Connor had connected, so there was always a chance. The [kh] changed nothing, so it was all down to the river.
The [9s]. O'Connor made an unlikely set, and secured the win. "Well done," said Stewart.
O'Connor now sits around 129,000, while Stewart took a hit down to 37,000. --JS
6.50pm: Mitchell shoots up the chip counts
Level 9 - Blinds 500-1,000 (100 ante)
A big hand just played out between Irish Open winner James Mitchell, LAPT9 Chile winner Rodrigo Strong, and Germany's Kevin Barden, which has seen Mitchell rocket up the chip counts.
Barden kicked off the hand with a standard open which Strong then 3-bet, leading to a cold 4-bet from Mitchell to 21,000. Both Barden and Strong called and the three saw an [8h][5s][9s] flop fall down. It checked to Mitchell who jammed for his whole 33,700 stack. Barden thought for a minute before throwing his hand away, and then Strong started to work through the hand himself. He counted out calling chips, but took his time, glancing up at the tournament clock.
The chips eventually found themselves in the middle, and Strong turned over [ac][kd] for ace-high. It was a hero-call gone awry, as Mitchell had the [ad][as] in his holding. The [7s] and [3s] completed the board, giving Mitchell some major wind in his sails. He now sits with around 130,000, while Strong is down to 33,000. --JS
6.36pm: Take a nice long Knapp
Level 9 - Blinds 500-1,000 (100 ante)
"Good luck guys!" said a gracious Daniel Knapp after he busted to Donal O'Connor.
The latter had raised to 2,000 from early position and was called in one spot before Knapp squeezed all in for 12,700 from the small blind. O'Connor was the only caller.
Knapp: [as][2h]
O'Connor: [3c][3h]
The board ran [5d][tc][5c][5s][6h] to see the threes hold up. -- MC
6.32pm: Level up
Level 9 - Blinds 500-1,000 (100 ante)
6.26pm: The Spanish are coming
Level 8 - Blinds 400-800 (100 ante)
Walking around the room, the three biggest Spanish names in the room belong to Leo Margets, Andoni Larrabe, and Sergio Aido.
If they need an introduction, here you go: Margets is an experienced pro with plenty of cashes on the circuit; Larrabe is best known for finishing 6th in the 2014 WSOP Main Event for $1,622,471; and Aido is absolute beast and UKIPT champion - taking down this very event in 2013 for £144,555. Here's a hand for all of them from the last orbit.
Margets took hers down; she opened to 1,700 from the hijack and got a caller from the big blind. The flop came [qh][7c][kd], it checked to her and she took it down with a c-bet of 1,800. She's up to roughly 40,000 now.
Meanwhile, Larrabe didn't fare as well. A player opened to 1,600 from the hijack and Larrabe flatted out of the big blind, only to see the [3h][qh][ks] fall on the flop. The November Niner check-called a bet of 2,100, leading us to the [8h] turn. This time Larrabe check-called a bet of 5,000. There'd be no more betting on the [jc] river though, and Larrabe had to muck when his opponent showed [kd][4d] for top pair. He's still healthy with 57,000 though.
So, what would we find on the usually hyper-aggressive Sergio Aido's table? Cold-four bet jamming? Seven-bet pots?
Nah, Aido is just chilling on his phone. He does have 37,000 though, so he's having a good day so far. --JS
6.20pm: 307 in, so far, for UKIPT6 London
Level 8 - Blinds 400-800 (100 ante)
Registration closed at the end of Level 6 and the tournament clock showed, since then, that 161 players entered today. After the TDs double and triple-checked, that number has been confirmed.
Add that to the 146 that entered yesterday and you get 307 players that gave entered so far. That prize pool is getting juicy so get yourself down to the Hippodrome Casino tomorrow to be in with a chance of a slice of the money on offer. -- MC
6.12pm: Momma getting salty?
Level 8 - Blinds 400-800 (100 ante)
Deborah Worley-Roberts and Louis Salter have battled in a few pots today. Their banter indicates so. Salter can probably handle Worley-Roberts from a poker point of view, we're not sure that he's had enough life experience to cope what comes out of her chops though.
Worley-Roberts opened to 2,000 from early position and Salter defended his big blind to see a [4c][5h][8s] flop fan in from of them. Salter check-called 2,200 there and another 3,000 on the [6c] turn. He checked for a third time on the [ad] river and Worley-Roberts said. "You've been getting so lucky against me." before checking behind.
