8.55pm: Day 1A is done
Play has just ended here in Cork, roughly 58 players made it through from the 143 who started. A full wrap of the day's play will be on its way shortly. Whilst full chip counts of those who remain will be posted within the next hour. -- NW
8.40pm: Webber a hero until the end
Seth Webber book-ended his day by winning another crucial pot after the one that helped him double up at the start of play (see 12:15pm post).
He was heads-up to the turn of an [as][ah][kd][7d] board. Webber led for 2,500 and was raised up to 6,050 by Olli Vahala. He called and checked the action over to the Finn on the [2d] river. "How much you have?" bellowed Vahala to wake up those suffering fatigue. When he got the answer (23,550) he shoved his 36,000 into the middle.
Webber took his time and then made a great call with [ac][qd]. Vahala had been bluffing and could only show nine high with [8c][9s] -- MC
8.35pm: Last three hands
The tournament clock has been paused and the players will play three more hands. Phil Peters just added another 9,175 to his stack by eliminating Ciaran O'Learey. The latter shoved from the button with [10d][6d], Peters calling with [Ad][Qd]. The board ran [Ac][Ks][3c][Kd][Ah] to eliminate him. -- NW
8.30pm: Tongi has tons
Pascal Töngi appears to be the chip leader, the German has got a stack of 115,000. That's three and a half times the average, which is currently 33,500. -- NW
8.15pm: Exits
As time ticks down so does the number of players left in the tournament, just 67 players remain. The latest players to bust are: William Champion, Brett Angell, Joel Beverley, Matej Kalčič, Mantas Puidokas, Richard Fernandes, David Dean, Andrew Sweeney, Joshua Hart, Tim Bettingen and Fintan Hand. -- NW
8.05pm: Make it Raine
More chips for Neil Raine, who was as low as 4,000 two hours ago but now has around 60,000.
He got his latest boost when he tangled in a pot with Dennis Smit. The Dutchman opened from the cut-off to 1,200, Raine three-bet to 2,600 from the button, Smit re-raised to 5,700 and Raine made the call. The dealer fanned a [3h][4s][Ks] flop Smit c-bet 4,400 and Raine smooth called. The [6h] hit the turn, Smit fired out 8,600 only for Raine to move all-in for roughly 38,000 total. Back on Smit he got a count, checked his own stack which was similar to Raine's and then elected to fold. -- NW
8pm: Chip counts
As we enter the last hour of the day here's how some of the names and notables are faring: Dermot Blain (45,000), Mick McCloskey (24,000), Paul McTaggart (10,000), Seth Webber (38,000), Mantas Puidokas (5,000), Kevin Killeen (19,000), Richard Haile (34,000), Richard Sinclair (22,000), Brett Angell (8,000), Gary Clarke (27,000), James Noonan (14,000) and Padraig O'Neill (23,000). -- NW
7.55pm: Webber entangles O'Donoghue
Seth Webber doubled up in the first level of play and, from what we've witnessed, has had a pretty steady day since. He has around 35,000 chips after hitting a river card in a hand versus Liam O'Donoghue.
The latter raised off the button and Webber defended his big blind to see a [7h][3h][5s] flop appear. He checked-called a 850 c-bet before both players checked the [7s] turn. On the [qc] river Webber led for 1,850 and O'Donoghue called after some thought.
"I got lucky, man" said Webber as he opened [ks][qd]. O'Donoghue mucked. -- MC
LEVEL UP: BLINDS 300-600, ante 75
7.45pm: Turn sweat
A big pot between Tom Hall and Nima Saken Shaft just played out on Table nine and it was one that left Hall sweating.
The action was started by Padraig O'Neill who raised to 800 from middle position, Hall flat called and Saken Shaft then raised to 2,650 from the cut-off. Back on O'Neill he quickly folded and Hall then went into the tank.
He eyed up Saken Shaft's stack, the German had approximately 16,000 more behind, Hall covered and he elected to set Saken Shaft all-in. The latter shrugged then called all-in. "Ace-queen," said Hall sheepishly sensing he must be behind. But, Saken Shaft also had ace-queen, [As][Qh] to be exact. The [Js][3h][7h][8h] board mean that by the turn Saken Shaft was freerolling, but the [4d] completed the board meaning they chopped the pot. -- NW
7.33pm: All the sevens
With 77 minutes left to play there are 77 players remaining! -- MC
7.30pm: 'You've just got to run good'
The title was what a humble Neil Raine said to us after he eliminated a short stack to rise to 48,000 chips. We're not being fooled by the man who's spent more time on the canvas today than Rocky.
His victim was Paul Delaney who got his last 3,000 or so chips in with [kc][jc]. Raine opened [th][td] and the sweaty board ran [qh][8d][9c][ah][ad]. -- MC
7.25pm: Power outage
Seems Nicky Power was right to be pessimistic about his chances of making Day 2 as he's just been knocked out. No details just a cry of seat open and Power scuttling off away from the table. -- NW
7.20pm: Hall gets more oats
Tom Hall seems to have two main poker faces from what I've observed. The first is one of indifference; this is his default setting. The second is one of immense pain, this is reserved for when he hates life or is put in a weird spot. Both came to the fore in a recent hand against Alek Nazareet.
