10:12pm: Play ends for Day 1B
That's all she wrote for Day 1B. Kevin Monroe (321,000) just pipped Albert Sapiano (319,400) for the end of day chip lead. A full wrap of the day's play will be up on the blog shortly. Day 1C is about to get underway and we'll bring you details of how that went tomorrow. --MC
10pm: Last six hands
Level 12 - Blinds 1,000/2,000 (300 ante)
Each table will play six more hands before play concludes. --MC
9:45pm: Sapiano vs Ruivo
Level 12 - Blinds 1,000/2,000 (300 ante)
Albert Sapiano and Manuel Ruivo played out two pots and both scored a win each.
First of all there was a board that read [6c][9d][ac][js] and Ruvio led into Sapiano for 3,500 only for the latter to shove for an effective 115,000. Ruvio took his time before folding and Sapiano told him he was behind while opening [jh][6h] for two pair.
A couple of hands later, Sapiano limped from the button and called after Ruvio raised to 7,500 from the big blind. The board rolled out [4h][ah][7c][2c][9h] with both players checking until the river where Ruvio bet 3,000. Sapiano open folded [5d][6d] and let out a few expletives about missing his straight. --MC
9:25pm: All-in or pass, sir
Level 12 - Blinds 1,000/2,000 (300 ante)
Albert Sapiano has a big stack and confusing opponents. Standard.
He and Valeriano Toledano were heads up to a [jd][2c][9h] flop with a pile of chips in the middle. Sapiano check-called 6,000 before leading for 13,500 on the [9c] turn. Toledano looked confused and peered around the dealer to look at at his opponent's stack. Sapiano helped his cause by pushing forward a big pile of 5k chips and adding, "All-in or pass, sir!"
Toledano opted to do the latter and Sapiano dragged in the pot. --MC
9:05pm: It's that time of the night
Level 11 - Blinds 800/1,600 (200 ante)
Normally, at this stage of a Day 1, you see the type of people who can't bear to come back with a short stack and will shove light in an attempt to double. Then there's the other camp that just want to make a Day 2 and see what happens from there. There seems to be a lot more of the former around the room right now as a lot of shoving is taking place. Maybe that's got something to do with the Day 1C turbo that's taking place from 10pm tonight.
Lam Van Trinh opened to 3,600 from under the gun before Francisco Manuel Esteban three-bet all-in for 9,500 from the next seat, and Alen Bakovic did likewise for 18,500 from the cutoff. Trinh folded.
Esteban: [ac][kh]
Bakovic: [ah][jc]
The board ran [kd][3d][3h][jd][2h] and Esteban gave a little fist pump. --MC
8:45pm: Curto gets a double
Level 11 - Blinds 800/1,600 (200 ante)
Fernando Curto really needed to start making waves to avoid being washed up on busted beach. He did and but he can't rest on his laurels as he still has fewer than starting stack.
Jose Antonio Valbuena opened to 3,400 and called after Curto three-bet all-in for 11,500.
Curto: [ad][jh]
Valbuena: [ah][9h]
The board ran [7c][3h][4d][ac][tc] to see Curto's hand hold up. -- MC
8:10pm: Last break of the night
Level 10 - Blinds 600/1,200 (200 ante)
The players are taking their last break of the day. Two more levels once they return. --MC
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7:55pm: Navarro busts to Burger Level 10 - Blinds 600/1,200 (200 ante)
From under-the-gun Janina Burger opened to 3,000 and Mario Navarro then moved all-in for 11,000 total. When it folded back to Burger she quickly called and it was time for showdown:
Burger: [As][Kc]
Navarro: [7s][7d]
The Spaniard was in front with his pair but the [8h][Ah][Qc][9d][2d] board favoured the overpair and Burger is now up to 70,000 as a result. --NW
7:47pm: Dowling's killer downed
Level 10 - Blinds 600/1,200 (200 ante)
Andreas Losche took out Chris Dowling a while back, but couldn't use the Irishman's chips to make Day 2.