Salter opened [jc][5c] and lost out to Worley-Roberts' [ah][6h].
"Momma got you!" Worley-Roberts gently needled as she raked in the pot to rise to 57,000.
Salter, who dropped to 31,000, didn't respond but did say, "It's okay," after Worley-Roberts followed up with, "You can call me Momma if you like!" -- MC
5.55pm: Milde caught in the Raine
Level 8 - Blinds 400-800 (100 ante)
Two UK players we haven't discussed much are Marcin Milde and Neil Raine. The latter is an online grinder with just shy of $850,000 in tournament winnings under his screen name 'heffs976', not to mention the near $250,000 he's picked up on the live felt as a regular on the UKIPT circuit and more. Meanwhile, Milde won the Sunday Million last year under the name 'Marcin123' for a whopping $230,614 - his second big win in that event, the first of which came back in 2011 when he chopped it for $128,000.
The two players are sat right next to each other right now and just played a cheeky pot with each other from the blinds. Milde limped the 800 and Raine bumped it up to 1,800, while Milde would call.
The flop was the [5h][qs][7h], which Raine continued on for 1,700 after it was checked to him. Milde went nowhere, taking us to the [6c] on the turn. It was classic turn action - check check - so the [kc] came down on the river. Milde checked once more, and Raine put out a tiny bet of just one big blind (800). Although it was cheap, it wasn't enough for Milde to call, as he threw his hand away.
Milde is currently sitting with 44,300, while Raine has 34,000. --JS
5.47pm: Five more levels for tonight
Level 7 - Blinds 400-800 (100 ante)
The players' bellies are full and they are back in their seats for five more levels of poker. -- MC
4.45pm: Dinner time
Our players have gone on a 60-minute dinner break, so we'll catch you back here in an hour. --JS
This Gale too weak to knock over Nikolaidi's stack
Level 7 - Blinds 300-600 (75 ante)
The rich are getting richer here in London. Irina Nikolaidi just took out John Gale to rise to around 135,000.
Gales raised from the hijack and picked up three callers en route to a [7d][9s][6d] flop. There was around 9,000 in the middle and the action checked to Gale who moved all in for 12,500. Nikolaidi was in the small blind and she snap moved all in as well when it was her turn to act. All others folded.
Gale: [ad][8c] for an open ended straight draw.
Nikolaidi: [tc][8d] for the flopped nuts.
The board ran out [2d][5s] to make Gale a straight but it was too low. He wished everyone luck and trotted off. -- MC
4.20pm: For those we're lost...
Level 7 - Blinds 300-600 (75 ante)
If this were an awards show, this would be the part where they show the black-and-white film of all the people who have moved on recently. Get ready to get weepy, because here comes the list of bust-outs:
Philip James Ward, Vytautas Rubezius, Tobias Marcus Schmecht, James Ernest Barney, Jay Samani, Miaden Ivanov, Oskar Thor Jonsson, Nico Nicolaou, Gianluca Rinaldi, Alain Deniz Saka, Benjamin Mark Boulden, Emma Jayne Wilkinson, Sarfraz Ali, Catalin Irinel Dumtrascu, Russell Darren Wood, Umar Akram Aslam, Daniel Alan Burrow, Paul Findlay, Paul Scott Williams, Jacqueline Cachia, Michael Anthony Glasspell, Brian Delaney Junior, Quoc Huuy Le, Rahim Tadj-Saadat, Richard Jones, Paula Lou Mcghie, Steve Watts, Markus Kuhnen, Jesse Isaac Chambers, Dean Stuart Lyall, Joakim Rahmouri, Michael John David Kossov, and Nuno Daniel Cardoso Simoes. --JS
4pm: Price of poker going up
Level 7 - Blinds 300-600 (75 ante)
We've moved into Level 7, which means registration for Day 1B is now closed. One more level and then our players will go on a 60-minute dinner break. --JS
3.50pm: Palsson's not making friends but flushes
Level 6 - Blinds 250-500 (50 ante)
I'm sure he has plenty of pals off the felt, but Daniel Palsson just won a pot that's certainly going to make Anthony Harnden think twice about being buddies.
Palsson kicked off the with an open to 1,100 which was called in the three spots, including both blinds. The flop had plenty of potential for calling hands, as it came the [9h][5d][8d]. It checked to Palsson who continued for 3,200, Harnden made the call, as did the player in the big blind. That took us to the [6d] turn, which was no doubt an action card.
