£560 Main Event
Day 1a Completed
2025 888poker UKPL Coventry
£560 Main Event
Day: 1a
Event Info
2025 888poker UKPL Coventry
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 1a
Buy-in
£560
Prize Pool
£143,925
Entries
303
Level
28
Blinds
100,000 / 200,000
Ante
200,000
Entries
47
Players Left
6
Players Left 1 / 303
Filter
Level 15
: Blinds 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante
Day 1a of the 888poker UK Poker League Coventry £560 Main Event saw a compact field of 46 entries assemble at Grosvernor Casino inside the Building Society Arena. After 15 levels of play, the first of four starting flights of the £100,000 guaranteed tournament had reached its conclusion, and only six players remained.
They are led by Ding Fan, who expanded the starting stack of 50,000 to a whopping 842,000 by the night's end, good for 84 big blinds at the start of Day 2, which will take place on Sunday, October 16. Fan secured the chip lead shortly before late registration closed, and seemed unable to lose a pot afterward. During the final few hands of the night, Fan increased his lead considerably by picking up aces against a preflop open-jam of over 30 big blinds.
As a testament to Fan's domination, his closest competitor, Vitor Paiva, bagged less than half of the chipleader's stack with 399,000, followed by Graham Carter with 341,000 and Ling Chen with 276,000. This year's UKPL Reading Main Event champion Dale Wilson made it through Day 1a as the shortest stack, although his 223,000 still gives him plenty of room for play on Day 2.
End of Day 1a Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Day 2 Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ding Fan | United Kingdom | 842,000 | 84 |
| 2 | V.P. | 399,000 | 40 | |
| 3 | Graham Carter | United Kingdom | 341,000 | 34 |
| 4 | Ling Chen | United Kingdom | 276,000 | 28 |
| 5 | E.C. | 245,000 | 25 | |
| 6 | Dale Wilson | United Kingdom | 223,000 | 22 |
Some notable players who showed up at Coventry were less lucky and unable to make it through the day. Bracelet winner Steve Jelinek was among the early eliminations of Day 1a and opted not to reenter. Grosvenor pro Matthew Davenport fired a bullet when the starting stack amounted to ten big blinds, but booked a quick exit just before the end of late registration. Meanwhile, UK regulars Lin Chen and Wantao Tang were among the final eliminations of the night.
Day 1b will provide another opportunity to qualify for Day 2 and will start tomorrow, Friday, October 14, at 1 p.m. local time. Day 1c also takes place on Friday, beginning at 6 p.m. with a slightly faster structure. As on Day 1a, both flights will play 15 levels, with the late registration and possibility for unlimited reentries being open for the first 12.
PokerNews will be back on the floor for full coverage of Day 1b, so tune back in then for more action from the 888poker UK Poker League's final stop of the year.
Level 15
: Blinds 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante
Six players have survived the onslaught of Day 1a, and they have bagged their chips.
The full chip counts can be found below; a recap of the day will follow shortly.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
842,000
8,000
|
8,000 |
|
||
|
399,000
36,000
|
36,000 |
|
341,000
1,000
|
1,000 |
|
276,000
3,000
|
3,000 |
|
245,000
80,000
|
80,000 |
|
223,000
19,000
|
19,000 |
Level 15
: Blinds 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante
R.P. open-jammed for about 250,000 under the gun and was quickly looked up by Ding Fan in the hijack.
R.P.: A♦4♣ 
Ding Fan: A♠A♥
R.P. had mistimed his shove as Fan's aces comfortably held on the 8♣8♦2♥6♠J♠ runout.
R.P. said his goodbyes during the final hands of the day, while Fan chipped up even further, ending with a stack of over 100 big blinds.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
850,000
205,000
|
205,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
Busted | |
Level 15
: Blinds 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante
The players will play six more hands before Day 1a concludes.
Level 15
: Blinds 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante
Graham Carter made it 18,000 to go from the hijack. R.P. called in the cutoff, and Ling Chen defended his big blind.
Chen led out for 15,000 on the 10♣5♦6♠ flop, ending the hand as Carter and R.P. made consecutive folds.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
340,000
10,000
|
10,000 |
|
|
273,000
30,000
|
30,000 |
|
|
260,000
15,000
|
15,000 |
|
|
242,000
32,000
|
32,000 |
Level: 15
Blinds: 4,000/8,000
Ante: 8,000
Level 14
: Blinds 3,000/6,000, 6,000 ante
Dale Wilson raised to 12,000 under the gun, receiving calls from R.P. on the button and Ding Fan in the big blind.
R.P. called Wilson's continuation-bet of 16,000 on the Q♣A♣K♥ flop, while Fan quickly check-folded. Wilson committed his remaining 66,500 on the 6♥ turn, and R.P. quickly called to put his opponent at risk.
Dale Wilson: K♣Q♥
R.P.: J♥7♥
The 6♦ made R.P. neither a straight nor a flush, doubling up Wilson.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
645,000
5,000
|
5,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
210,000
75,000
|
75,000 |
|
|
115,000
50,000
|
50,000 |
Level 14
: Blinds 3,000/6,000, 6,000 ante
E.C. limped in as first to act. It folded to Dale Wilson in the small blind, who completed, and Ling Chen checked in the big blind thereafter.
After Wilson had checked, Chen bet 6,000 on the J♠5♥K♠ flop. E.C. raised to 12,000, Wilson folded, and Chen called.
E.C. sized down to 6,000 on the A♦ turn, seeing Chen check-call. Both players then checked the 8♠ river to showdown, where E.C.'s K♥Q♦ took down the pot.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
325,000
50,000
|
50,000 |
|
|
243,000
61,000
|
61,000 |
|
|
135,000
15,000
|
15,000 |
Level 14
: Blinds 3,000/6,000, 6,000 ante
Lin Chen got his last 50,000 in the middle preflop and was at risk against Graham Carter.
Lin Chen: A♣Q♥
Graham Carter: A♥K♦
Carter made two pair on the J♠8♠A♦K♠ turn, and Chen could not find Broadway on the 4♥ river, setting his exit in stone.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
350,000
63,000
|
63,000 |
|
Busted |