According to a couple of players at the table, Dowling flopped two-pair with A-J and got it in versus Losche who had a dominating ace with A-Q but only one pair. One pair until the river that was, where a queen appeared to hand him the pot and the scalp.
Losche's exit hand was almost identical, minus the rescue river card. A player on the button raised to 2,500 before Rui Manuel Esteves three-bet to 5,600 from the small blind. Losche called from the big blind but the players on the button didn't fancy it and folded.
The flop fanned [qh][js][3d] and Esteves continued for 8,000 and watched as Losche quickly moved all-in for 41,900. Esteves took his time and made the call with [qd][jc] for top two pair. Losche opened [ks][qs] but couldn't catch up on the [8c][as] turn and river. --MC
7:30pm: Sapiano shoves on Gomez
Level 9 - Blinds 500/1,000 (100 ante)
There are still two tables left in play down in La Caseta and Albert Sapiano is at one of those. I arrived at the table to see him all-in for 51,200 on the turn of a [5c][7h][As][4d]. There was about 26,000 in the pot and Diego Gomez was the man with the decision.
He'd stacked up the chips to call and had about 8,000 spare should he call and lose. He tanked and tanked and eventually the clock was called on the Spaniard. The clock didn't reach zero as Gomez folded [Ah][Kc] face-up. "That's a bad fold," said Sapiano, who showed [Ad][8h] as he took the pot. --NW
7:25pm: Check you later
Level 9 - Blinds 500/1,000 (100 ante)
The price of poker is going up and there's no room for the chip-less. Say goodbye to: Martin Ilavsky, Adrian Garcia, Jonas Palsgard Christensen, Piotr Kuszczak, Abdelkader Medjahed, Maria Margarida Duarte de Miranda, Robert Grigore, Antonio Battaglia, Felipe Boianovsky, Bret Gross, Victor Herrezuelo, Francisco Javier Herraez, Angel Luis Lopez, Oscar Garcia, Alejandro Casamajor, Borja Teruel, Gil Thierry, Abraham Serrano, Domenico Laebate, David Clarkson, Ricardo Jimeno Dominguez, Franklin Nurmohamed, Antonio Jimenez Castilla, Manuel Antoni Delgado, Gareth Hamilton, Nuno Moser Mantero, Daniel Garcia, Gerry Lillie, Ivan Dias, Anaras Alekberovas, Michael Sklenicka, David Farkas and Jonas Rodriguez Leiva. --MC
7:20pm: The numbers are in
Level 9 - Blinds 500/1,000 (100 ante)
We've just had confirmation of the number of runners for Day 1B and can tell you that 409 is the magic number. Add them to the 284 who played Day 1A and you get 693. Tournament staff say they expect somewhere around 100 players to enter the Day 1C turbo flight that starts at 10pm tonight so the total field will likely be around 800. --NW
7:15pm: Top 5 counts from the break
Level 9 - Blinds 500/1,000 (100 ante)
Javier Monso, 165,000
Francisco Javier Minguez, 162,500
Simon Perez, 134,000
Roberto Alcala, 130,000
Mladen Ivanov, 128,500
--MC
7:10pm: Mitchell mops up some chips
Level 9 - Blinds 500/1,000 (100 ante)
James Mitchell is one of the most experienced players in the field and the Irish Open champion is up to 60,000 after winning a blind on blind hand against Omar Pedro Oyhenart.
When the action folded to Mitchell he raised to 2,500 and Oyhenart took a couple of looks at his cards before calling.
On the [Qs][4s][Kd] flop Mitchell gave up the betting lead, check-calling 3,500. The pattern repeated itself on the [2c] turn. This time Oyhenart fired out 6,800 and again Mitchell called. On the [Tc] river both players checked and Mitchell's [Qd][8c] took the pot. After that hand Oyehnart drops to 32,000. --NW
7pm: Just one player to get through...damn
Level 9 - Blinds 500/1,000 (100 ante)
Alan Grace was short (9,400) and made his move from early position. One-by-one they folded and he only had to get through one player. Vytautas Aganauskas was in the big blind, looked down at his hand, and made the call.