Both the big blind player and Palsson now checked to Harnden, who fired 6,000 into the middle. The other player got out of the way but Palsson went nowhere, instead choosing to jam his 19,375 stack. Harnden made a quick call but must have been gutted to see his [7s][9s] for a straight was beaten by Palsson's [ad][9d] nut flush. The [6s] river changed nothing.
Palsson ain't here to make more pals; he's here to make flushes. --JS
3.45pm: Chips ahoy!
Here's a list of some big stacks and notables:
Jason Lam - 98,000
Irina Nikolaidi - 91,000
Andoni Larrabe - 62,000
David Clarkson - 65,000
Robert Haigh - 58,000
Sergio Aido - 55,000
Paula Mcghie - 52,000
Oliver Greer - 51,000
Neil Raine - 50,000
Leo Margets - 47,000
John Gale - 45,500
Louis Salter - 45,000
Philippe Souki - 36,000
Deborah Worley-Roberts - 36,000
James Mitchell - 31,800
Danny Toffel - 28,500
Marcin Milde - 23,500
Paul Romain - 24,000
Maria Lampropoulos - 23,000
Josh Green - 18,000
Mickey Petersen - 14,000
Thomas Dunwoodie - 9,750
--MC
3.30pm: Voctor leaves opponent needing doctor
Level 6 - Blinds 250-500 (50 ante)
When a player leaves the tournament room in a hurry, taking their ID number card with them so we can't identify them, it's usually after they've busted in a fashion they're not entirely happy with. For one player just now, this was entirely the case; his tournament coming to an end at the hands of Nadeeka Voctor.
There was around 5,000 in the pot when the flop came down, and although we missed the action it's safe to assume there was a standard open which had been called by five players. The board showed the [8c][js][ac], and Voctor took the betting lead making it 2,800, which only one player called. The turn was then the [5h], and now the bet from Voctor was 3,000. His opponent opted to raise it to 7,000 leaving himself just 6,450 behind. Voctor made the call and the two saw a turn.
The [6s] fell and Voctor threw out two blue 5,000 chips, putting his opponent all-in. It didn't take him long to call, and it took him even less time to exit the tournament area after he saw his [as][qs] was beaten by Voctor's [ah][8d].
While his opponent was left with a sick feeling, Voctor stacked up around 50,000 in chips. --JS
3.15pm: We're back and taking it up a notch
Level 6 - Blinds 250-500 (50 ante)
The 128 remaining players of our 156 Day 1B starting field have re-taken their seats, and we're now playing 250-500 with a 50 ante. --JS
3pm: 2nd break of the day
Level 5 - Blinds 200-400 (50 ante)
Players will be back in 15 minutes after a short break. --JS
2.53pm: Nicolaou's brutal double take
Level 5 - Blinds 200-400 (50 ante)
An interesting pot looked like it was playing out over on Table 6, where there was around 30,000 in the middle by the river. The board read the [js][5d][3h][3d][4d], and Donal O'Connor had put out a bet of 8,625. Nico Nicolaou had made the call, leaving himself just 7,000 behind, and the action was on Finn Stewart. For a minute it looked like he might raise, but it turns out it was just calling chips he was counting. He slid them across.
O'Connor flipped over the [3s][4s] for a runner-runner full-house, but Nicolaou hadn't quite caught it as he turned over the [ah][2h] for a straight like it was the winner. He quickly realised though, and let out a big sigh. Stewart mucked and O'Connor raked in the massive pot. --JS
2.40pm: No Wattage
Level 5 - Blinds 200-400 (50 ante)
Steve Watts' day as come to an end.
He told the blog he lost a big pot versus Daniel Knapp when he flopped top two pair. Knapp turned a straight though and the chips went in.
Watts then busted to Kevin Walshe when he shoved on the river with the board reading [2c][9s][5h][qs][as]. It was a case of bad timing though as Watts' [ts][5c] had fallen behind Walshe's [ac][jc] on the river. He wished everyone luck and went on his way. -- MC
2.32pm: Done and dusted
Level 5 - Blinds 200-400 (50 ante)
A few of the players who have busted so far on Day 1B include Marius Zalpys, Noel Broadbent, Graeme Milton Hibbert, Henryk Nowakowski, Dino Brivati, and Paula Lou Mcghie. --JS
2.22pm: Clock called; Wu waits wondering
Level 5 - Blinds 200-400 (50 ante)
"Floor please, to table 9!" we heard the dealer shout, so we popped our heads over to see what was up. It turned out Irina Nikolaidi was in a heads-up with Xinyu Wu; there was roughly 30,000 in the pot, the board showed the [kh][qc][6s][5s][th], and Nikolaidi had checked to Wu on the river.
