1.05am: Richard Evans wins UKIPT Champion of Champions
Congratulations to Richard Evans who has just won the UKIPT Champion of Champions.
In the final hand he raised to 12,000 on the button and Robert Baguley called from the big blind. On the [7s][6d][2d] flop Baguley open-shoved for roughly 40,000 and Evans made the call.
Baguley: [4h][2s]
Evans: [10c][6c]
The Welsaman's hand held up on the [As] turn and [2s] river to earn him entry and hotel to every stop of Season 4 of the UKIPT.
That isn't quite the end of Season 3 though, stay tuned for a wrap of this turbo final table.
LEVEL UP: BLINDS 3,000-6,000 ante 500
12.52am: Evans all-in, takes chip lead
And just like that Richard Evans is back in the lead, Robert Baguley limped the button, check from Richard Evans. On the [4h][7d][Qc] flop, Evans check-raised all-in over Baguley's 12,000 chip bet. Grimace, think and fold from Baguley.
12.50am: Nip and tuck
It's still small pot heads-uppoker being played here in London, but of course with just 27 big blinds in play then each pot, no matter how small is significant. Robert Baguley has taken the majority of them and as a result he's taken the chip lead.
12.40am: Chip counts
As we move into level 17 the chip counts are: Richard Evans (76,500) plays Robert Baguley (58,500).
LEVEL UP: BLINDS 2,500-5,000 ante 500
12.30am: Still no big pots
Both players have, for the most part, taken to limping from the small blind. When Robert Baguley is in positon he's stabbing full pot at most flops and taking them down. He's even open-shoved for c.65,000 into an 8,800 pot. It might not be textbook but it's working.
However, Richard Evans is still taking down his fair share of pots and looks to have a slight chip lead. Of course this is not deep stack poker anymore, it's going to be a card or luck catching contest for that Season 4 Passport.
Level 16 has just come to an end and players are now on a 15 minute break.
12.25am: No big pots but Baguley takes the lead
There have been no massiv pots yet, but the majority of the small ones have gone Robert Baguley's way - in short he's been more aggressive. He's edged into a small lead, but with the high blinds it can all change in a couple of hands.
LEVEL UP: BLINDS 2,000-4,000 ante 500
12.15am: Rough chip counts
As heads-up play gets underway it's roughly 75,000 for Richard Evans, plays 60,000 for Robert Baguley.
12.10am: Emmett Mullin eliminated in third place
From under-the-gun Richard Evans moved all-in for 35,700 with [10s][9s] and Emmett Mullin made the call with [Ac][Js].
The board came [10d][2d][8s][8c][4c] to double up Evans and leave Mullin with just 2,900.
That went in the next hand with [Ah][9c] and he got there against Robert Baguley's pocket tens, flopping trip nines.
He then folded, before having to put in almost half his stack blind as he was the big blind and he called off the rest with [6c][2c] after Evans had raised from the button with [Ad][Qd]. The [4h][3d][8s] flop was pretty decent for him, but he missed his outs on the [9h] turn and [js] river.
We're now heads-up for the UKIPT Season 4 Passport.
LEVEL UP: BLINDS 1,500-3,000 ante 300
11.55pm: Emmett Mullin doubles through Richard Evans
A much needed double up for Emmett Mullin now...
He moved all-in from the small blind for 15,100 with [Js][10c] and Richard Evans made the call with pocket fours. The [7s][Ks][9h] flop was a good one for Mullin even though he didn't 'connect'. The [8c] turn was gin and the meaningless [6s] completed the board. He's back up to 31,400 whilst Evans slips to around 37,000.
11.50pm: Robert Baguley doubles through Emmet Mullin
Emmett Mullin opened to 4,800 then called all-in when Robert Baguley shoved for 25,000. On their backs.
Baguley: [As][Qc]
Mullin: [Kh][Qd]
A [3s][5d][Js][Qs][Ac] board saw Baguley double and leave Mullin with around 14,000.
11.45pm: Nicolau Villa-Lobos eliminated in fourth place
More chips for Welsh wizard Richard Evans as he's just eliminated Nicolau Villa-Lobos. The action was raise by Evans on the button, shove for roughly 25,000 from Villa-Lobos, call from Evans.