Grace: [kd][jh]
Aganauskas: [ac][tc]
The board ran [7s][4c][ah][2s][td] to make the Lithuanian two-pair and send Mr Grace to the rail. --MC
6:32pm: Break it up in there!
Level 8 - Blinds 400/800 (100 ante)
Everyone take 15 minutes and come back for level 9. -- MC
6:30pm: Fatima the thinker
Level 8 - Blinds 400/800 (100 ante)
The Thinker is a famous bronze sculpture by Auguste Rodin where a nude male sits on a rock with a chin resting on one hand as though deep in thought. Fatima Moreira De Melo mirrored this pose in a hand just now, and is also a little bronze from her time in the sun, but the Dutch star definitely has more clothes on.
Whether or not the pose helped her think more deeply in a hand versus a Spanish opponent is up for debate but either way, she won the hand with some aggression. He's raised to 1,700 from under the gun and Moreira De Melo was the only caller to a [ts][9s][2d] flop. He continued for 2,600 and called when raised to 7,000. The turn was the [td] and a 11,500 bet from Moreira De Melo was enough to win the pot. Her stack grew to around 49,000. --MC
6:25pm: Out
Level 8 - Blinds 400/800 (100 ante)
It's not been a good day for: Jorge Alexandre Rodrigues De Oliveira, David Rodriguez, David Gutierrez, Joaquim Cardoso, Angel Manuel Vidal, Lars Moller, Luis Fernandez Pacheco, Vladimir Ovshinov, Robert Grant, Elliot Sorsky, Yeray Mateos and Joan Antoni Sanchez.
It could get better though if they elect to hop into the turbo Day 1C that starts at 10pm. --NW
6:10pm: Margets makes the right fold
Level 8 - Blinds 400/800 (100 ante)
From early position Marc Coch shoved for just under 10,000 and it folded to Leo Margets, who was on the button. She asked for a count and then tanked for a while before folding. The blinds followed suit and Coch showed pocket aces as he took the pot.
Margets has around 32,000 at the moment. --NW
6:03pm: Playing Cody's hand is dangerous when your name isn't Cody
Level 8 - Blinds 400/800 (100 ante)
"That's what you get for raising with 10-4!" said Alan Horsburgh after he doubled up Said Nadjem.
He raised from middle position and Nadjem defended his big blind before the chips went in on a [3d][th][4h] flop. Nadjem was the all-in player with 13,450.
Horsburgh: [ts][4s] for top two pair.
Nadjem: [4h][4c] for middle set.
The board ran out [6s][js] and Nadjem secured the double. -MC
5:45pm: Big hand vs big hand
Level 7 - Blinds 300/600 (75 ante)
From late position Alan Horsburgh opened to 1,600, Mohamed Mamouni raised it up to 5,000 on the button only for Vytautas Pakauskas to shove for 9,800 total.
Back on Horsburgh he let his hand go but Mamouni called off the extra and showed pocket queens. It was a fine hand but he was behind as Pakauskas had [As][Ah]. The [7h][Ac][6h][9c][Jc] board meant Pakauskas more than doubled.
"I had two clubs," said Horsburgh after the hand had finished. --NW
5:40pm: Chip leaders from La Caseta
Level 7 - Blinds 300/600 (75 ante)
There are some big stacks being built down to La Caseta (the booth) and there are still 11 tables full of players in the overspill room. Those listed below have all had a good start to the tournament:
Manuel Leal Borges, 122,500
Rastislav Paleta, 103,000
Ambrose Travers, 102,000
Jonathan Spaeren, 92,000
Gianluca Speranza, 74,000
Jesper Rasmussen, 67,000
Niko Koop, 61,000
5:33pm: Great spots can end in defeat
Level 7 - Blinds 300/600 (75 ante)
"What a spot!" said Fatima Moreira De Melo after she folded in a hand where Mario Navarro squeezed all-in with kings, and got called by ace-king. He was in great shape to double but ended up busting.
