£1,100 Main Event Day 1bc | 2023 UKIPT Blackpool

07-15-2023 02:01 UTC

Jacob Mulhern Leads Day 1b of UKIPT Blackpool Main Event

Matt Warburton

Level 16 : Blinds 2,000/5,000, 5,000 ante

Day 1b of the PokerStars UKIPT Blackpool Main Event, running at The Sandcastle Grosvenor Casino, has now concluded. A total of 137 entries were made in the flight, and of those 21 players made it through and into the money.

They will join the remaining field from the other two starting flights to make for 40 players returning for Day 2.

Jacob Mulhern finished as the Day 1b chip leader with 590,000 and also leads the tournament across all flights. Mulhern scored his biggest tournament victory back in 2017, when he won £650,000 in a Dusk Till Dawn event. He won't top that this weekend, but he's in a solid position to vye for the top spots.

Daniel Laidlaw of the UK finished the flight in second place. Laidlaw qualified for the event via online satellite and will be looking to cash out on the opportunity. He's not the only one. Seven players from today's flights were PokerStars qualifiers, including four who made the top ten.

Third in chips was Craig Watson with 335,000. Below you can find the top ten from the flight.

Day 1b Top Ten Chip Counts

Rank	Player	Country	Chips
1	Jacob Mulhern	United Kingdom	590,000
2	Daniel Laidlaw	United Kingdom	405,500
3	Tuan Le	United Kingdom	316,000
4	Constantin Erhan	Moldova	267,500
5	Martin Kradlak	Slovakia	251,000
6	Daniel Jackson	United Kingdom	244,000
7	Renee Xie	United Kingdom	232,000
8	Wendy Watson	United Kingdom	225,500
9	Aleksandrs Golubevs	United Kingdom	185,000
10	Guillermo Gordo	Spain	181,000

Day 1c also concluded just moments after Day 1b. There were 39 entries to the turbo flight and seven players made it through to Day 2. Robert Boon finished as chip leader with 178,000.

Across all three starting flights, 262 entries were made, making for a prize pool of £254,140. Payouts are yet to be announced, but will be published on PokerNews as the information becomes available.

As Day 1b was the biggest in terms of entries, many of the overall chip leaders emerged from that flight. PokerStars Team Pro player Sam Grafton, who led Day 1a, will head into Day 2 fourth in chips.

Day 2 of the Main Event will commence Saturday at 12 p.m. local time. Stay tuned as PokerNews bring live updates straight from the tournament floor and follow the action deep into the money.

Georgina James_Sam Grafton_Nicholas Walsh

Tags: Aleksandrs Golubevs Constantin Erhan Craig Watson Daniel Jackson Daniel Laidlaw Guillermo Gordo Jacob Mulhern Martin Kradlak Renee Xie Robert Boon Sam Grafton Tuan Le Wendy Watson

07-15-2023 00:00 UTC

Hanak Eliminated by Xie on Bubble

Matt Warburton

Level 16 : Blinds 2,000/5,000, 5,000 ante

Andrew Hanak had been sitting on a short stack for a few circuits before he moved all in for 17,000 on the bubble. He was called by Renee Xie, who had him well covered. Players flipped their cards.

Andrew Hanak: 5♥5♣
Renee Xie: A♠K♠

It was a coinflip situation with Hanak holding pocket fives up against Xie's ace king suited. The board ran out 10♦Q♦9♠4♥J♦. Hanak managed to hold until the river, which brought Xie the nut straight.

Hanak was eliminated on the bubble and all other players have now made Day 2 and are in the money.

Standby for the Day 1b recap on PokerNews.

Player	Chips	Progress
Renee Xie	220,000 -75,000	-75,000
Andrew Hanak	Busted

Tags: Andrew Hanak Renee Xie

07-14-2023 23:39 UTC

Simpson Busted and Mulhern Takes Chip Lead

Matt Warburton

Level 16 : Blinds 2,000/5,000, 5,000 ante

Ian Simpson raised to 10,000 from the button and Jacob Mulhern called in the big blind.

The flop came 6♣K♥5♣. Mulhern checked and Simpson bet 7,000. Mulhern put in the check raise to 25,000 and Simpson called.

The turn came the 5♥ and Mulhern shoved all in for the rest of Simpson's stack.

"It's all fun and games, isn't it?!", said Simpson as he pondered his move. He eventually made the call and players flipped their cards.

Ian Simpson: A♣6♠
Jacob Mulhern: Q♣7♣

Simpson had a pair of sixes and Mulhern had a flush draw that he'd used to semi-bluff the pot.

The river came a 7x to give Mulhern a pair of sevens. With that, Simpson was eliminated from the tournament and Mulhern claimed the pot and took the chip lead.

Day 1b is now on the bubble.

Player	Chips	Progress
Jacob Mulhern	410,000 230,000	230,000

Ian Simpson	Busted

Tags: Ian Simpson Jacob Mulhern

07-14-2023 23:28 UTC

Kradlak Doubles With Straight Against Hassankash Close to Bubble

Matt Warburton

Level 15 : Blinds 2,000/4,000, 4,000 ante

Martin Kradlak raised to 8,000 from the button and Arian Hassankash moved all in from the small blind. Kradlak let out an exasperated sigh before making the call for all of his chips.

Martin Kradlak: A♦Q♦
Arian Hassankash: A♣K♥

The board ran out 3♦K♠J♣10♣8♠. Hassankash hit a pair of kings on the flop, but Kradlak picked up a backdoor straight draw. The ten on the turn completed his straight to give him the double up.