Evans: [Ks][Kd]
Villa-Lobos: [Qd][Jc]
A [6s][3s][8h][Ah][5s] board kept Evans in front and he now has roughly 75,000 of the 135,000 chips in play.
LEVEL UP: BLINDS 1,200-2,400 ante 300
11.40pm: Calm before the storm?
I think the stacks being so close has led to a lull in the action, the players are generally not getting involved in any big pots. There's been one all-in shove apiece by Emmett Mullin and Nicolau Villa-Lobos but neither got looked up.
11.30pm: Close
The average stack right now is 35,000, all four players are very closely bunched. The biggest stack is around 42,000 (Richard Evans) whilst the smallest is around 28,000 (Richard Baguley), that means Emmett Mullin and Nicolau Villa-Lobos both have around 35,000.
LEVEL UP: BLINDS 1,000-2,000 ante 200
11.25pm: Baguley up and down
Robert Baguley had shoved his way back into the chip lead, but he subsequently lost a sizeable pot to Emmett Mullin.
The former opened to 4,000 from under-the-gun and Mullin flat called on the button. On the [10c][3h][Ad] flop Baguley continued for 6.300 and Mullin called. The [6h] turn was checked to Mullin and his relatively small bet of 3,800 was enough to win the pot.
11.20pm: Emmett Mullin doubles through Robert Baguley
From the small blind Robert Baguley raised to 3,500, Emmett Mullin moved all-in for 16,000 and Baguley made the call.
Baguley: [Kd][Qd]
Mullin: [Ad][9h]
The [Ah][5h][Kh] flop elicited shouts of 'hold' from Mullin and his rail. The [7h] opened up the possibility of a chop, but the [6c] completed the board and the Irishman's hand held up.
11.15pm: Chip counts
Here are the chip counts as we move into level 12
Seat 1 - Emmett Mullin - 16,000
Seat 2 - Richard Evans - 43,000
Seat 7 - Nicolau Villa-Lobos - 32,000
Seat 9 - Robert Baguley - 44,000
LEVEL UP: BLINDS 800-1,600 ante 200
11.10pm: Wojtek Barzantny eliminated in fifth place
From the button Wojtek Barzanty moved all-in for 10 big blinds with [Qh][Js], Robert Baguley announced call and rolled over [As][Qs]. The German was in a lot of trouble and didn't get there on the [2d][6s][Ac][10h][9s] board.
Down to four.
LEVEL UP: BLINDS 600-1,200 ante 100
11pm: Dara O'Kearney eliminated in seventh; Thomas Finneran eliminated in sixth
Two knockouts in quick succession to tell you about, Richard Evans playing the role of executioner in both.
In the first Dara O'Kearney shoved with ace-five suited for around 10,000, Evans called with pocket tens and held.
In the second Evans raised the button with [A][8], Thomas Finneran shoved from the big blind for 8,000 with queens and Evans called. An eight on the flop and an ace on the river sent Finneran to the rail.
LEVEL UP: BLINDS 500-1,000 ante 100
10.55pm: Robert Baguley triples up
Action! Action! Action! Three actions for a three-way all-in...
Thomas Finneran opened to 1,700 from under-the-gun+1, Robert Baguley then three-bet to 3,700 from the button, only for Richard Evans to move all-in for 19,000. Back on Finneran he gave him a good stare before calling, Baguley then also moved all-in, but he was the shortest stack with 11,000.
Finneran: [Ac][Kd]
Evans: [Kc][Kd]
Baguley: [Ah][Qs]
The [10d][5d][Qc] flop was an intriguing one, the [10h] turn a blank, but the [Qh] river swung the pot Baguley's way. After that hand he is up to 33,000, Evans is down to 16,000 as he won the side pot, whilst Finneran is down to 7,000.
10.45pm: Baguley raise-folds
Robert Baguley now has less than 10 big blinds after raising to 1,800 then folding when Richard Evans moved all-in.
10.35pm: Chip counts
Here are the chip counts from the break
Seat 1 - Emmett Mullin - 19,200
Seat 2 - Richard Evans - 12,400
Seat 3 - Wojtek Barzantny - 12,400
Seat 5 - Thomas Finneran 29,600
Seat 7 - Nicolau Villa-Lobos - 37,000
Seat 8 - Dara O'Kearney - 14,800
Seat 9 - Robert Baguley - 9,600
LEVEL UP: BLINDS 400-800 ante 100
10.20pm: Thomas Finneran doubles through Wojtek Barzantny
On the last hand before the break Thomas Finneran doubled though Wojtek Barzantny.