Moreira De Melo opened to 1,600 from middle position and was called in two spots before Navarro squeezed all-in for 10,625 from the big blind. Moreira De Melo tank folded to allow Jokin Cendoya to move all-in behind. The other player folded.
Navarro: [kd][kh]
Cendoya: [as][kc]
The board ran [8d][2c][jh][ts][qh] to make Cendoya broadway. Navarro took the defeat like a champ, and shook some of his tablemates' hands before making his exit. --MC
5:20pm: Exits
Level 7 - Blinds 300/600 (75 ante)
What goes up must come down and so whilst the blinds go up the number of players left in goes down. Among the latest batch of players to feel the hangman's noose around their tournament life are: Jose Pedro Barragan, Ad Beukers, Marius Vik Enebakk, Dmitrii Sukhorukov, Alexander Zeligman, Javier Mauleon, Renee Xie, Fabio Cortes, Ahmad Samir Timuri, Iker Arancegui, David Pollock, Arkaitz Lozano, Abdelmajid Chiboub, David Gonzalez, Edoardo Scimia and Tarek Bouchama. --NW
5pm: A victory for England('s Mitchell)
Level 6 - Blinds 250/500 (50 ante)
We had to get this is the blog somewhere!
James Mitchell raised to 1,100 from the hijack and was called in three spots en route to a [3d][7s][9h] flop. He continued for 2,800 and was only check-called by the small blind, who gave up on the [ks] turn when Mitchell barrelled for another 5,400. He moved up to a little less than 50,000.
The game's over now, so we'll get back to some proper blogging. --MC
4:45pm: Soccer or football the game is the same
Level 6 - Blinds 250/500 (50 ante)
There are a few football shirts dotted around the room today. I've noticed at least one Germany shirt, but there's also a Bayern Munich shirt. Strangely enough it belongs to a Dutchman.
The man in question is Jeffrey Brouwer, who has a decent record in Marbella at this tournament. He finished seventh here last year and is looking to make the final table again. -- NW
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4:35pm: Double up for Winterberg
Level 6 - Blinds 250/500 (50 ante)
Wth about 10,000 in the pot Floyd Winterberg open shoved for 8,650 on a [Qc][Qs][Kc] flop, his opponent looked him up and was first to show, opening [9c][9s]. Winterberg was ahead with [Ks][Js] and held on the [3c] turn and [7h] river. --NW
4:27pm: The 400 club?
Level 6 - Blinds 250/500 (50 ante)
With late registration still open for another 30 minutes we're getting really close to 400 runners for the day. Currently 330 of 390 remain and the average stack is 29,545. --NW
4:18pm: Play resumes without the following
Level 6 - Blinds 250/500 (50 ante)
Enrique Gonzalez, Fokke Beukers, Javier Baeza, Javier Barabino, Zeljko Adzaga, Jean Baptiste Lagier, Victor Eugenio Gil Den-Houting, Antonis Poulengeris, Monteiro Correia Jelcides Patrick, Jesper Rasmussen, Ana Marquez, Tomas Nasarre, Gonzalo David Louro,
Adrian Tivadar, Imanol Cabello and Borja Rilo. -- MC
4:05pm: Break time
Level 5 - Blinds 200/400 (50 ante)
Time for a another break. --MC
4pm: Serrano singing a happy tune
Level 5 - Blinds 200/400 (50 ante)
Abraham Serrano had just called an all-in bet of 10,300 and was busy signing to himself "la,la, la, la, la," was his chosen ditty. The original raiser had just 1,200 in the pot at this juncture and be it the confidence Serrano was exuding, or his own hand strength, he elected to fold.
The reason for Serrano's confident exterior was soon clear as he turned over [Ks][Kd] and was ahead of his opponent's [Ac][Jc]. A [6s][3c][Kc] flop was an eventful one, but the set of cowboys held up on the [Js] turn and [2h] river.
