£220 Opening Event | 2016 888Live Poker Festival London

10-16-2016 14:05 UTC

Blank Bubbles as Fletcher Straights

MrPaulSeaton

Level 16 : 4,000/8,000, 1,000 ante

Ronnie Blank has become our unfortunate 'Bubble Boy' here at Aspers Casino in Stratford as everyone who remains in the Opening Event of this 888Poker London Live Festival is in the money and fighting for their share of the £138,600 prize-pool.

Arron Fletcher has dominated every table he's been at from the start of Day 1a to this point, and he opened to 18,000 from the hijack position, with Blank electing to call and leave himself 50,000 chips behind from the big blind.

The flop of saw both men check, but on the turn, Blank moved all-in.

"I'm sorry." said Fletcher, before calling and showing . Blank wasn't drawing dead, however, having flopped the set with pocket threes.

The river was the and that ended Blank's chances and put the field in the money. Fletcher is popular with the other players right now....and has 740,000 chips with which to continue his efforts at winning the title.

Player	Chips	Progress
Arron Fletcher	740,000 80,000	80,000
Ronnie Blank	Busted

10-16-2016 15:23 UTC

Chattha and Akadiri

MrPaulSeaton

Level 18 : 6,000/12,000, 2,000 ante

Two seasoned professionals in Charles Akadiri and Chaz Chattha (pictured) just clashed at the table which Arron Fletcher is crushing. However, without Fletcher being involved, both men looked desperate to add to their stacks.

After the original aggressor from middle position made it 25,000 to go, Akadiri called on the button and Chattha made it up from the small blind. The flop of saw all three players check, but on the turn of , Chattha made it 42,000 and only Akadiri called.

The river of had the potential to complete both a straight or a flush, and Chattha bet 68,000. Akadiri looked his opponent up and down.

"Did I let you get there?" he asked, eventually choosing to fold, declaring "pocket tens."

"Pick one if you like." said Chattha, and Akadiri - using Fletcher as his hands - chose a card, which was the .

"Do you call if I jam on the turn?" asked Akadiri.

"No, no." says Chattha. But Akadiri can read little from his fellow professional's response. Chattha has been playing poker for a living for ten years, and cashed for $250,000 in one year a few years ago. Times have changed for the former Hit Squad member, so stay tuned to this page for an exclusive chat with Chattha later on.

Player	Chips	Progress
Charles Akadiri	440,000 128,000	128,000
Charles Chathha	370,000

10-16-2016 15:46 UTC

Watts Takes Lead With Devilish Set

MrPaulSeaton

Level 18 : 6,000/12,000, 2,000 ante

Steve Watts is the new chip leader in the room after a huge hand gave him the lead. We caught up with him after the hand to talk through how it happened.

"I had pocket sixes. The flop comes and my opponent had . He bet 40,000 and I just called. The turn of a jack led to me leading out for 80,000. He went to call but put in 160,000, so it was ruled as a min-raise and I called. He shoved the river of a and I called it off, obviously."

Watts now has 1.3 million chips, ahead of Hawkes and Fletcher, who have also had excellent days so far. There is still a long way to go.

Player	Chips	Progress
Steve Watts	1,300,000 600,000	600,000
Graham Hawkes	1,060,000 90,000	90,000
Arron Fletcher	1,000,000 280,000	280,000
Yimin Yang	765,000 309,000	309,000

10-16-2016 18:14 UTC

James Mitchell Leads Day 2 With 19 Left (full)

MrPaulSeaton

Level 20 : 10,000/20,000, 2,000 ante

James Mitchell (pictured) is out in front on Day 2 as we enter Level 22, with blinds now at 16,000/32,000/4,000.

Can the former Irish Open champion reach the final table? There are some very well-placed big names looking to take him down...

Player	Chips	Progress
James Mitchell	2,200,000 1,130,000	1,130,000
Michael Harb	1,750,000 1,750,000	1,750,000
Svetlin Ivanov	1,700,000 500,000	500,000
Money Singh	1,500,000 1,500,000	1,500,000
Jose Luis Lopez	1,500,000 1,315,500	1,315,500
Thomas Pedersen	1,100,000 350,000	350,000
Vitalli Seman	1,100,000 1,100,000	1,100,000
Matteo Ferrero	775,000 690,500	690,500
Longbo Mi	731,000 731,000	731,000
Artan Dedusha	658,000 -412,000	-412,000
Neil Barron	645,000 444,000	444,000
Mihai Pop	604,000 238,000	238,000
Michael Benson	600,000 383,000	383,000
Arron Fletcher	600,000 -50,000	-50,000
Paul Whyman	570,000 -1,000	-1,000
Steve Watts	500,000 179,000	179,000
Charles Akadiri	376,000 -64,000	-64,000
Graham Hawkes	305,000 -695,000	-695,000
Gary Dallison	270,000 270,000	270,000

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10-16-2016 19:46 UTC

Arron Fletcher's Spectacular Call Against James Mitchell

MrPaulSeaton

Level 23 : 20,000/40,000, 5,000 ante

James Mitchell bet 150,000 pre-flop from middle position and was only called by Arron Fletcher in the big blind. The two professionals went heads-up to a flop of . Fletcher checked, but Mitchell made it 100,000, which Fletcher called.