It was the German who started the action, making it 1,200 to go, Finneran raised to 2,500 and Barzantny called.
Flop: [9d][7d][4h] - check, bet of 2,200 from Finneran, call from Barzantny
Turn: [Js] - check, all-in bet of 9,435 from Finneran, tank then call from Barzantny
Finneran: [7h][7c]
Barzantny: [Kd][9c]
River: [5s]
Finneran got a full double up, whilst Barzantny is down to roughly 10,000. The players are now on a 15 minute break, full chip counts will be forthcoming.
10.15pm: Chris Ferguson eliminated in eighth place
He waited a few hands, but eventually he had to move in...
From under-the-gun+1 Chris Ferguson moved all-in for 2,100 (3.5 big blinds) it folded all the way round to Emmett Mullin in the small blind, the Irishman decided to give him a spin.
Mullin: [Ah][10s]
Ferguson: [Qd][8h]
A [4d][Js][4s][3s][8s] meant Ferguson rivered a pair, but it was trumped by Mullin's flush.
LEVEL UP: BLINDS 300-600 ante 75
10.03pm: Thomas Finneran doubles through Chris Ferguson
From under-the-gun Dara O'Kearney made it 800 to go, Chris Ferguson moved all-in for around 9,000 from the button and Thomas Finneran then moved all-in from the small blind for 7,050, O'Kearney folded.
Finneran: [10s][10d]
Ferguson: [As][Ks]
The board ran [Jh][9h][10h][5d][5c] and Ferguson is now down to just 2,100.
9.58pm: Finneran does a win
The shortest stack belongs to Thomas Finneran, the Irishman is down to just 7,000. He did just pick up the blinds and antes though with a raise to 1,000 from under-the-gun, with his stack they all count.
9.55pm: Barzantny ships it
On a [10d][8s][7d] flop Robert Baguley led out for 2,100 - a pot sized bet - and Wojtek Barzantny then moved all-in for 14,350 total. After getting a count Baguley folded his hand.
LEVEL UP: BLINDS 200-400 ante 50
9.50pm: More for Villa-Lobos
Nicolau Villa-Lobos opened to 725 and Robert Baguley made the call. On the [3s][3c][8s] flop Villa-Lobos check-called a bet of 800. On the [Js] turn Villa-Lobos check-called again this time for 1,100.
The [9s] river was checked down, and Villa-Lobos showed [Jc][10c] to win the pot.
9.40pm: O'Kearney brings out the cold four-bet
The conditions outside have been positively arctic today and it just got a little chilly inside The Vic as Dara O'Kearney made a cold four-bet.
There was a raise to 600 from Wojtek Barzantny (hijack), a re-raise to 1,325 from Chris Ferguson (cut-off) before O'Kearney made it 3,400 from the big blind. There followed a swift fold from Barzantny and a longer dwell from Ferguson before he also folded.
Whether it's his table image, his table presence, his attire, his age or a combination of all those things, O'Kearney always gets a lot of respect when he puts chips in the pot. -- NW
LEVEL UP: BLINDS 150-300 ante 25
9.28pm: Chip counts
Seat 1 - Emmett Mullin - 18,000
Seat 2 - Richard Evans - 16,725
Seat 3 - Wojtek Barzantny - 15,700
Seat 4 - Chris Ferguson - 12,775
Seat 5 - Thomas Finneran 12,200
Seat 7 - Nicolau Villa-Lobos - 33,000
Seat 8 - Dara O'Kearney - 18,600
Seat 9 - Robert Baguley - 16,000
LEVEL UP: BLINDS 150-300
9.15pm: Boat for Barzantny
With 5,500 in the pot and a complete board of [3c][6s][5s][3h][3d] on the felt Thomas Finneran checked the action to Wojtek Barzantny. After about 15 seconds thought Barzantny checked it back and rolled over pocket twos for the nut low full house, it was good though as Finneran mucked.