Player	Chips	Progress
Martin Kradlak	115,000 35,000	35,000
Arian Hassankash	78,000 -37,000	-37,000

Tags: Arian Hassankash Martin Kradlak

07-14-2023 23:14 UTC

Reed Runs Into Gordo's Queens

Matt Warburton

Level 15 : Blinds 2,000/4,000, 4,000 ante

Guhlermo Gordo raised to 8,000 preflop and Conna Reed reraised to 25,000. Gordo moved all in and Reed made the call with the shorter stack.

Conna Reed: J♦J♠
Guhlermo Gordo: Q♠Q♦

Reed had pocket jacks but was far behind against Gordo's pocket queens. The board ran out 3♥K♥7♦4♦Q♣, which further improved Gordo's hand to a set of queens. Reed was eliminated close to the bubble.

Player	Chips	Progress
Guhlermo Gordo	180,000 60,000	60,000
Conna Reed	Busted

07-14-2023 22:45 UTC

Horton Runs Into Brown's Kings

Matt Warburton

Level 14 : Blinds 1,500/3,000, 3,000 ante

Constantin Erhan raised to 6,500 from middle position and Alistair Brown called. Richard Horton moved all in from the button for 42,000, Erhan folded and Brown called. Two players flipped their cards, with Horton at risk.

Richard Horton: 8♥8♣
Alistair Brown: K♦K♣

Horton had pocket eights and Brown had pocket kings. Horton had already stood up as the board ran out 4♠Q♣3♣2♣J♦. Neither player improved and so Brown held with his kings. Horton was eliminated from the tournament with just a few players to go before the bubble.

Player	Chips	Progress
Alistair Brown	240,000 240,000	240,000
Richard Horton	Busted

Tags: Alistair Brown Richard Horton

07-14-2023 22:26 UTC

Kradlak Catches Runner-Runner Flush to Double Through Gordo

Matt Warburton

Level 14 : Blinds 1,500/3,000, 3,000 ante

Action folded around to Guhlermo Gordo, who raised from the button. Martin Kradlak moved all in from the big blind with a shorter stack and Gordo called. Players flipped their cards.

Guhlermo Gordo: A♥Q♦
Martin Kradlak: A♠J♠

The board ran out 9♦10♥Q♠10♠6♠. That gave Gordo a pair of queens on the flop. However, Kradlak caught up with a runner-runner flush on the river and doubled up his stack.

Player	Chips	Progress
Guhlermo Gordo	120,000 -35,000	-35,000
Martin Kradlak	80,000 80,000	80,000

Tags: Martin Kradlak

07-14-2023 21:47 UTC

Czeszel Wakes Up With Aces in Small Blind; Eliminates Johnston

Matt Warburton

Level 13 : Blinds 1,000/2,500, 2,500 ante

Action folded around to Michal Czeszel, who pushed all in from the small blind. Liam Johnston called in the big blind and he was the player at risk as the cards were flipped.

Michal Czeszel: K♣10♠
Liam Johnston: A♣A♦

Czeszel was far behind against Johnston's pocket aces. The board ran out A♥6♣K♦J♥2♥ to further improve Johnston's hand to a set of aces on the flop. He held and Czeszel was eliminated from the tournament as the bubble slowly approaches.

Player	Chips	Progress
Michal Czeszel	220,000 220,000	220,000
Liam Johnston	Busted

Tags: Liam Johnston Michal Czeszel

07-14-2023 21:04 UTC

TJ Takes Chunk of Chips From Bowyer

Matt Warburton

Level 12 : Blinds 1,000/2,000, 2,000 ante

Action was on the flop on a board of 3♣2♦4♣. TJ checked and Nicolas Bowyer bet 15,000. TJ responded with a check raise all in for 47,000.

Bowyer strained and declared that he didn't have much of a hand before figuring that he had the odds to call. He moved his chips into the middle and had TJ covered as players flipped their cards.

TJ: 8♠3♠
Nicolas Bowyer: A♠Q♦

Bowyer had two overcards with his ace queen, as well as a backdoor wheel draw. TJ had a pair of threes.

The turn came the 7♥ and the river was the 9♦. TJ held up to take a chunk of chips off Bowyer.

Player	Chips	Progress
TJ	160,000 160,000	160,000
Nicolas Bowyer	33,000 33,000	33,000

07-14-2023 20:48 UTC

Xie Makes Set and Chips Up to Nearly 300,000

Matt Warburton

Level 12 : Blinds 1,000/2,000, 2,000 ante

Renee Xie raised to 4,000 from under the gun and was called by Yusef Erdem. Constantin Erhan re-raised to 13,000 from the button, Xie called and Erdem folded.

Two players went to the flop, which came J♥9♦3♠. Xie checked and Erhan bet 7,000, which Xie called.

The turn came the 6♦ and Xie led out for 25,000. Erhan made the call.

The river was the 4♣ and Xie led out again with a huge bet of 75,000. Erhan took time to weigh up his decision before making the call. Xie flipped over J♣J♦ for a flopped set of jacks to win the pot and bring her stack up to close to 295,000 chips.

Player	Chips	Progress
Renee Xie	295,000 278,000	278,000
Constantin Erhan	135,000 -110,000	-110,000

Tags: Constantin Erhan Renee Xie Yusef Erdem