button in SafariBP Bags the Chip Lead, Andrew Hulme, John Duthie Also Survive Day 1 of the 888LIVE London £2,000 High Roller
For much of Day 1 of the 888LIVE London £2,000 High Roller, Andrew Hulme seemed unstoppable.
The UK poker superstar spiked a set on the river to bust Antoine Saout. He then hit a straight on the turn to overcome Igor D’Ursel’s top set, leaving the rest of the table stunned by how hot he was running. Hulme moved up past 900,000 and was poised to end the night as commanding chip leader, but Martin Kopernicky put a stop to his relentless charge.
Kopernicky hit a flush on the river to double up off Hulme and finish the night in second place with 674,000. BP, though, is the man to beat as 18 players survived the event’s opening day. He ended up with 1,010,000 and was the only player above the million-chip mark. BP has more than $260,000 in career earnings, including a run to the final table of EPT Monte Carlo a decade ago.
Day 1 Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | BP | United Kingdom | 1,010,000 | 168 |
| 2 | Martin Kopernicky | Slovakia | 674,000 | 112 |
| 3 | Alexios Zervos | Greece | 600,000 | 100 |
| 4 | Bryan Taylor | United Kingdom | 528,000 | 88 |
| 5 | Andrew Hulme | United Kingdom | 467,000 | 78 |
| 6 | John Duthie | United Kingdom | 456,000 | 76 |
| 7 | Iosif Spulber | United Kingdom | 317,000 | 53 |
| 8 | Alper Gocer | United Kingdom | 312,000 | 52 |
| 9 | Pascal Pflock | Germany | 278,000 | 46 |
| 10 | Joe Hindry | United Kingdom | 273,000 | 46 |
Alexios Zervos, helped by a massive three-way all in where he spiked a flush, rounded out the podium with 600,000. Hulme, meanwhile, slid down from his once-lofty heights to 467,000. Bryan Taylor busted three times, twice holding two aces, but made the most of his fourth bullet to finish with 528,000.
UK poker legend John Duthie (456,000), Pascal Pflock (278,000), Joe Hindry (273,000), Brandon Sheils (254,000), Youness Barakat (190,000), and Arthur Conan (147,000) also survived the day. Lucia Navarro was the lone member of the 888 team to make it to Day 2, bagging up 126,000. Ian Simpson and Vivian Saliba, meanwhile, were sent to the rail over the course of the day, as were Julien Sitbon and Philippe Souki.
A total of 64 players came to the Grosvenor Victoria Casino today, already surpassing the £100,000 guaranteed prize pool. That number should grow as late registration remains open until the start of Day 2 tomorrow. The 18 survivors plus any new arrivals will return at noon local time to play down to a champion. The action picks up on Level 13 with blinds of 3,000/6,000 and a 6,000 big blind ante.
PokerNews will be back following all the action tomorrow down to the crowning of a champion, so stay tuned for live updates.