Unibet Open Kicks Off Season 11 in London This Week
Get ready for the 11th season of the Unibet Open, which returns to London for the third year in a row for the kickoff. The Poker Room at Grosvenor Victoria Casino, better known as the fabled "The Vic", will once again set the stage for five days of poker action.
The first festival of 2018 caters to pros and recreational players alike with a diverse schedule. The four-day £990 Main Event kicks off on Thu., Feb. 22. The festival also features a £2,200 High Roller, the £330 Unibet Open Deepstack, several low-stakes turbo buy-in events, and a £110 Ladies Event.
[Removed:158] is the reigning champion at "The Vic". Last year, Van Lancker defeated a 419-player strong field to claim the first place prize of £71,950. It was Van Lancker's third final table at a Unibet Open event. After finishing fifth and third at previous Unibet Opens, the Belgian finally made it to the top spot. Van Lancker followed in the footsteps of Dave Shallow who won £62,000 the year before.
Unibet Open London History
| Year | Buy-in | Entries | Prize Pool | Winner | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | £2,750 | 266 | €584,910 | Thanh Doan | £187,000 |
| 2010 | £1,650 | 273 | £255,000 | Paul Valkenburg | £109,550 |
| 2012 | £1,320 | 315 | £378,000 | Pratik Ghatge | £85,050 |
| 2014 | £1,100 | 399 | £319,200 | Iaron Lightbourne | £70,000 |
| 2016 | £825 | 418 | £313,500 | Dave Shallow | £62,000 |
| 2017 | £990 | 419 | £377,100 | [Removed:158] | £71,950 |
Last year, Rauno "Ben" Tahvohnen" made his way to the final table and finished in 6th place (£13,650). The 27-year old Estonian skateboard instructor, affectionally known as "Estonian Jesus," received massive support from fans throughout the event and signed on as Unibet Ambassador shortly after.
Tahvonen will be back, joined by a slew of other Unibet Ambassadors including Britain's Ian Simpson, Irishmen Dara O'Kearney and David Lappin, Quentin Lecomte and Alexandre Reard from France, Romania's two-time Unibet Open champion Dan Murariu and Espen Uhlen Jorstad from Norway. Daiva Byrne, who's leading the popular Ladies at Unibet Poker Facebook group, will also make her appearance.
Record-breaking year
The Unibet Open is fresh off a record-breaking tenth season, which was celebrated with a special European Open edition in Las Vegas. The European Open drew 673 runners, the highest ever number for a Unibet-related event. American professional Joe Serock conquered the special event and cashed for $113,059.
eSports Battle Royale VIII
The traditional eSports Battle Royale £10,000 Sit 'n Go will return as well. It's the eight time well-known eSporters and Twitch-streamers swap their usual digital playground for some live poker action. Alan "Hotted89" Widmann, Sophia "djarii" White, Scot "Sco" McMillan, Mark "Valkia" Purdy, Jeffrey "Sjow" Brusi, Thijs "ThijsHS" Molendijk, Kelly "Kelly_Jean" Jean, Colin "Koolein" Wijnholds and Philip "Syrinxx" Schönebaum will make their appearance. The winner of the freeroll will take home £5,000, the runner-up receives £3,000, and number three banks £2,000.
Parties
Off the felt, there will be plenty of opportunities for players to have fun. Enjoy welcome drinks Feb. 23 from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. at the Draft House - Paddington (right next to the Hotel). The infamous Unibet Players Party is on Feb. 24 from 9.30 p.m. to 3 a.m. at The London Reign, located at 215 - 217 Piccadilly, St. James's. Unibet Open players need to enter the popular club between 9:30 and 11:45.
Unibet Open London live stream
Unibet London will have a live stream running on Twitch throughout the five-day festival. Long-time commentator and Unibet Ambassador David Vanderheyden will take the helm and will be joined by several Unibet Ambassadors on guest commentary. Also, Unibet staff will join to give behind-the-curtain perspective on all things Unibet Open related. Besides following the action on the feature table. Vanderheyden & co. will be chatting with other guests in the booth and running competitions and promotions.
2018 Unibet Open London schedule
| Date | Time (CET) | Event | Buy-in | Levels | Starting Stack |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon. 19 | 20:00 | Satellite Main Event | £165 | 20 min. | 10,000 |
| Tue. 20 | 20:00 | Satellite High Roller | £330 | 20 min. | 15,000 |
| Wed. 21 | 19:00 | eSports SNG | - | 30/20 min. | 25,000 |
| 19:00 | Satellite Main Event | £165 | 20 min. | 10,000 | |
| 20:00 | NLH Highroller - Day 1 | £2,200 | 40 min. | 30,000 | |
| Thu. 22 | 11:00 | Main Event - Day 1A | £990 | 60 min. | 30,000 |
| 12:00 | NLH Highroller - Day 2 | £2,200 | 40 min. | 30,000 | |
| 20:00 | Satellite Main Event | £165 | 20 min. | 10,000 | |
| Fri. 23 | 11:00 | Main Event - Day 1B | £990 | 60 min. | 30,000 |
| 21:00 | NLH Turbo | £165 | 15 min. | 15,000 | |
| Sat. 24 | 12:00 | Main Event - Day 2 | - | 60 min. | - |
| 14:00 | Unibet Open Deepstack - Day 1 | £330 | 30/40 min. | 20,000 | |
| 15:00 | Ladies Event | £110 | 30 min. | 15,000 | |
| 21:00 | Turbo Bounty (£100 Bounty) | £220 | 15 min. | 15,000 | |
| Sun. 25 | 12:00 | Main Event - Day 3 - Final Table | - | 60/45/30min. | - |
| 12:00 | Unibet Open Deepstack - Day 2 | - | 40 min. | - | |
| 13:00 | NLH Turbo | £110 | 15 min. | 10,000 |
Follow PokerNews throughout the week as our live reporting team will be on hand to cover the entire 2018 Unibet Open London Main Event from start to finish.
A former professional poker player with a background in sports marketing and journalism. Yori has been a part of PokerNews since 2016 and manages the content team.
