2013 PokerStars.com UKIPT Isle of Man Day 1b: Mark Lane Leads
Mark Lane assumed the lead at the end of Day 1b of the 2013 PokerStars.com UK & Ireland Poker Tour Isle of Man £1,100 Main Event with a stack of 165,300 in chips. He was followed by Simon Fuller in second place (127,100) and Sam Grafton, the latter of which made a late surge to end up third with 127,000.
Day 1b Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mark Lane | 165,300 |
| 2 | Simon Fuller | 127,700 |
| 3 | Sam Grafton | 127,000 |
| 4 | Mark Scheinberg | 113,500 |
| 5 | Dara O'Kearney | 112,100 |
| 6 | Giedrius Grigorius | 109,900 |
| 7 | Jamie O'Connor | 105,900 |
| 8 | Chris Straghalis | 102,300 |
| 9 | Fabio Esposito | 101,500 |
| 10 | Alexander Schilt | 101,400 |
There were 267 players who entered Day 1b, bringing the total number of players for the first-ever PokerStars event on the Isle of Man to 381. This was the day that the Team PokerStars Pros came out in force making it a tough field, possibly the toughest the UKIPT has seen over the last four seasons.
There were nervous glances as one by one the Team Pros entered and went in search of their tables. For many of the qualifiers, it’s a dream to have the likes of two-time World Series of Poker Player of the Year Daniel Negreanu sit at your table, but for others a nightmare.
It wasn’t Negreanu’s day, though, missing a succession of draws and coming up against stronger hands. By the start of Level 3, he had just over five big blinds left. He managed to double up, but was dispatched several minutes later when he got all in with Ax10x against Stephen Woodhead's Ax9x. A nine sealed his fate, and "Kid Poker" made an unusually early exit.
One table looked particularly tough, featuring Fatima Moreira de Melo, Isaac Haxton, Sinem Melin, and John Eames. A PokerStars qualifier from Ireland, Tomasz Raniszewski, was also at the table, and after he initially held his own, the pros gradually whittled him down.
Overall, it was a good showing from Team PokerStars Pro, but many did not make it through the day, including Haxton, his fellow Team Online member Felix Schneiders as well as Team Pros David Williams and Vanessa Rousso. Unfortunately, Jason Mercier, who hadn’t been feeling well all day, couldn’t carry on playing after a few hours and had to retire.
Those who will be back for Day 2 though include Liv Boeree (59,400), Leo Margets (30,700), Jake Cody (14,300), Dale Philip (7,700), and Ben Jenkins (26,100).
Barry Greenstein played a patient game and was getting short when his patience finally paid off by getting a double up with aces. He finished the day on 53,600.
One of the Full Tilt Poker Tour Ambassadors in the event, Martins Adeniya, got fortunate when he took an aggressive line against Chihao Tsang’s pocket nines and survived the day on 30,300.
The prize pool has been confirmed with 55 places being paid and the winner walking away with the title and a cool £94,090.
The players will be dressing up and making a bee line for the official Halloween party at Tahiko Nightclub to dance the night away before returning tomorrow promptly at 12 p.m. local time when the action will kick off again. Be sure to join the PokerNews Live Reporting Team for all the latest developments, up-to-date chip counts, and exclusive interviews starting then.
In the meantime, check out a special, behind-the-scenes tour of the PokerStars Data Centre thanks to PokerNews' Laura Cornelius:
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