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£1250 Main Event
Day 1bc Completed
2026 888LIVE London
£1250 Main Event
Day: 1bc
Players Left 9 / 379
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Chip Counts
Chip Counts
Level 14
: Blinds 1,500/3,000, 3,000 ante
The Grosvenor Victoria Casino was abuzz with activity today as hundreds of players descended on the poker room to chase the title on Day 1b of the 888LIVE London £1,250 Main Event.
Only 36 managed to survive the event’s second starting flight, and Daniel Samson bagged up the chip lead with 459,000. The local London pro, who already has nearly $1 million in total live earnings, won a three-way pot with two queens on the last level to score a knockout on his way to the top of the chip counts heading into Day 2.
Day 1b Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Daniel Samson | United Kingdom | 459,000 | 153 |
| 2 | Francisco Salvador | Spain | 418,500 | 140 |
| 3 | Haoran Dai | United Kingdom | 366,000 | 122 |
| 4 | Joe Hindry | United Kingdom | 331,500 | 111 |
| 5 | Christopher Guertin | United Kingdom | 239,500 | 80 |
| 6 | Yinchuan Liu | United Kingdom | 218,000 | 73 |
| 7 | Christos Anagnostopoulos | Ireland | 216,000 | 72 |
| 8 | Yiannis Liperis | Cyprus | 210,500 | 70 |
| 9 | Bandar Alireza | United Kingdom | 204,000 | 68 |
| 10 | Brandon Sheils | United Kingdom | 191,000 | 64 |
Francisco Salvador (418,500) follows close behind, while Haoran Dai (366,000), Joe Hindry (331,500), and Christopher Guertin (239,500) round out the top five. Hindry was put at risk late in the night by Umberan Akhtar, but he managed to find a call with aces and queens to beat Akhtar’s aces and tens and earn the massive double up.
Other players through to Day 2 include 2023 888LIVE Coventry champion Yiannis Liperis (210,500), Brandon Sheils (191,000), Nikolay Ponomarev (126,500), David Algarra (117,000), last year’s runner-up Calogero Morreale (81,500), and Martins Adeniya (32,000). Among those to fall short were UK legend John Duthie, defending champion Gang Wang, High Roller champion Bryan Taylor, as well as Cedric Schwaederle, Yucel “The Mad Turk” Eminoglu, 888LIVE Glasgow champion Martin Lechner, and Conor O’Driscoll.
The 177 entries on Day 1b brought the total field up to 283 through two starting flights. There are also 73 players registered in the turbo Day 1c flight that is ongoing. Late registration remains open until the start of Day 2 tomorrow at noon, so there is a chance the field can grow substantially larger as players continue to hunt a share of the £250,000 guaranteed prize pool.
The action on Day 2 picks up on Level 15 with blinds of 1,500/3,000 and a 3,000 big blind ante. The official prize pool should be announced shortly after the start of play. The plan is to play down past the money bubble and onwards to the final table tomorrow.
PokerNews will be following along the entire way, so come back tomorrow for all the action here from London.
Level 14
: Blinds 1,500/3,000, 3,000 ante
Day 1c attracted 81 entries, with 23 players advancing.
Level 14
: Blinds 1,500/3,000, 3,000 ante
Level 14
: Blinds 1,500/3,000, 3,000 ante
Day 1b has ended with 36 players remaining out of 177 entries.
Stay tuned for chip counts and a recap of the day's action.
Level 14
: Blinds 1,500/3,000, 3,000 ante
Bandar Alireza raised to 6,500 in the cutoff before Robert Buky three-bet to 21,000 in the small blind. Alireza called, and they went heads-up to the 9♠6♥5♠ flop.
Buky then bet 20,000, and Alireza moved all in for 136,000. "Did you flop a set?" Buky asked as he went deep into the tank, but he eventually folded after several minutes.
"Show the bluff," he said to Alireza, who remained silent and returned his cards face down.
Level 14
: Blinds 1,500/3,000, 3,000 ante
Tournament officials have instructed each table to play five more hands before the players bag up their chips for the night.
Level 14
: Blinds 1,500/3,000, 3,000 ante
David Algarra was on the button and got in his last 32,000 on a flop of 9♠Q♠K♦ against Martins Adeniya in the big blind.
David Algarra: J♥J♦ 
Martins Adeniya: K♥10♦
Adeniya was ahead with top pair and improved to two pair on the 10♣ turn, but the same card also gave Algarra a straight. The river was the 2♥, and Algarra doubled up.
Level 14
: Blinds 1,500/3,000, 3,000 ante
Daniel Samson raised to 6,500 under the gun and Artan Dedusha called in the hijack. Boris Doda then moved all in for 20,000 on the button and Samson reshoved. "Value," Dedusha said as he called for 37,500.
Boris Doda: K♥Q♥
Artan Dedusha: Q♠9♠
Daniel Samson: 8♣8♥
Samson spiked a set on the K♠8♠6♠ flop, but Dedusha made a flush to take the lead. The rest of the board ran out 9♦5♦, and Dedusha scooped the pot to send Doda to the rail while earning a double up off Samson.
"Last level, either I win or I go home and sleep. Or I sleep here," he said.
Level 14
: Blinds 1,500/3,000, 3,000 ante
Martin Lechner raised to 6,000 under the gun and Jose Pozo called on the button. Brandon Sheils then three-bet to 22,500 in the small blind, and Lechner moved all in for 60,000. Pozo got out of the way, while Sheils called.
Martin Lechner: 9♦9♠
Brandon Sheils: A♦J♦
Sheils quickly took the lead as the J♥J♣Q♦ flop gave him trips. The rest of the board ran out 3♦3♠, and Sheils improved to a full house to send the 888LIVE Glasgow champion to the rail.
"That's No. 4. I'm a lucky boy," Sheils said.