After that hand Serrano is up to 56,000. --NW
3:56pm: Chips from the main room
Level 5 - Blinds 200/400 (50 ante)
Joe Hindry, 26,000
Francisco Javier Herraez, 28,500
Gareth De Groot, 34,500
Kevin Whelan, 55,000
Mateusz Moolhuizen, 23,000
Leo Margets, 34,000
Fatima Moreira De Melo, 33,000
Chris Dowling, 35,000
Kjell Lindqvist, 8,000
James Mitchell, 41,000
David Clarkson, 27,000
Anaras Alekberovas, 46,000
--MC
3:45pm: Chip counts from La Caseta
Level 5 - Blinds 200/400 (50 ante)
All the tables in La Caseta - bar one - are in use and there's a few names and notables dotted around the 17 tables, including:
Tudor Purice, 56,000
Albert Sapiano, 40,000
Diego Gomez, 38,500
Ben Warrington, 30,000
David Susigan, 24,500
Antonis Poulengeris, 7,700
3:30pm: Still time to play
Level 5 - Blinds 200/400 (50 ante)
There's still plenty of time to register this tournament as late registration is open until the end of level six. That's roughly 5pm CET. --NW
3:20pm: Big stacks
Level 4 - Blinds 150/300 (25 ante)
By this time yesterday Vinente Delgado had amassed a stack of 80,000. No one's reached those heights so far today - that we've seen anyway - but there are some impressive stacks being built.
Mladen Ivanov is up to 59,000, Andrew Wool has 48,000 and Oyvind Lundby is up to 52,000. The Norwegian climbed to that lofty perch after winning a pot against Renee Xie. She bet 2,600 on the river of a [5c][Kh][7c][6c][8s] board and Lundby tank called. Xie mucked her hand and Lundby took the pot without showdown. --NW
3:10pm: Baby flush works for Margets
Level 4 - Blinds 150/300 (25 ante)
Leo Margets' stack has grown to 39,500 after she made a baby flush in a three-way pot.
Manuel Coronado opened the pot with a raise to 650 from middle position and was called by both blinds. All three checked the [5d][qs][6d] flop before Margets led for 1,400 on the [7d] turn. Only Coronado called to the [8d] river where both players checked. Margets opened [3d][2d] and her opponent mucked. --MC
2:55pm: Free to watch England v Wales game
Level 4 - Blinds 150/300 (25 ante)
We're not going to lie, the PokerStars Blog is very jealous of anyone who's reading this whilst they've got the other eye firmly fixed on the England v Wales match. A few players who'd hoped to be playing poker during the big match are, instead, free to watch it as they've busted out early on Day 1B.
Currently warming the bench waiting for Day 1C to start at 10pm are: Juan Rosello, Andelfo Martinez, Xoan Mourino, Jose Luis Perez, Jorge Ruiz and Kuljinder Sidhu. --NW
2:50pm: Chris "The blogger" Dowling
Level 4 - Blinds 150/300 (25 ante)
"Where are you watching the game?" asked Chris Dowling while we were by his table. We responded by saying on a laptop or a nearby screen and then apologised if the blog was a little light on content for a couple of hours.
The conversation paused while Dowling raised to 725 from the cutoff, an amount called by Sebastian Perez (button) and Ezequiel Macho (big blind). All three checked the [9d][4d][8d] flop before Macho led for 1,250 on the [8h] turn. Only Dowling called to the [as] river where he called another 2,550. Macho mucked and Dowling took the pot without having to show, to move up to around 36,000.
Dowling then said he wouldn't mind sending the blog hand updates while the game is on. The Day 1C turbo is being trialled later, so trialling a "Do it yourself" blog today is only staying on trend! -- MC
2:35pm: Curtains for Molloy
Level 4 - Blinds 150/300 (25 ante)
In a blind on blind battle Rossa Molloy got his final 9,800 in the middle holding [Ac][Qd] but was in rough shape against Inaki Barreiro's [Ad][Kd]. The [Ah][Kh][Tc] flop actually gave him more outs as he now had four to make broadway. The [7h] turn and [2c] river missed him though and he exited the tournament.
