Paul McAulay Takes a Massive Chip Lead as 18 Players Survive Day 1 of the 888poker Live Glasgow £1,650 High Roller
Amidst an exclusive group of local grinders and seasoned pros, Paul McAulay stood out from the field today on Day 1 of the 888poker Live Glasgow £1,650 High Roller.
McAulay built a massive chip lead on Day 1, ending up with 865,000 and more than 300,000 ahead of his closest challenger. McAulay first moved past 300,000 when he picked up aces against Yixuan Xu’s ace-king for a bustout. He then had aces again, this time against Chris Balmforth, and shoved the river with a full house. Balmforth called for his last 130,000 with trip tens as McAulay claimed another victim. Finally, McAulay busted Dean Hutchison with a set of nines to move far in front of the 18 players who survived the day.
Day 1 Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paul McAulay | United Kingdom | 865,000 | 173 |
| 2 | Dean Hutchison | United Kingdom | 536,000 | 107 |
| 3 | Peter Stewart | United Kingdom | 517,000 | 103 |
| 4 | Dean Lyall | United Kingdom | 487,000 | 97 |
| 5 | Robbie Bull | United Kingdom | 461,000 | 92 |
| 6 | William Henderson (UK) | United Kingdom | 355,000 | 71 |
| 7 | Lucia Navarro | Spain | 326,000 | 65 |
| 8 | Brandon Sheils | United Kingdom | 304,000 | 61 |
| 9 | Matthew Adam | United Kingdom | 295,000 | 59 |
| 10 | Ian Simpson | United Kingdom | 286,000 | 57 |
Hutchison bounced back from losing his first bullet against McAulay. He doubled up off Vivian Saliba with ace-king against ace-queen on an ace-high flop, then picked up queens against David Gallagher’s eights. The 2023 WSOP finalist sits in second place with 536,000.
Dean Lyall, the reigning 888poker Live Glasgow Main Event champion from last year, came out firing today, scoring the first knockout when his kings held against Craig Conway’s pair plus flush draw. He then spiked a set of jacks on the flop to crack Shi Dong’s kings for another knockout. Lyall bagged up 487,000, while Peter Stewart (517,000) and Robbie Bull (461,000) round out the top five.
Three members of the 888poker team took their shot at the title today, and all managed to survive. Lucia Navarro leads the group with 326,000, while Ian Simpson (286,000) and Saliba (245,000) will also be back tomorrow. Other players to make it to Day 2 included Brandon Sheils (304,000) and Michael Kane (236,000), while Jack Hardcastle and David Docherty were among those who busted before the end of the night.
A total of 59 players came out for Day 1, but that number should increase as late registration remains open until noon local time on Day 2. The action picks up on Level 13 with blinds of 3,000/6,000 and a 6,000 big blind ante. The official prize pool should be announced shortly after the start of play. Levels will remain 40 minutes, and the schedule calls for action to play down to a champion.
PokerNews will be back following all the action, so come back tomorrow for more updates here at the Grosvenor Casino Merchant City.