With no bet to call, Wu's decision was either check it back or make a bet. He'd been thinking about it for so long, though, that the clock had been called (by whom I'm unsure), and he was told by the floor that he had one minute left to act.
He would eventually check, and Nikolaidi revealed her [kc][jc] for top pair. It was good for the win forcing Wu to muck. "Phew!" proclaimed a relieved Nikolaidi as she raked in the decent pot. --JS
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2.16pm: Level up
Level 4 - Blinds 150-300 (25 ante)
2.10pm: Notable counts
Level 4 - Blinds 150-300 (25 ante)
Chip counts from a few notables in the tournament:
David Docherty - 38,000
Richard Jones - 8,800
Team Online's Mickey Petersen - 21,000
Neil Raine - 29,000
Chris Yong - 37,000
James Mitchell - 41,500
Steve Watts - 28,100
Maria Lampropulos - 20,000
John Gale - 31,700
Thomas Dunwoodie - 29,300
Deborah Worley-Roberts - 34,000
Lois Salter - 24,500
Josh Green - 42,000
Leo Margets - 28,000
Paul Romain - 32,000
--MC
1.53pm: Strong LAPT winner comes to London
Level 4 - Blinds 150-300 (25 ante)
Last month I was lucky enough to head to Chile for the LAPT tournament series, the winner of which was the fantastically-named Brazilian called Rodrigo Strong. He took down $120,565 for his victory in Vina del Mar.
Well, Strong is here amongst the action on Day 1B at UKIPT London. But before you think "Crikey, Brazil to London is a long way to go", I can assure you that Strong currently resides in Barcelona.
He's an interesting fellow with some offbeat poker habits - including getting up from the table in-between hands to whisper notes into his smart phone. Let's see if Strong's techniques can lead him to his second major PokerStars Live event in two months. --JS
1.43pm: Some early fallers
Level 4 - Blinds 100-200 (25 ante)
The Day 1B field has grown to 148 players but the following aren't among them anymore: Sui Hong Sung, Keith Christie, Orpen Kisacikoglu, Johann Schroder and Huy Nguyen. --MC
1.30pm: Play resumes
Level 4 - Blinds 100-200 (25 ante)
The second part of today's play is underway. -- MC
1.15pm: Break time
Our field of 125 players have gone on a 15-minute break. --JS
1.10pm: Gale takes one from Nikolaidi
Level 3 - Blinds 100-200 (25 ante)
With the board showing the [3h][5c][6h], John Gale checked it to Irina Nikolaidi who put out a 600 bet. That wasn't enough for Gale, who made it 1,800 to see a turn. Nikolaidi obliged and it came the [2c], and now the bet from Gale was 3,300. It was called once more and the two saw the [td] land on the river. Both checked and Gale showed his [6s][7d] - good enough for the win. --JS
1.05pm: Ladies day, oh boy
Level 3 - Blinds 100-200 (25 ante)
It might be the unofficial ladies day here on Day 1B (see our 12.40pm post) but that doesn't mean the gents are going to display any poker chivalry.
Deborah Worley-Roberts opened to 450, only for a male player to make it 1,500. If that wasn't enough, another dude then made it 3,900 to play. "Oh, boy," said Worley-Roberts, who had a hand she liked but had to let it go. --JS
1pm: Do you believe in lucky poker rooms?
Level 3 - Blinds 100-200 (25 ante)
We're not that superstitious on the PokerStars Blog but if we were called Chris Yong, we would be, and we'd be playing as much as possible at PokerStars Live at the Hippodrome.
Yong, who's playing today, only has nine results on the Hendon Mob, dating back to December 2014. Of those nine results, four of them have been played out in this very room and make up 83.6% of his total winnings.
