£140 Main Event - Road to PSPC
Day 1a Started
Moneymaker's Road to PSPC 2020 - Newcastle
£140 Main Event - Road to PSPC
Day: 1a
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 1a
Moneymaker's Road to PSPC 2020 - Newcastle
Buy-in
£140
Entries
436
Level
30
Blinds
60,000 / 120,000
Ante
120,000
Entries
87
Players Left
14
Moneymaker's Road to PSPC 2020 Arrives in Newcastle; Day 1a Begins Shortly
The fourth stop on this year’s incarnation of the hugely popular Moneymaker's Road to the PSPC Tour is held at Aspers Casino in Newcastle. Day 1a of the £140 Main Event starts at 7pm local time today, with live coverage here on PokerNews.
Since Chris Moneymaker’s WSOP victory in 2003, when he turned $86 into $2.5 million after taking down the Main Event via a PokerStars satellite, he has been in the spotlight as the embodiment of the tournament poker dream – to turn a small buy-in satellite win into life-changing money. Still enthusiastic, the convivial pro has recently been on the road bringing publicity (and Platinum Passes) to affordable buy-in events in North America and now further afield, from Dublin to Sochi.
“The Moneymaker Road to PSPC gives players the opportunity to win big and have a great time without traveling too far from home,” he said before the first UK stop in London last week. “There are not enough words to explain how much fun was had on last year’s Tour and I can’t wait to get back out there. Playing poker and hanging out with people who love the game is memorable enough, then add in the Platinum Pass and opportunity to potentially change someone’s life… it’s going to be awesome!”
Andrew Barham (pictured) won the first British Moneymaker Tour stop at Le Meridien, Piccadilly last Sunday, taking home £7,501 after seeing off a total field of 468.
This week’s Newcastle Main Event (30th October-3rd November) will award its own Platinum Pass to the PSPC 2020* along with what promises to be a sizeable prizepool for a £140 event. Four starting flights (Wednesday through Saturday) feature 30 minute levels and a 30,000 starting stack; there is the option to re-enter up to twice per flight. Late registration ends today after Level 8, and play will finish at around 3am. Survivors from all flights will reconvene to play to a winner on Sunday 3rd November at noon.
*Platinum Pass Includes:
• Buy-in to the €22,500 PSPC 2020 event in Barcelona in August
• Six nights’ hotel accommodation for you and a guest in a five-star hotel
• Airport transfers
• Bespoke PSPC Merchandise
• €1,250 to cover expenses
• Platinum Pass winner experiences during the event
Slight Delay for Day 1a Kick-Off
After a quiet pre-registration period, it looks like a coach marked "Road to PSPC" may have just pulled up outside Aspers Casino, Newcastle, as dozens of players have arrived with seconds to go before the scheduled start time of 7pm. We expect cards to be in the air within fifteen minutes or so.
Level: 1
Blinds: 100/200
Ante: 0
Cards In the Air
Level 1
: 100/200, 0 ante
Five slowly-filling ten-handed tables are now in action, alongside the cash games from which a good few players have been tempted. A total of 40 players were in front of 30,000 starting stacks as the first hand was dealt, but we expect a steady stream of latecomers over the eight half-hour levels of late registration.
Level One - A Few Notable Players
Level 1
: 100/200, 0 ante
Among those arriving on time to take advantage of the unusually deep stacks in this £140 event is Brett Angell, no stranger to UK poker circuit success. Angell - amongst other victories - secured £115,083 for taking down the UKIPT4 London Main Event back in 2014, and this year comes to Newcastle on the back of a win at the GUKPT in Leeds (£20,912) last month.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
30,000
30,000
|
30,000 |
|
|
30,000
30,000
|
30,000 |
|
|
30,000
30,000
|
30,000 |
|
|
30,000
30,000
|
30,000 |
|
30,000
30,000
|
30,000 |
|
|
30,000
30,000
|
30,000 |
|
|
30,000
30,000
|
30,000 |
|
30,000
30,000
|
30,000 |
|
|
30,000
30,000
|
30,000 |
|
|
30,000
30,000
|
30,000 |
Table Four Loses Two in First 20 Minutes
Level 1
: 100/200, 0 ante
As the first level draws to a close, action on Table 4 has already caused two players to head back to the cash desk for chips. We missed Robert Flett's exit, but Konstantinos Patsourakis' final hand (for this bullet) escalated on a 
flop, heads up against Jed Turnbull. With under 2,000 in the pot already, Turnbull had bet out and been raised by button Patsourakis to 4,600. Back to Turnbull, who moved all in (for more than his opponent; he'd built a stack of over 40,000 already). After a brief think, Patsourakis made the call with the biggest of draws:
Patsourakis: 
Turnbull: 
Turnbull's flopped set held over the 
turn and river, and he now sports an early chip lead with 78,000.
Patsourakis' chip count reflects his insta-re-entry.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
78,000
78,000
|
78,000 |
|
|
30,000
30,000
|
30,000 |
Level: 2
Blinds: 100/200
Ante: 200
More Early Level Entrants
Level 2
: 100/200, 200 ante
While the Day 1a field is mostly made up of local and regular players, a few have made the trip specially, having eschewed the live tournament scene for a long time. Paul Dargan, who used to fit in the former category, said, "With the exception of one EPT when I was living in Dubai five years ago, this is my first live comp in about a decade!" It seems that the combination of affordable entry and an added PSPC Platinum Pass worth €26,000 is tempting for anyone who plays (or has played) tournament poker.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
45,000 | |
|
|
30,000 | |
|
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
|
30,000 |
Watson and Smith Fast-Forward Through the Streets
Level 2
: 100/200, 200 ante
A hand that ended up with a tournament-life-on-the-line moment for Kyle Watson took place at breakneck speed on Table 1. Watson opened preflop in the hijack (to something between 400 and 1,000 - there was a single orange chip in front of him) and his neighbour Ian Smith raised to 2,000. It folded round to Watson, who made the call, quickly.
Flop: 
. Watson checked to Smith, who bet 2,000 and was called, immediately.
Turn: 
. Another quick check-call combo, this time of 3,500.
River: 
. Watson now moved in almost in time with the river card becoming visible. His remaining stack: 11,800. Smith declined to call.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
28,000
-2,000
|
-2,000 |
|
|
23,500
-6,500
|
-6,500 |