The turn of saw Fletcher check again, so Mitchell made it 150,000, again prompting a call. On the river of , Mitchell made it 425,000. It would take over two-thirds of Fletcher's remaining chips to make the call, so his tournament direction hinged on it. He took his time, looking at Mitchell for around four minutes and processing the hand. Eventually, Fletcher made the call and was shown Mitchell's hand - . Fletcher turned over to win the hand with two-pair on a four-diamond board.

A high quality hand all round, with the trickiest of decisions played out superbly by both players. While James Mitchell is by no means out of contention, slipping to a still-strong 900,000, Fletcher has catapulted himself from below average to threatening the lead.

An intriguing player, Arron Fletcher's rise from tournament hopeful to cash game pro and backer is an interesting one. We'll be bringing you an exclusive and at times explosive chat with the Cambridge-born professional before the end of the week here on Pokernews.

Player	Chips	Progress
Arron Fletcher	1,850,000 1,250,000	1,250,000
James Mitchell	900,000 -1,300,000	-1,300,000

10-16-2016 20:25 UTC

Harb Days Night as Watts and Singh Eliminated in 14th & 15th Place

MrPaulSeaton

Level 24 : 25,000/50,000, 5,000 ante

Watts before Michael Harb ended his tournament.

Michael Harb is on a rush as he's eliminated Steve Watts just moments after Money Singh left us in 15th place.

First, Harb moved all-in with and Watts called it off with . Harb flopped a seven and held. Watts was left crippled stack-wise, losing that 1.3m-chip pot, and got his last in with against Harb's .

The flop of put Watts ahead, the turn of kept him there, but the on the river gave Watts two-pair but Harb the gut-shot straight.

Harb has 1.5 million, both Watts and Singh will wait to get their revenge in other tournament going on this week as the London Live Festival continues for another eight days of action!

Player	Chips	Progress
Michael Harb	1,500,000 -250,000	-250,000
Money Singh	Busted
Steve Watts	Busted

10-16-2016 20:56 UTC

Three Bust in One Hand to Create Final Table!

MrPaulSeaton

Level 25 : 30,000/60,000, 10,000 ante

A four-way all-in madhouse erupted on the second table as we lost three players and one went into a massive chip lead in the tournament.

First, Arron Fletcher shoved his eight big blind stack into the middle and was called by Artan Dedusha in the cut-off after a long think and then Paul Whyman on the button, who only had four big blinds. When it came to Graham Hawkes (pictured) in the big blind, he sensationally moved all-in for 1.6m, and Artan Dedusha called it off!

Arron Fletcher:
Paul Whyman:
Graham Hawkes:
Artan Dedusha:

The board of kept Dedusha in front the whole way and he leaps to chip leader with a stack of 4.95 million chips. Paul Whyman busted in 12th place for £1,890, Arron Fletcher in 11th for the same and Graha Hawkes in 10th for the same amount too.

We have our final table!

Player	Chips	Progress
Artan Dedusha	4,950,000 4,292,000	4,292,000
Arron Fletcher	Busted
Graham Hawkes	Busted
Paul Whyman	Busted

10-16-2016 22:44 UTC

Michael Harb Eliminated in 7th Place (£4,000)

MrPaulSeaton

Level 27 : 50,000/100,000, 15,000 ante

Michael Harb moved all-in for 920,000 in the small blind and was immediately called by James Mitchell in the big blind. Harb was in terrible shape.

Michael Harb:
James Mitchell:

The flop of kept Mitchell in front. The turn of prompted a plaintive cry of 'Chop?!' from Harb, who had stood up, in hope of a reprieve.

The on the river saw Mitchell eliminate the man to his right and leap to 3.2 million in chips. Is the former Irish Open winner about to add another trophy to his collection?

Player	Chips	Progress
James Mitchell	3,200,000 1,360,000	1,360,000
Michael Harb	Busted

10-16-2016 22:57 UTC

Super Six

MrPaulSeaton

Level 27 : 50,000/100,000, 15,000 ante

With half a dozen players left from the 700-entry field in this Opening Event of the 888Poker London Live tournament, here are their chip-stacks.

Blinds are 50,000/100,000/15,000 , with the average stack at 29 big blinds.

Since the final table began, James Mitchell and Jose Luis Lopez (pictured) have perhaps enjoyed the best starts.

Player	Chips	Progress
Artan Dedusha	5,070,000 900,000	900,000
Jose Luis Lopez	4,250,000 950,000	950,000
James Mitchell	3,100,000 -100,000	-100,000
Longbo Mi	2,310,000 630,000	630,000
Svetlin Ivanov	2,300,000 -2,020,000	-2,020,000
Neil Barron	925,000 -845,000	-845,000

10-16-2016 23:42 UTC

Jose Luis Lopez Eliminated in 6th Place (£4,780)

MrPaulSeaton

Level 28 : 60,000/120,000, 20,000 ante

We've lost another, and Jose Luis Lopez can consider himself unlucky. From second in chips to out in two hands is always cruel, but especially with the pay jumps so brutal at this stage.

Lopez first lost a big pot when shoved from the button with and was called by Artan Dedusha, who doubled up his 2 million chip stack when his pocket nines call in the big blind held.

Lopez then made the move all-in with and Longbo Mi called it off with in the big blind. The run-out of 7s5hJd4dAd] saw Lopez out in sixth place and we have a final five.

Player	Chips	Progress
Artan Dedusha	4,200,000 80,000	80,000
Longbo Mi	3,000,000 690,000	690,000
Jose Luis Lopez	Busted