Barreiro is up to 35,000 after winning that pot. --NW
2:18pm: Break time
Level 3 - Blinds 100/200 (25 ante)
The players are on their first break of the day. --MC
2:17pm: Whelan paired with Moolhuizen
Level 3 - Blinds 100/200 (25 ante)
Kevin Whelan has enjoyed a little success on the UKIPT with a couple of cashes on the tour in the last 14 months. That deep run still eludes him but he's up to 38,000 already today, so maybe this is the event. He's drawn at table one, a few seats to the right of Dutch pro Mateusz Moolhuizen, who's won over $700k in his career and came 27th here last year.
Whelan will be out of position a lot to Moolhuizen, except when the latter is in the blinds. Whelan raised from the cutoff and was called by Gioele Maruccia on the button and Moolhuizen in the big blind. The flop fanned [9s][6d][2h] and a 1,100 c-bet from Whelan was enough to win another pot. Moolhuizen dropped slightly to 22,500. --MC
2:05pm: Early exits
Level 3 - Blinds 100/200 (25 ante)
A trio of bustouts to tell you about as Dinh Doat Le, Tomas Kozlovas and Paul Keenan have all lost their stack. They can of course try again in tonight's turbo Day 1C which starts at 10pm. --NW
2pm: Dowling hoping for luck of the Irish
Level 3 - Blinds 100/200 (25 ante)
There are now an estimated 370 players in the field today and one of the newcomers is tour regular Chris Dowling. The Irishman has played the tour since Season 1 and has three final tables to his name.
Poker's not the only thing on his mind though, he's got football on the brain too: "I'm heading to France next week to watch Ireland play Italy," he told me. That game takes place Wednesday evening so should he reach the business end of this tournament he'll have a pretty tight turnaround to make it to Lille. It'll be a nice problem to have though. --NW
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1:50pm: Kings for Kjell
Level 3 - Blinds 100/200 (25 ante)
Kjell Lindqvist is off to a good start here in Marbella as the Swedish player just claimed the scalp of Juan Antonio Maza . The Spaniard was down to around 9,000 and got the last of his chips in with pocket queens. Unfortunately for him Lindqvist had pocket kings and the cowboys held up to send Maza tumbling out. --NW
1:40pm: Purice looking for a National Tour full house; Sweden looking to stop the rot
Level 3 - Blinds 100/200 (25 ante)
Diego Gomez has position on Tudor Purice, and as the two most notable players at their table, that could be key factor in their successes today. Gomez just raised Purice's big blind from early position. The latter called but made a frustrated looking check-fold post flop. Purice made a FPS and an IPT final table this year so will add a UKIPT and ESPT to that list of achievements if he makes Sunday's final.
A couple of tables over you'll find Craig Sweden. The London-based player had lost a chunk of his stack so was happy to win a pot. He and an opponent made the river of a hand with over 3,000 sat in the middle. The board read [9s][as][8h][th][ah] and Sweden led for 1,900 from the big blind. His opponent was in the cutoff and asked about much Sweden had behind, then folded once he heard it was 13,000. --MC
1:20pm: Sapiano ships it
Level 2 - Blinds 75/150
Whilst many players don't like playing big pots in the opening levels of a tournament, Albert Sapiano has no such fear. He's not afraid to get his chips across the line in the early stages and I just saw him shove on a couple of players who've clearly never played against him before.
There was a [4h][2d][5d] flop on the felt and a bet and call of 1,200 in front of his two foes. Sapiano wasn't mucking, or indeed mucking about as he shoved his stack of around 28,000 across the line. It did the trick and he's up to 32,000 now. --NW
1:10pm: Opposites attract
Level 2 - Blinds 75/150
Fatima Moreira De Melo and Leo Margets, as we mentioned before, travelled to the PokerStars Marbella Festival together, and are renting an apartment nearby. They've been sat at adjacent tables so can chat away all day.
When this was mentioned to Moreira De Melo she said, "Probably not actually, as she (points to Margets) likes to stay quiet and focus, whereas I like to chat!"
