Zexuan Huang Bags the Chip Lead at the Final Table of the 888poker Live Glasgow Main Event
Zexuan Huang picked up two big pairs on back-to-back hands to seize the chip lead as the final table was set on Day 2 of the 888poker Live Glasgow £888 Main Event.
Huang busted start-of-day chip leader Brandon Sheils in 12th place with two kings, and just one hand later was dealt jacks to bust Cameron Johnston in 11th place to rocket all the way up to 1,960,000 and atop the leaderboard among the final nine. Huang has $45,000 in live career earnings, including a 47th-place finish in this event a year ago, and is in pole position to capture the £61,320 first prize and 888poker Live trophy at the final table tomorrow.
Final Table chip counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zexuan Huang | China | 1,960,000 | 49 |
| 2 | Martin Lechner | Austria | 1,755,000 | 44 |
| 3 | Danny Hawkes | United Kingdom | 1,480,000 | 37 |
| 4 | John Clements | United Kingdom | 1,335,000 | 33 |
| 5 | Richard Kellett | United Kingdom | 1,265,000 | 32 |
| 6 | Bryan Taylor | United Kingdom | 895,000 | 22 |
| 7 | Dean Hutchison | United Kingdom | 740,000 | 19 |
| 8 | Ernst Soederkvist | Sweden | 565,000 | 14 |
| 9 | Gaoyang Yang | United Kingdom | 455,000 | 11 |
Martin Lechner is in second place with 1,755,000 after winning one of the biggest hands of the night. David Gallagher was the chip leader with 30 players left, but he then got in his last 456,000 with two queens and ran right into Lechner’s kings to fall in 23rd. Danny Hawkes (1,480,000), John Clements (1,335,000), and Richard Kellett (1,265,000) round out the top five.
Bryan Taylor has already done at least one better than he did last year, when he finished in 10th place on the final table bubble. He’ll take 895,000 into the event’s final day. Dean Hutchison (740,000) won the High Roller earlier this festival and will be hunting his second big trophy in a few days. Ernst Soederkvist (565,000) and Gaoyang Yang (455,000) complete the final table lineup. It will be a reunion of sorts for Hutchison, Kellett, Taylor, and Yang tomorrow, as all four of them also made the final table of the Mini Main Event out of 457 entries. “What are the odds of that?” Kellett wondered after they bagged up their chips for the night.
Day 2 Action
Day 2 began with 79 survivors from the four starting flights being joined by nine new arrivals to create a total field of 348 players. Only the top 44 would make the money and get a share of the £264,480 prize pool, and Josh Manley, Lucia Navarro, and Vivian Saliba were early casualties. Nick Eastwood fell in an aces versus kings cooler, while Abel Aspas and High Roller runner-up William Henderson also fell short of the money.
Ian Simpson was down to just one big blind two spots off the money before he was eliminated by Jake Collins. Stephen McCabe then got in his last 31,000 with two jacks, but Lechner flopped trip queens to win the pot and send McCabe out on the money bubble.
Matthew Davenport ran his eights into Jack Hardcastle’s queens and was eliminated in 40th place, while Hardcastle then spiked a set of tens to send out both Michael Kane and Anthony Galloway in a double knockout. Last year’s third-place finisher Martin Byrne (36th) and Robbie Bull (24th) were also among the post-bubble bustouts, while defending champion Dean Lyall lost a race with sixes against Kellett’s queen-ten as his quest for consecutive titles ended with a 21st-place finish.
Yang spiked a one-outer to crack Sinead Davenport’s jacks and send her out in 19th. Jesus Ramos was the last remaining member of the 888poker team, but he lost an all in against Hutchison when the river gave Hutchison two pair and the double up. Ramos then got in his last 145,000 with queen-nine against Huang’s jack-ten. Ramos hit a nine on the flop to take the lead, but Huang moved back in front with a ten to bust him in 17th.
Collins was all in for 165,000 and ahead with two tens against Sheils’ king-five until Sheils spiked a king on the turn to bust the 888poker Live Madrid finalist in 15th. Hardcastle doubled up off Sheils, but just a few hands later found himself all in again for 440,000 with ace-queen and up against Hawkes’ kings. Hardcastle’s luck ran out this time, and he fell in 14th.
Huang was all in for 370,000 against Johnston and racing with two threes against ace-queen. Johnston picked up straight and flush draws on the turn to go with his overcards, but Huang dodged all of his outs on the river to survive. The rapid eliminations of Sheils and Johnston soon after gave Huang the chip lead. Kellett then brought the night to a close by picking up two kings to bust Marta Guixeras on the final table bubble.
Final Table payouts
| Place | Prize |
|---|---|
| 1 | £61,320 |
| 2 | £40,940 |
| 3 | £26,950 |
| 4 | £17,800 |
| 5 | £12,110 |
| 6 | £8,790 |
| 7 | £6,790 |
| 8 | £5,500 |
| 9 | £4,580 |
The remaining nine players will return to the Grosvenor Casino Merchant City tomorrow at 1 p.m. local time for the final table. The action picks up with 20 minutes remaining in Level 26 with blinds of 20,000/40,000 and a 40,000 big blind ante. Levels at the final table will be extended to 60 minutes. The final nine have all locked up £4,580 for making it this far, but they’ll all be chasing the trophy tomorrow.
PokerNews will be back reporting on the final table until a new champion is crowned, so be sure to tune in for all the action.