From the button Nazareet made it 900 to go and Hall defended from the big blind. The [10d][10c][2c] flop was checked to Nazareet, he bet 1,200 and Hall made the call. The [4h] hit the turn, check from Hall, bet of 2,000 from Nazareet, call from Hall.
The [Qc] completed the board, Hall riffled some chips contemplated a bet and then checked it once more, Nazareet took his time before betting 2,450. At this juncture Hall took off his headphones and the painful look took over. "Weird spot," he said. Eventually after running the hand through his head he called. "I have a pair," said Nazareet showing [5c][2d], Hall rolled over [Ac][4d] to win the pot. He's up to 36,000 whilst Nazareet is down to 30,000. -- NW
7.15pm: Killeen grinding
Kevin Killeen was slumped in his chair maybe trying to stay under the radar on two counts. Slumped or not he just managed to win a small pot whilst out of position.
He peeled a late position raise from the big blind to see a [kc][8h][5d] flop appear. He check-called a 900 bet before he took up the intuitive with a lead for 2,000 on the [21d] turn. It did the job as his opponent admitted defeat. That put Killeen up to 12,000 chips. -- MC
7.05pm: So long, come again
Rodrigo Zimmermann, John Chambers, Derek Baker, Adrian Cazacu, Aidan Butler, Mark Flanagan, Charlie Harvey, Joseph Lalor, Larry Brennan, Darren Roe, Dominque Vennettilli, Eldon Orr, Chris Dowling have all departed. -- MC
6.55pm: Power shortage
Ireland's Nicky Power doesn't rate his chances of making Day 2. "6k two levels left - can I make it hmm 25/75," he tweeted. -- NW
6.50pm: Just call him the comeback kid
You want to know what it takes to lead the season 3 Player of the Year Race and be in with a chance of winning packages for all Season 4 events? Just ask the current leader Neil Raine. He might tell you to never give up.
Three times today he was knocked down to around 4,000 chips. The first two times he recovered to his starting stack only to fall back again. His third comeback has taken him to more than double starting stack though! He Tweeted:
" Got 32k on the second break just doubled up 108> 44 on 882 board I 5 bet the flop he called #ukiptcork". -- MC
LEVEL UP: BLINDS 200-400, ante 50
6.30pm: Break time
The players are now on a 15 minute break. -- NW
6.20pm: Derrick builds a bigger Wall; Töngi crumbles
Derrick Wall found a nice spot and a willing customer to aid him in quest for a double up.
Pascal Töngi was under the gun with around 20,000 chips and Wall was in the big blind with 16,450 chips. It didn't take long for both of them to get their chips in.
Wall: [ks][kc]
Töngi: [jc][jd]
The board ran [9h][3h][ad][kd][qd] to end the hand by the turn. -- MC
6.10pm: News in brief
Here's a few snapshots of what's happening around the room...
- The aforementioned tough table (see 5.05pm post) has indeed broken, Padraig O'Neill is now sat to the right of Tom Hall and the two of them just clashed in a pot. The action was started by O'Neill, who raised to 600 under-the-gun, Hall three-bet to 1,375 and after getting a count of Hall's remaining stack (about 9,000) O'Neill made the call. The flop fell [8s][5c][Qh], check, bet of 900 from Hall, call from O'Neil. The [2s] fell on fourth street, O'Neill checked again and folded to Hall's double barrel bet of 1,850.
- Richard Sinclair, who's freerolling Season 3 due to winning the Champion of Champions event, is going well he's up to 27,000. He's yet to cash on the tour during Season 3 but he's going the right way about putting that right here.
- Brett Angell is down to just 4,000, he moved all-in and Ciaran O'Learey looked like he was going to call but eventually elected to fold. -- NW
6pm: Can't catch a break; won't give in
Every time Neil Raine thought he was getting back in the game something like the following that he Tweeted happened:
"ak into kk for 20k after guy says "you haven't got aces have you?" Hating life, surprisingly people don't have to 4 bet without aces!!! 4k."
This is the third time he's been down to 4,000 chips, can he mount one more comeback? -- MC
5.50pm: There were here, then they were gone
Registration closed at the end of level 3 and the numbers were counted, tallied and whatever else they do with the lists. The final number of entrants for today was confirmed as 143. It was a little less than hoped but tomorrow is expected to be much bigger.