That response sparked a conversation about how they are opposites who fill in each other's gaps. One is light, the other is dark; one is chatty, the other is quiet; one can be cheeky, the other polite; and one likes to run whereas the other one did enough of that when she was a professional athlete.
"I get people to run around for me these days!" said a laughing Moreira De Melo. "And make breakfast for me, like Leo did this morning, after her run of course." --MC
12:50pm: Hindry hunting a trophy
Level 2 - Blinds 75/150
If Joe Hindry is still in this tournament on Sunday then they young Englishman will have made back to back UKIPT final tables. In April he finished third in London, which was good for £37,110. Whilst he might have missed out on a trophy there he should be leaving Marbella with a 'spadie' regardless of what happens at the poker tables.
In Season 5 we held a beer pong tournament in Bristol and Hindry, who was partnered by Neil Raine, shot their way to victory. Raine, who is an accomplished table tennis player, is also in Marbella and the pair are hoping to receive their trophies here. Raine is safely through to Day 2 having played yesterday. --NW
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12:35pm: Main room sightings
Level 1 - Blinds 50/100
Dave Clarkson took down the Win the Button tournament the other night and he's hoping to carry on that good form in the Main Event. He got off to a good start by winning a small pot off an opponent.
He was in the big blind and called a raise to 250 to head to a [2s][2c][7c] flop. He check-called 500 before both players checked the [ah] turn. The board completed with the [4d] and Clarskon led for 2,500. Fold.
Clarkson's in the main tournament room with the aforementioned Fatima Moreira De Melo and Leo Margets. They're sat very close to each other so expect lots of chatter in that corner of the room!
Other players spotted so far include: James Mitchell, Kjell Lindqvist, Renee Xsie, and local pro Ana Marquez. -- MC
12:20pm: Down in the booth
Level 1 - Blinds 50/100
Today play is spread over two rooms with 'La Caseta' aka The Booth, which is normally used for side events, pressed into use for the main event. There's currently 15 tables in use down there with another three ready to go should they be needed.
There's a calming feel to La Caseta, it feels a bit like you're playing poker in a big Spanish villa. Among those trying to feel at home in this tournament in that environ are: Rasmus Agerskov, Tudor Purice, Albert Sapiano, Craig Sweden, Diego Gomez and Asif Warris.
12:03pm: Shuffle up and deal
Level 1 - Blinds 50/100
Cards are in the air for Day 1B. --MC
11:50am: Welcome back for Day 1B
Level 1 - Blinds 50/100
Yesterday was so much fun, let's do it all over again. Actually, let's do it twice today. It was trailed on the Eureka Poker Tour and now it's come to the UKIPT/ESPT. There is a Day 1C Turbo flight taking place later tonight that offers players a second chance to make Day 2, only open to players who busted on Day 1A yesterday, or Day 1B today. That's for later though, there's the little matter of Day 1B to take care of first.
Cards will be in the air at midday CET and more than 300 players are expected to through the doors of Casino Marbella. It may be the Spanish summer but no shorts in here please. Don't worry, they've got you covered with air conditioning.
One of the players taking centre stage today will be Team PokerStars SportStar Fatima Moreira De Melo. It one of her favorite stops of the year and she's dragged Leo Margets along with her. We'll bring you news of all the other notables once play is underway. --MC
Key UKIPT6 Marbella 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 1A was yesterday (read about it here), Day 1B takes place today and there's also a turbo Day 1C at 10pm tonight. That opening flight is only open to players who've busted on Day 1A or Day 1B.
- The field will then combine for the first time on Friday. We'll reach the money during the eight levels of play on Day 2 and then play down to a final table on Saturday. Sunday is all about the final. Cue mad celebrations and swigging of sangria from the trophy (possibly).
- Full UKIPT5 Marbella schedule here.
PokerStars Blog Reporting Team at UKIPT6 Marbella: Marc Convey and Nick Wright. Photos by Mickey May and Rene Velli. Follow the PokerStars Blog on Twitter: @PokerStarsBlog