Yong's Hippodrome highlights:
| Date | Event | Place | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 27-Nov-15 | £ 250 + 25 No Limit Hold'em - Autumn Classic | 1st | £10,140 |
| 24-Apr-15 | £ 250 + 25 No Limit Hold'em Spring Classic | 14th | £900 |
| 27-Mar-15 | £250 UKIPT - Series 7 - London | 1st | £10,860 |
| 05-Jan-15 | £770 UKIPT5 London | 5th | £24,600 |
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12.45pm: Three hands, three players, one table
Level 3 - Blinds 100-200 (25 ante)
One table is getting more than it's fair share of action; after finding an interesting hand to write about, the next one was just as intriguing, so I was forced to stick around. Eventually I had to pull myself away and get back to my laptop to type them up.
The first of the three hands began with an open to 475 from Steve Watts, and both Finn Stewart and Dan Knapp called from the small and big blinds. The dealer put out the [4d][9s][td] flop, and it checked to Watts who continued for 875. Both players called, and the turn came the [6s]. It checked to Watts again, and this time the bet was 2,475, which Stewart called. Now Knapp decided to move all-in for 26,200 - a massive shove for 174 big blinds. Both Stewart and Watts quickly folded.
The next hand went like this. It started with an open from Steve Watts again, which got three callers including Stewart and Knapp again. The flop came the [ac][9s][7s] and it checked back to Watts who made it 600, and this time only Finn Stewart called (he was the small blind position). The turn came the [7c], and Stewart check-called again - this time a bet of 1,200. That took us to the [8h] river, which Stewart would again check. Watts fired out 3,500 and Stewart called, but quickly mucked when Watts revealed his [5c][6c] for a rivered straight.
The, finally, after Stewart had called bets from Watts both pre-flop and on the flop, the board read [6c][3s][9c][kd]. Watts fired for 1,700 which got a call, leading to the [ts] river. Watts put out 6,350 and Stewart called, resulting in a quick muck from Watts as Stewart showed his [ah][kh] for the win. --JS
12.40pm: Thursday is ladies day at UKIPT
Level 3 - Blinds 100-200 (25 ante)
At major horse race meets across the UK, you'll find that Thursdays are traditionally branded as Ladies Days. They help bring a touch of grace and elegance to an industry that's (normally) very male dominated. Sound familiar?
There are seven (out of 80) ladies in the field today and that's enough for us to (unofficially) name today Ladies Day on the UKIPT.
The last lady to take her seat was Maria Lampropulos, from Argentina. Lampropulos has been on hot form this year, with two five-figure scores. The biggest of these was for €95,404 when she finished second at Eureka6 Rozvadov a month ago. Who beat her to the title? None other than her boyfriend, Ivan Luca! -- MC
12.30pm: Level up
Level 3 - Blinds 100-200 (25 ante)
12.15pm: Spread your wings Day 1B
Level 2 - Blinds 75-150
A total of 75 players have taken their seats so far on Day 1B, which means there isn't enough space in our main room. The floor staff have taken measures by opening up two extra rooms with tables in them.
In one room, there are only two tables and that's where Team Online's Mickey Petersen, Richard Jones (3rd at UKIPT5 Nottingham) and professional Fantasy Premiere League player* David Docherty can be found sitting.
Back in the main room, Paul Romain (who came 32nd at the recent UKIPT5 Dublin) and Steve Watts (who's a former professional footballer and tour regular) have taken their seats.
*Docherty is actually a professional poker player and just is having an (annoyingly) good season in the FPL game. -- MC
11.54am: Official High Roller final table results
We informed you earlier that Linus Loeliger from Switzerland took down the High Roller event this morning for a cool £55,650. The final table was super-deep and the final day took over 13 hours to be completed. Below are the official final table results. -- MC
| Position | Name | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Linus Loeliger | Switzerland | £55,650 |
| 2 | Luis Rodriguez-Cruz | Spain | £37,600 |
| 3 | Lawrance Bayley | United Kingdom | £24,430 |
| 4 | Benjamin Winsor | United Kingdom | £20,230 |
| 5 | Andrew Christoforou | United Kingdom | £16,320 |
| 6 | Jack O'Neill | United Kingdom | £12,870 |
| 7 | Carl Peter Leo Nordin | Sweden | £9,840 |
| 8 | Niall Murray | United Kingdom | £7,410 |
11.46am: Blinds up
Level 2 - Blinds 75-150
11.45am: Mitchell arrives
Level 1 - Blinds 50-100
James Mitchell has taken his seat here on Day 1B. The British pro has $1.7 million is live earnings, with his biggest score coming from a win in the Irish Open for €600,000. Mitchell also has wins from other UK poker tours, plus plenty of deep runs in EPT and UKIPT events. He even came 11th here in London back in 2011 for a not-too-shabby £35,000, so he'll be hoping to go even deeper this time around. --JS
11.37am: Strong start for Gale
Level 1 - Blinds 50-100
The man we just wrote about - John Gale - has got off to a very nice start. Picking up the action on a [th][jd][qh][qc] board, two players checked to Gale and he put out a bet of 2,100 into a roughly 3,000 pot. One of the other players then made it 6,000 to go, resulting in one fold but a call from Gale.