LEVEL UP: BLINDS 100-200
9pm: Two showdown hands
Both Thomas Finneran and Dara O'Kearney have been noticeably quiet so far, but that just changed. Finneran bet 600 on a [Kd][4d][Ad] flop, check-call from Dara O'Kearney, check-fold from Robert Baguley. The [2c] was checked through, before O'Kearney bet 900 on the [7h] river, this was met with a crying call from Finneran, O'Kearney rolled over pocket fours for a flopped set, Finneran mucked.
In the second Emmett Mullin (aggressor), Chris Ferguson and Nicolau-Villa Lobos all put 1,725 into the pot on the turn of a [7h][3s][6d][Qh] board, the [4d] completed the board, Mullin bet 3,850, Ferguson folded but Villa-Lobos called.
Mullin: [6h][4h] - two pair
Villa-Lobos: [9h][5h] - rivered straight
"Sick," said Mullin.
8.55pm: Chip counts
Rough eyes on chip counts, I wear glasses and their state of cleanliness depends on when Mickey May last cleaned them, luckily for you lot, she did just that at 8.15pm.
Seat 1 - Emmett Mullin - 21,000
Seat 2 - Richard Evans - 16,700
Seat 3 - Wojtek Barzantny - 13,600
Seat 4 - Chris Ferguson - 14,800
Seat 5 - Thomas Finneran 14,800
Seat 7 - Nicolau Villa-Lobos - 24,000
Seat 8 - Dara O'Kearney - 13,975
Seat 9 - Robert Baguley - 17,400
LEVEL UP: BLINDS 75-150
8.45pm: Mullin makes a call down
A sizeable pot between Robert Baguley and Emmett Mullin to tell you about. The former bet 700, 1,200 and 1,700 respectively on a [3c][10d][Qd][9s][7d] board, Mullin called him down and after the river action Baguley mucked his hand meaning that Mullin didn't have to show the winner.
LEVEL UP: BLINDS 50-100
8.35pm: One for Mullin and all-in chop
Will a complete board of [2s][3s][4c][2h][Js] on the felt Emmett Mullin (small blind) fired out a bet of 1,650 into a pot of 2,700, Nicolau Villa-Lobos made the call. Mullin showed pocket queens to win the pot.
A couple of hands later Villa-Lobos and Robert Baguley got it all-in pre-flop, both players had pocket queens and they chopped the pot. -- NW
8.25pm: Sergio Aido eliminated in ninth place
Whilst I felt Sergio Aido might get active in the hope of building a stack during the EPT dinner break his exit hand was stone cold cooler.
From under-the-gun Nicolau Villa-Lobos made it 150 to go, Wojtek Barzantny flat called from the cut-off, only for Aido to make it 700 from the big blind. This elicited a four-bet to 1,800 from Villa-Lobos a fold from Barzantny and a flat call from Aido.
On the [Jh][Ks][10h] flop the two players got the chips all-in with a flurry of raises and re-raises. Showdown!
Aido: [Jd][Js] - flopped set
Villa-Lobos: [Ac][Qs] - flopped straight
The Spaniard couldn't fill up on the [6h] turn or [5d] river and the Brazilian yet again gets an early double up at a final table. -- NW
8.20pm: Aido takes the first pot
It what could be a common theme in the first 75 minutes Sergio Aido opened for a raise of 125 from under-the-gun, everyone else folded and he took the pot. You sense he's going to try and build a stack of bust trying durin the EPT dinner break.
8.15pm: Seat Draw
The seat draw has been done here's who's sitting where...
Seat 1 - Emmett Mullin
Seat 2 - Richard Evans
Seat 3 - Wojtek Barzantny
Seat 4 - Chris Ferguson
Seat 5 - Thomas Finneran
Seat 6 - Sergio Aido
Seat 7 - Nicolau Villa-Lobos
Seat 8 - Dara O'Kearney
Seat 9 - Robert Baguley
Players are just having a pre game photo taken, Sergio Aido is currently playing in the EPT main event and had been told he had to take his seat before the first exit. That tournament is now on break 75 minutes, so he's just shown up. He could bring an interesting dynamic to this final table.
We should be underway momentarily.
7.55pm: Champions league
Whilst five stops of Season 4 of the UKIPT have been announced tonight is all about bringing down the curtain on Season 3.
