Main Event
Day 1a Completed
2019 Unibet Open London
Main Event
Day: 1a
Unibet Ambassador Alexandre Reard Claims the Day 1A Chip Lead
Level 11
: 1,000/1,500, 1,500 ante
The 2019 Unibet Open London £990 Main Event kicked off at 11 am GMT today, as Day 1A got underway. The starting flight ultimately drew in a crowd of 136 entries, with just 37 going the distance.
After 11 levels of 60 minutes each, the 37 remaining players bagged up at "The Vic" and it was Unibet's very own Alexandre Reard who claimed the overnight spotlight with a stack of 360,000.
It was a very successful day all in all for the Unibet ambassadors with all but one who took to the tables progressing to Day 2 including Monica Vaka (147,000), Belgian ambassador Charlotte Van Brabander (107,500) and David Lappin (45,000).
Irishman Lappin managed to achieve a double up right at the last when he held with pocket aces against ace-king to provide hope.
Their fellow ambassador Dan Murariu departed during level 9 however, after the Romanian struggled throughout the day having negotiated a short stack from the off, and ultimately succumb to the pressure of the increasing blinds.
Steve Watts (314,500), Vamshi Vandanapu (236,500), and Haoran Cai (195,000) also saw their 30,000 starting stacks rise to end the day among the top stacks.
2017 Unibet Open Bucharest High Roller champion Olvedo Heinze was among the chip leaders at the dinner break but faded afterward and hit the rail.
Jamie Nixon found a fantastic fold with a full house holding pocket sixes in the early action and was shown he made the correct call by his opponent who had rivered the higher house holding ten-eight. But Nixon was unable to use his lifeline and departed during level five.
Lucas Sfez, Gary Miller, Jimmy Kebe, Chris Da Silva, Rehman Kassam, Alexandru Cinca, Leo Worthington-Leese, Joe Hindry, James Mitchell, Terry Jordan, and Willie Tann also all came and went during the Day 1A action.
The Main Event action continues on Friday, May 24 as Day 1B kicks-off at 11 am, followed by the final starting flight, Day 1C Turbo, at 8 pm.
Join us back here at PokerNews for continued coverage from London!
End-of-Day Chip Counts (full)
Level 11
: 1,000/1,500, 1,500 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
360,000 | 10,000 |
|
314,500 | 56,500 |
|
236,500 | 109,500 |
|
195,500 | -23,500 |
|
147,000 | 67,000 |
|
143,000 | |
|
|
142,500 | -30,500 |
|
137,500 | 52,500 |
|
129,000 | 49,000 |
|
123,500 | -16,500 |
|
|
121,000 | 1,000 |
|
120,000 | |
|
119,000 | 34,000 |
|
|
114,000 | |
|
|
110,500 | 30,500 |
|
109,500 | -500 |
|
107,500 | -12,500 |
|
|
104,500 | |
|
101,500 | |
|
|
100,500 | |
|
88,000 | |
|
|
80,000 | 20,000 |
|
74,500 | 14,500 |
|
73,000 | -2,000 |
|
71,000 |
Play Concluded
Level 11
: 1,000/1,500, 1,500 ante
The action is over in Day 1A.
The full end-of-day chip counts will be posted shortly, followed by a recap of the day's action.
Three More Hands
Level 11
: 1,000/1,500, 1,500 ante
It has been announced that three more hands will be played in Day 1A.
Bader Doubles
Level 11
: 1,000/1,500, 1,500 ante
Martin Bader raised from the button and saw Nicolas-Joseph Hippolyte three-bet all in from the small blind for 100,000. Steve Watts folded from the big blind, and Bader needed a minute to think before he called for his final 37,000.
Hippolyte: 
Bader: 
Board: 
Bader stood from his chair after he saw the flop fall in Hippolyte's favor. However, the queen on the turn put Bader into the lead, and he held on the river to double.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
75,000 | 3,000 |
|
|
60,000 |
Siddle Eliminated by Reard
Level 11
: 1,000/1,500, 1,500 ante
Paul Siddle was playing from the small blind and managed to get his 55,000 stack into the middle preflop, with Unibet ambassador Alexandre Reard happy to call.
Siddle: 
Reard:
Board: 
Siddle saw his pocket eights run into pocket tens, and the board fell in Reard's favor.
Reard collected the pot and extended his chip lead up to 350,000, as Siddle departed in the final level of the day.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
350,000 | 70,000 |
|
Busted |
More Day 1A Pictures
Lappin Doubles
Level 11
: 1,000/1,500, 1,500 ante
A raise came in from early position and the player on the button called. David Lappin moved all in from the small blind for 19,000 and saw Linden Elias reshove from the big blind for 100,000.
The other two players folded, and the cards went on their backs.
Lappin: 
Elias: 
Board: 
Lappin, who has been patiently waiting for an opportunity to move all in, held on the board and secured the double-up.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
80,000 | -31,000 |
|
45,000 | 26,000 |
Van Brabander Hits a Flush
Level 11
: 1,000/1,500, 1,500 ante
The board was down 
and Charlotte Van Brabander checked from the big blind.
Paul Siddle bet around 4,000 from the cutoff and saw Van Brabander raise to 14,000.
Siddle called and they saw the river fell the . Van Brabander bet 20,000 and Siddle made the call 30 seconds later.
Van Brabander tabled 
for a flush, and Siddle mucked.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
120,000 | 50,000 |
|
|
60,000 | -30,000 |