Those not part of the "IN" group anymore include: Ciaran Cooney, Patrick Beuter, Jim O'Neill, Marc Radgen, Jonathan Bell, Alan Kelleher, Fergal Cawley, Neil O'Dowd, Marcin Podskarbi, Teri Lau, Lukasz Roczniak, Adrian Nuñez Paradelo, Sami Vahala, Steven Bartley, Killian Whelan, Noel O'Brian, Daniel Rygielski, Robert Glen, Ivan Ivanov, Ciaran Burke and Dhanesh Chainani. -- MC
5.40pm: Doverklint dents Puidokas
It might be the UKIPT but poker is a global game and Sweden just tangled with Lithuania in a pot. Representing Sweden in this instance was Mikael Doverklint he raised it up pre-flop to 700 and got a call from Lithuanian player Mantas Puidokas. The [Ah][9s][8s] flop was checked through and the [9h] hit the turn.
First to act Puidokas bet 800, call from Doverklint. The [3d] completed the board, both players checked it down, Puidokas showed [Kh][Qs] whilst Doverklint opened [5h][3h] for the flushing hand which turned into a rivered one pair. After that hand Doverklint has over 40,000. -- NW
LEVEL UP: BLINDS 150-300, ante 25
5.30pm: Farrell won some battles but lost the war
Dennis McCartney lives in Belgium and travels around with his wife to different spots. These spots have two prerequisites: there has to be a poker tournament taking place for him to play and decent enough shopping to keep his wife happy. Cork fitted their brief for this week.
McCartney was sat next to, but out of position to, Niall Farrell. The two tangled in a lot of pots with the latter using position to get the better in most of them. It was the last battle that counted the most though and McCartney was victorious.
Wouter van der Peijl opened from mid position with ace-nine and a sneaky McCartney flatted with kings from the small blind before Farrell squeezed all in from the big blind with ace-jack. Van der Peijl re-shoved and McCartney made an easy call and busted both players to move up to 28,000 chips. -- MC
5.15pm: Sick Bragg
The call was, "All in and call." The table was number three and the players were Anthony Bragg and Brett Angell.
The hand had reached the turn where the board read [9s][ts][ks][2c]. It was here that Angell made his move with only to be called by Bragg.
Angell: [as][jd] for nut flush draw and straight draw.
Bragg: [tc][9c] for two pair.
The board came [td] to fill up Bragg to a full house and a 25,000 stack. The active Angell dropped to 17,000. -- MC
5.05pm: Hang tough
Table 14 definitely has a claim to being the toughest table in the room right now, but its inhabitants seem to be enjoying themselves nonetheless.
In seat one sits Neil Raine, he also sits atop the UKIPT leader board. In seat four is James Noonan, Irish blogger Danny Maxwell informs me he's a wizard who's meant to be the next big thing in Irish Poker, one to keep an eye on then. Which is something seat six - Padraig O'Neill - gets to do all the time as Noonan is his roommate here in Cork, O'Neill finished fifth earlier this season in Dublin. And just to keep things interesting in seat eight is Irish Poker legend Nicky Power.
The fun and games may stop soon as we suspect Table 14 will be one of the next tables to break. -- NW
4.55pm: Chip counts
I've just done a sweep of the room and can tell you the approximate chip counts of the following players: Chris Dowling (12,800), Dermot Blain (28,000), Gary Clarke (18,400), Jamie Flynn (14,000), Mantas Puidokas (11,000), Mick McCloskey (20,000), William Champion (16,000), Paul McTaggart (4,300), Richard Haile (22,800), Richard Sinclair (22,600), Seth Webber (29,000), Tim Bettingen (14,000), Tom Hall (21,000), Kevin Killeen (10,500) and Padraig O'Neill (33,000). - NW
4.50pm: Lucky seat, lucky double
The superstitious amongst us would love to get drawn in seat 0707. Patrick O'Donoghue was drawn there and just got lucky to double up.
Karl Thompson opened to 900 from under the gun and made an easy call when O'Donoghue shoved for 2,000 from the button.
Thompson: [ah][kh]
O'Donoghue: [kc][tc]
The board ran [ks][9h][ts][4c][6h] to make O'Donoghue two pair. Thompson shook his head but he's still on 40,000 chips so he'll be okay for now. -- MC
4.42pm: Back to the grind for Raine
Neil Raine dropped to a short stack early and managed to recover that deficit before he took another blow. He Tweeted:
"Down to 4k after a German got there on j45 with 67 for 50bbs on the flop #ukiptcork."
This level he's mostly been in shoving mode and that has helped him get back up to 7,500. We saw him move all in from the big blind after there had been a raise to 675 and a flat call. The squeeze worked as both opponents folded. A few more of those and he'll be right back in it. -- MC
4.30pm: Half the day is done
Four levels of the allotted eight are in the can here in Cork and 120 of the 140 players who started remain.
Of course the stack to blind ratio will continue to dwindle, but for now the average stack is almost 60 big blinds. Sadly for the following players their stack is at zero as they've failed to make it to the second half of the day: Genie Shields, Paul Desgrippes, Tomasz Litewka andTorsten Diers have all busted out here in Cork.
For the remaining players though the action continues and cards are back in the air.
PokerStars Blog reporting team in Cork (and their randomly generated Valentine Name) : Marc Convey (Chopper) and Nick Wright (Cheeky Chops). Photos by Mickey May (Snuggle Bum).