The river was the [3d] and both players opted to check. Gale flipped over the [8s][9d] for a flopped straight, while his opponent's [ac][ts] was no good.
A great first orbit for Gale, who's up to about 36,000 already. --JS
11.35pm: Green wins some green
Level 1 - Blinds 50-100
Josh Green barely had an eye on a hand he was playing, as he was rapidly typing into his phone, but it didn't matter as he still took a pot down without showdown.
Green called a raise to 250 along with three other players and all took to a [ks][7c][3c] flop. The action was checked to Green who bet 600 after peering up from his device. Only the original raiser called but he took folded to a 1,000 bet on the [6s] turn. -- MC
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11.26am: A Gale just blew in...
Level 1 - Blinds 50-100
One player in today's field who needs no introduction is Mr John Gale - but we're going to give him one anyway.
Gale is something of a British poker legend, and one of the first faces this writer remembers from poker on TV when he won the PCA Main Event back in 2005 for $890,000. Gale has gone on to amass an incredible $3.8 million in tournament winnings, including two WSOP bracelets - the second of which he won last year.
Now, there wouldn't normally be anything surprising about that; great players win bracelets every year. But the thing is that Gale had been away from the poker world for three years, dealing with several serious medical issues including a brain tumour.
His triumphant return at the WSOP resulted in him getting back on the felt in his homeland, playing his first ever UKIPT event in Bristol back in August. He told my colleague Marc Convey back then how much he enjoyed the event, and how well run he thought UKIPTs were. He clearly meant it, because he's in the action here today.
Make sure you stick around to see how Gale gets on throughout this Day 1B. --JS
11.15am: Guys are no time keepers
Level 1 - Blinds 50-100
How do you guarantee a person will be late? Ensure they're male and play poker.
It's not surprising that (with an 11am start time) the field is a little thin on players this AM. A couple of players to turn up bang on time though were Leo Margets and Deborah Worley-Roberts. And wouldn't you know it, they've been drawn in seats next to each other on table ten.
"This is the best looking table in the room!" remarked Worley-Roberts after Margets sat down to her right. -- MC
11am: Shuffle up and deal
Level 1 - Blinds 50-100
Cards are in the air for Day 1B!
10.45am: Day 1B to start shortly
Welcome back to PokerStars Live at the Hippodrome Casino for the second of three UKIPT6 London starting flights. Day 1B is due to start at 11am where another twelve 45-minute levels are scheduled for play. That's what the Day 1A players did yesterday and a target has been set for today's players.
Xizhe Yuan just beat Jack Salter to the top spot after ending the day with 286,400. The challenge for today's players is not to just beat it, but to try and pass the 300k mark. Those registered for today and maybe up for the challenge are: Team PokerStars Jake Cody and Mickey Petersen; Robert Haigh, Neil Raine, David Docherty, Rainer Kempe and Jerome Bradpiece.
The High Roller event was concluded in the early hours of this morning and was taken down by Linus Loeliger. He defeated long-time chip leader Luis Rodriquez heads-up to claim the trophy and £55,650 top prize.
Key UKIPT6 London Facts:
- 25,000 starting stack
- Blinds starting at 50/100 for 250 big blinds
- Levels are 45 minutes on Day 1 and they'll be 12 of them. From Day 2 onwards levels increase to 60 minutes.
- Day 1B is today, Day 1C takes place tomorrow, and the field will then combine for the first time on Saturday for Day 2. We'll reach the money during the 10 levels of play on Day 2 and then play down to a final table, which will take place on Sunday.
- Full UKIPT6 London schedule here.
- Other tournaments today include a £110 NL Holdem Freezeout Satellite to the UKIPT Main Event.
PokerStars Blog Reporting Team at UKIPT6 London: Marc Convey and Jack Stanton. Photos by Mickey May. Follow the PokerStars Blog on Twitter: @PokerStarsBlog