The UKIPT3 Champion of Champions will see the winners of the eight main events in Season 3 and the winner of the UKIPT3 Best Online Qualfier (the person who won most seats) battle it out for a passport to Season 4 of the UKIPT. That's all main events and accommodation. A five-figure freeroll.
The structure is the same as a regular UKIPT main event but with 15 minute levels instead of one hour, if last year's end of season showpiece is any barometer it should be a turbo charged five hours of winner takes all poker.
Play is set to start at 8pm, let's take a look at the runners and riders.
Emmett Mullin, Ireland, winner of UKIPT Galway and €100,000
"It's unbelievable, I've actually won a tournament as big as this, with such a tough field...It's been a bit of a drain but there's a buzz at the minute. We'll have a few drinks tonight." So said Emmett Mullin after taking down the opening event of Season 3. He's had one other UKIPT main event cash this year, finishing 204th in Nottingham.
Robert Baguley, United Kingdom, winner of UKIPT Nottingham and £210,400
One million pounds. That was the guarantee PokerStars slapped on the Nottingham leg of UKIPT. How much! Well they smashed it as 1,625 players created a prize pool of £1,137,500. The largest piece of the pie went to local player Robert Baguley, who qualified in a live satellite at Dusk Till Dawn.
Richard Evans, United Kingdom, winner of UKIPT Dublin and €75,500
Hot on the heels of Nottingham came another cinderella story as Richard Evans took down UKIPT Dublin. The proud Welshman qualified for just €15 and came back from 1.2 big blinds to win. A great moment for the self-described micro-stakes player who also cashed in Nottingham.
Chris Ferguson, United Kingdom, winner of UKIPT Newcastle and £87,640
No not that one. This Chris Ferguson is a Scotsman but he was far from tight as he shoved his way to victory in Newcastle defeating, among others, Sam Holden. He showed great fortitude to recover from an early setback at the final table, which should stand him in good stead in this turbo sit and go.
Wojtek Barzantny, Germany, winner of UKIPT Bristol (and UKIPT Online) and £90,400
Move over Layne Flack and make room for Wojtek 'back to back' Barzantny. The German sensation won two UKIPT titles in a week in Bristol. First, he defeated Chris Moorman, the UK's best ever online tournament player, to win the UKIPT Online title. Then five days later he bested a field of 550 to win UKIPT Bristol. Without a shadow of a doubt, this season's defining moment. "Congrats to Wojtek Barzantny who just shipped two UKIPT titles in a week! Stop making the rest of us look bad though..." tweeted fellow two-time UKIPT winner Nick Abou Risk.
Nicolau Villa-Lobos, Brazil, winner of UKIPT Edinburgh and £101,000
From worst to first samba style. Coming into the final table Nicolau Villa-Lobos was the shortest stack, an early double up with quads helped him gain traction and the 24-year-old boy from Brazil, who only took up poker when he had heart surgery six years ago, proved he could cut it on a cold snowy afternoon in Edinburgh in January. Can he repeat the trick in London?
Thomas Finneran, Ireland, winner of UKIPT Cork and €55,440
Whilst there's an obvious luck element in poker sometimes you just have to hold your hands up and say, "the best player won." UKIPT Cork is a case in point, Thomas Finneran never featured in any huge pots, didn't take any flips and just calmly worked his way to the title.
Sergio Aido, Spain, winner of UKIPT London and £144,555
The last slot in this tournament was decided less than 24-hours ago when Sergio Aido defeated Thomas Ward to win UKIPT London. He played an aggressive game throughout, expect more of the same tonight. If he gets chips he'll be very dangerous indeed.
Dara O'Kearney, Ireland, winner of UKIPT3 Best Online Qualifier leader board
Taking the ninth and final seat in this event is Dara 'Doke' O'Kearney who won an incredible 80 seats to the various UKIPT stops during Season 3, putting him 28 ahead of his nearest rival. Amazingly though, for someone who clearly plays a lot online, O'Kearney probably has more live experience than anyone else in the field. Oh and he also created his own 'Nash equilibrium' charts from scratch, when he used to grind sit and gos, which will come in handy when stacks get short. He's a triple threat.
Photos © Mickey May.