Sitbon Overwhelming Chip Leader at End of Day 2 of the £1,100 UKIPT Main Event
Julien Sitbon ended Day 2 of the £1,100 UKIPT Main Event as a huge chip leader having reeked havoc throughout the day here at the PokerStars European Poker Tour London at the Hilton Park Lane hotel.
Sitbon started the day as a big stack having bagged 560,000 at the end of Day 1a but ends Day 2 with 6,940,000, more than double second place, as 28 players will return tomorrow at 12:00 p.m. local time for Day 3. The Frenchman has over $2,000,000 live tournament earnings and has already won two live tournaments this year including the €2,200 Freezeout at EPT Monte Carlo in May for over €80,000. Other big stacks include Mohamed Aissaoui (3,285,000), Jon Kyte (2,930,000) and Day 1b chip leader Vladas Tamasauskas (2,770,000).
Day 2 Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Julien Sitbon | France | 6,940,000 | 174 |
| 2 | Mohamed Aissaoui | France | 3,285,000 | 82 |
| 3 | Jon Kyte | Norway | 2,930,000 | 73 |
| 4 | Vladas Tamasauskas | Lithunia | 2,770,000 | 69 |
| 5 | Jon Clark | United Kingdom | 2,445,000 | 61 |
| 6 | Conor Beresford | United Kingdom | 2,265,000 | 57 |
| 7 | Vincenzo Schiavottiello | Italy | 2,105,000 | 53 |
| 8 | Guy Leathley | United Kingdom | 1,965,000 | 49 |
| 9 | Olivier Arnault | France | 1,900,000 | 48 |
| 10 | Igor D'Ursel | Belgium | 1,745,000 | 44 |
Other notables who bagged included Martin Jacobson (285,000), Walter Treccarichi (485,000), and Punnat Punsri (1,405,000).
There were many big hands throughout the day including a day long battle between Kyte and Pedro Neves who were constantly battling out in three-bet pots. However, it was eventually Kyte who would have the last laugh as the Norwegian's pocket queens would crack Neves's pocket aces in a five-bet pot as Kyte would make a flush on the river to eliminate Neves.
A key turning point for chip leader Sitbon was in one of the last levels of the day where his king-jack turned the nut-straight while his opponent Alexandros Dranovitsas turned two pair. All the money went in on the river which ensured Sitbon's stack built and Dranovitsas's elimination.
The next level Sitbon continued to skyrocket as he eliminated Roberto Romanello followed by rivering a full house against Robin Scheidegger's trip aces in a huge pot, much to the Swiss's frustration. After that no other player count compare to Sitbon's mountain of chips.
Play will resume at 12 p.m. local time as play will continue with 60-minute levels until a final table is reached. Blinds will start at 20,000/40,000 with a 40,000 big blind ante.
Stay tuned to PokerNews for continued coverage until a winner is crowned with the trophy and the £232,300 first place prize.