2015 UKIPT Marbella Main Event Day 1a: Julian Cabello Chips Up
On Wednesday, the third edition of the PokerStars UKIPT Marbella Main Event got underway at the Casino Marbella and attracted a bumper crowd of 349 players. Over the course of 10 45-minute levels, those 349 entrants were reduced to a more manageable 136, who return to the fray on Friday for Day 2.
Topping the chip counts when Day 1a ended was Julian Cabello. The Spaniard turned his 25,000 starting stack into 201,600 and was the only player to break through the 200,000-chip barrier. Although there’s a long way to go in this tournament, Cabello’s lightning-quick start will have the local confident of keeping the trophy on home soil.
Cabello’s fellow Spaniard, Pablo Galache, finished the opening starting flight with 188,100 chips and finds himself in second place on the leaderboard as a result, while Finland’s Heikki Piira (171,300), Fabien Parisel (161,200), Alex Dimitrov (154,000) and Johnny Soerensen (151,900) all bagged up more than 150,000 chips.
Top 10 Day 1a Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Country | Chips |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Julian Cabello | Spain | 201,600 |
| 2 | Pablo Galache | Spain | 188,100 |
| 3 | Heikki Juhani Piira | Finland | 171,300 |
| 4 | Fabien Parisel | France | 161,200 |
| 5 | Alex Dimitrov | Bulgaria | 154,500 |
| 6 | Johnny Kurcuba Soerensen | Denmark | 151,900 |
| 7 | Nedelcu Narcis | Romania | 144,300 |
| 8 | Koen Lauwereys | Belgium | 137,700 |
| 9 | Constantin Daniel Georgescu | Romania | 136,200 |
| 10 | Josep Maria Galindoo | Spain | 128,400 |
Joining the aforementioned players through to Friday’s Day 2 are a host of well-known stars including former European Poker Tour (EPT) Grand Final champion Pieter de Korver (73,600), Team PokerStars SportStar Fatima Moreira de Melo (68,300), and last year’s third place finish in this event Katja Svendsen.
The list of Day 1a casualties contains some of Europe’s top poker talent who will now either head home, play in the many side events or enjoy some fun in the sun. Popular Irish pro David Lappin was one player to fall by the wayside during the first starting flight, as was Morten Mortensen, two-time Sunday Million winner Neil Strike, World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner Florian Langmann, Sam MacDonald, Konstantinos Nanos, and Team PokerStars Pro Leo Margets whose ace-king lost to pocket jacks to send her to the rail.
Day 1b begins at midday CET and hopes are high to have a combined attendance in excess of 800, which would be a first for this leg of the UKIPT. The inaugural UKIPT Marbella, won by Scotland’s Ludovic Geilich, had 763 runners with the follow-up tournament attracting 720 who were outlasted by Rodrigo Espinosa.
PokerNews.com will bring you recaps of the action from the UKIPT Marbella Main Event each day until its champion is crowned so make sure you bookmark us and keep returning to these pages.
Lead image courtesy of Mickey May and the PokerStars Blog
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