A pot of around 25,000 was already in the middle as Lukas Dimsa and Abdullah Alshanti went to the river on a completed board of 6♠4♥9♦A♣Q♣.
Dimsa, under the gun, then bet 15,000 as Alshanti tanked for a moment on the button before calling. Dimsa then showed 10♣9♣ for a pair of nines and Alshanti mucked.
"You got lucky. I would've called with anything," Alshanti told him, claiming he had nine-eight suited.
Majid Iqbal bet 800 from the button on a flop of 5♠Q♥2♠ before Man Li raised to 3,500 in the small blind. Stephen Cherry folded his big blind, but Iqbal stuck around and called.
The turn came the 8♥ and Li bet another 4,500. "You beating kings," Iqbal asked Li, who had to take out his headphones to hear.
Iqbal called and the 2♣ fell on the river. Li then slid forward 15,000 and Iqbal snap-called.
Li showed A♣3♥ for a bluff and Iqbal turned over Q♠J♥ for two pair to win the big pot.
Eliot Catterson raised to 1,000 under the gun and was called by an opponent in middle position and Nathan Jones in the cutoff. The small blind then moved all in for around 12,000, Catterson reshoved for around 26,000, and the rest of the table folded.
"You're ahead, don't worry," Catterson's opponent said as they went to table their cards.
All-In Player: 7♦7♠
Eliot Catterson: A♦Q♦
"Oh, you're not ahead. I was expecting a bigger hand," the all-in player said as the flop came A♥J♠J♣, giving Catterson the lead with two pair.
The board ran out K♥10♠ and Catterson made a straight to send his opponent to the rail.
There was nearly 7,000 already in the middle as Gary Miller and Tuan Nguyen went to the turn on a board of 5♥7♣10♦J♦.
Miller was in the cutoff and bet 3,800. Nguyen called in the small blind as the river came the 3♣. Nguyen checked over to Miller again, and Miller this time bet 7,500.
Nguyen tanked for more than a minute before he mucked and Miller tossed 8♣4♣ into the middle of the table as he took the pot.
Alexander Crawford, Gary Miller, and Qing Feng Zheng went to a flop of 10♦8♠J♣ where Miller bet 1,800 from the big blind. Crawford called in the hijack before Zheng raised to 7,500 in the cutoff.
Miller called, then Crawford moved all in for 30,800. Zheng tanked for several minutes before mucking, but Miller snap-called for his last 25,000.
Gary Miller: K♠Q♣
Alexander Crawford: 10♥10♣
Crawford had a set of tens, while Miller was chasing a straight draw. The turn came the 8♣ and Crawford improved to a full house, leaving Miller drawing dead heading to the 8♥ river and heading off to reenter.
Gary Miller_Alexander Crawford
"If he doesn't call, do you go all in," Zheng asked Crawford after the hand.
"I don't know. I might slowplay it," Crawford replied.
Four players went to a flop of 8♥3♦J♦ where Oliver White bet 2,200 from the hijack. Only Tuan Nguyen called in the small blind and they went heads-up to the 3♣ turn.
White then bet 3,700 and Nguyen again called. The river came the 9♦ and White tossed in two yellow 5,000 chips for a bet of 10,000.
Nguyen tanked for more than a minute before throwing his cards away.
Among the latest entries in the field is Gary Miller, who is coming off a deep run in EPT Cyprus last week.
The ancient city of Coventry lies in the heart of the English West Midlands and this week serves as the center of the British poker scene with the start of the £888 888poker LIVE Coventry Main Event.
The first of four starting flights gets underway at noon local time inside the Coventry Building Society Arena. Players begin with a 30,000 starting stack and will play 14 40-minute levels for the first three starting flights. There is also a turbo Day 1d flight with 20-minute levels beginning at 8 p.m. on October 27. Players who survive the opening flights then combine for Day 2 on October 28, with the champion being crowned on October 29.
This event features a £500,000 guarantee, and with unlimited reentries allowed and late registration open until the start of Day 2 the field is expected to be massive. Players can qualify for as little as $0.01 on 888poker, or register directly into the $109 online satellite. 888poker Ambassadors such as Ian Simpson, Vivian Saliba, and Lucia Navarro are expected to enter the tournament along with a host of online qualifiers and seasoned pros.
Ian Simpson
This is the first ever 888poker LIVE event held here in Coventry. Previous festivals this year have been won by Viorel Gavrila in Bucharest, Tero Laurila in Barcelona, and Adrian Garcia in Madrid. Dave McConachie won the Main Event in London in April, prevailing over a field of 385 to earn £83,100.
2023 888poker LIVE Champions
Festival
Winner
Entries
Earnings
Madrid
Adrian Garcia
514
€92,000
London
Dave McConachie
385
£83,100
Barcelona
Tero Laurila
369
€64,000
Bucharest
Viorel Gavrila
191
€30,000
PokerNews will be providing live updates every day of the Main, so stay tuned for all the action for what should be an exciting week here in Coventry
