Paul Trotter opened in middle position and Conor Beresford three-bet from the button. Trotter called.
Trotter checked on the flop of and Beresford continued for 6,200. Trotter responded with a check-raise to 16,000 and Beresford, who finished second in the £1,100 UKIPT Main Event earlier today for £145,120, quickly folded.
Balakrishna Patur raised and a player flat-called before Ghassan Bitar three-bet from the blinds. Patur four-bet and only Bitar called.
The flop landed and Bitar opted to lead out for 16,500. Patur called. The turn brought the and Bitar moved all in for 66,700, sending Patur into the tank and he eyed the tournament clock on the wall.
"I hate to do this. I don't think I can fold. Alright, buddy," Patur said before calling with slightly less.
Balakrishna Patur:
Ghassan Bitar:
Bitar tabled his holding, top pair and a turned straight draw, and Patur proudly slammed down ace-king to show himself to be ahead. He still had to dodge a seven, jack or queen to avoid being eliminated. He was able to do so as the bricked off on the river and he let out a triumphant "YES!" as the river card peeled off.
"Many outs," Bitar said glumly as he was left with crumbs.
Tournament officials have drawn for the number of hands to be drawn tonight, with players playing four more hands before bagging up for the night. Stay tuned for a full recap right here on PokerNews.
The first PokerStars European Poker Tour London Main Event in over eight years got underway at the Hilton Park Lane today, with 262 players joining the first of two starting flights.
The Day 1a field was whittled down to just 83 players over the course of ten levels, with Luis Pinho ending the day as chip leader with 260,000.
He leads Balakrishna Patur (233,500) and Sergio Coutinho at the top of the counts, with EPT regular Ognyan Dimov also bagging a top-five stack ahead of Day 2.
Patur thought he'd grabbed the overnight chip lead for himself after winning a healthy pot in the last hand of the night, and said that he'd enjoyed himself at the tables.
Other notables who bagged healthy stacks included Roland Rokita (197,500) and Anton Wigg (175,000).
Rank
Name
Country
Chips
Big Blinds
1
Luis Pinho
Poland
260,000
173
2
Belakrishna Patur
United States
233,500
156
3
Sergio Coutinho
Malta
205,500
137
4
Ognyan Dimov
Bulgaria
200,500
134
5
Roland Rokita
Austria
197,500
132
6
Frederik Brink
Denmark
197,500
132
7
Alexandre Vuilleumier
France
188,000
125
8
Alan Pham
Australia
183,500
122
9
Alexis Laroche
Canada
182,500
122
10
Patrick Brooks
England
182,000
121
Day 1a Recap
Plenty of familiar faces were in action on Day 1a including British players Jamie Nixon, Guy Taylor, Tom Middleton, Jack Sinclair and Barny Boatman, but there were plenty of international stars joining the field such as Kenny Hallaert, Paulina Loeliger, Joao Vieira and WSOP Main Event champion Espen Jorstad.
Several of these managed to survive through to Day 2, but it wasn't such a good day for former EPT London champion Victoria Coren Mitchell who survived until the eighth level of the day before being eliminated holding pocket aces by Lawrence Brandt, fresh from securing his first cash on English soil in the UKIPT Main Event.
During the latter stages several High Roller regulars joined the field including Ben Heath, Daniel Dvoress and Timothy Adams — all of which secured a place in Day 2 at the first opportunity.
The second starting flight in the EPT London Main Event starts at 12:00 p.m. on Sunday, October 23. Just like today, they will play ten 60-minute levels with 20-minute breaks every two levels. There will be a 75-minute dinner break after Level 6.
Any player who has not played yet, or any player who has busted and is yet to re-enter, can join the field before late registration closes at the start of Day 2.