We are getting closer and closer to the £1,000,000 guarantee here at Dusk Till Dawn, but with just three Day 1 online flights, there are still 516 entries needed. For the Grand Prix UK Main Event to hit the guarantee, or just take advantage of the potential overlay, you can play the next Day 1 at 3.00pm or following flights at 5.00pm and 7.00pm.
Level: 20
Blinds: 8,000/16,000
Ante: 2,000
Players are now on a short break.
We started the day with 251 players and, after three levels of play, we're down to 165 across 19 tables.
The average stack sits at 454,545, which represents 28.5 big blinds.
Adam Maxwell, one of the chipleaders at this point, was just involved in another big one.
He opened to 30,000 from mid position, with action folding around to Nikki Potter in the big blind, who flicked in the extra and the two went heads-up to a flop of 
. Potter checked, while Maxwell made a continuation bet of 26k, which Potter quickly called.
The 
hit the turn, which Potter quickly checked. After some careful deliberation, Maxwell checked behind and we went to a 
river. Potter wasted no time pushing all-in for 225,000. Maxwell called instantly and whipped over 
for a backdoor flush. Potter calmly rolled over his 
for the superior backdoor flush, causing Maxwell to ping his cards into the muck and immediately whip his phone out, presumably to moan to his friends via text!
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
1,050,000 | -250,000 |
|
|
580,000 | 580,000 |
James Pierce qualified for this Day 2e of the Grand Prix Main Event by some of the best value means possible.
"I played a freeroll at Rainbows in Bristol. I came at the end of registration, because otherwise you can make a lot of rebuys. I made sure I got my add-on and won a seat to the Day 1 on the following Saturday."
If the story was already good, Pierce wasn't finished.
"I qualified with around 350,000 and mistakenly thought all Day 2 players cashed. But I came here on my own. I know a few players here at Dusk Till Dawn, so it's always friendly. I'v doubled up now, so we'll see how we go."
Pierce does indeed have 700,000 and called the short-stack shove from his direct left in the last hand. His opponent held 
but Pierce's 
caught up across a 
board and he busted another.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
700,000 |
Level: 19
Blinds: 6,000/12,000
Ante: 2,000
Even at this early stage, some players have amassed over a million chips. With an average stack of 403,000, one million is an incredible feat! Not only that, but some of our players have over 100 big blinds!
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
1,650,000 | |
|
|
1,600,000 | |
|
|
1,370,000 | |
|
|
1,300,000 | 1,300,000 |
|
|
1,152,000 | |
|
1,150,000 | 150,000 |
|
|
1,150,000 | |
|
|
1,150,000 | |
|
1,100,000 | |
|
1,100,000 |
Day 2e has kicked off with a mixture of short-stacks busting and mid-range stacks doubling up. The latter scenario has repeatedly featured some of the biggest names in British poker.
Leo McClean sat down with 574,000 and has already added a blue chip worth 100,000 in his climb up the leaderboard. Ashraf Wahid came into play with 400,000 but has vaulted to 640,000 in the blink of a few big blinds.
Local professional Chris Sly began Day 2e with 340,000 but now has almost double that with 610,000 to his name. Finally, James Mitchell (pictured) sat down with 460,000 but has already turned that into a million chips.
"I had queens against jacks, and then won with 
against 
to go just over a million."
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
1,000,000 | |
|
675,000 | |
|
|
640,000 | |
|
600,000 |
Layton Grafton opened the action with a min-raise to 20,000 UTG+1. Carl O'Flaherty called in the hijack, before Łukasz Prejs moved all-in from the big blind for a total of 168,00. Grafton gave it some thought, but never really looked like he would commit the extra, and eventually folded.
With action back on O'Flaherty, he confirmed with the dealer that he was allowed to discuss the contents of his hand heads up. The rule here at Dusk Till Dawn is that speech play is allowed, even multi-way, so long as not to influence the action of other players.
"I've got . I think I'm in front. Do you want a call? Do you want to flip?"
Prejs just shrugged. O'Flaherty called.
Prejs' 
was way out in front, but that was changed on an 
flop. The 
turn missed O'Flaherty, and so did the river, awarding Prejs the full double up.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
675,000 | 675,000 |
|
|
380,000 | 380,000 |
Level: 18
Blinds: 5,000/10,000
Ante: 1,000