Adrian Mateos Claims Lead After Day 1d
The fourth and final starting day of the record-breaking PokerStars Festival £990 Main Event saw a total of 166 players take their chance at the iconic Hippodrome Casino and fire a second bullet after having busted in one of the three previous flights. After 12 levels of 20 minutes each, it was Adrian Mateos who emerged on top of the counts with 185,200 as 74 hopefuls bagged up for Day 2.
The Spaniard ended the day with a huge bang by knocking out three opponents with ace-jack of spades, making the nut flush on the river to scoop a big pot. Until then, James Akenhead appeared to be the one in the overnight spotlight after a late double up. Akenhead eventually claimed 170,900, good enough for third after Day 1d as Jose Astima finished ahead of the Brit with 180,900.
Other big stacks and notables advancing from the turbo heat include Emrah Cakmak (150,200), Benjamin Morrison (133,000), Keisuke Hikosaka (130,400), Kalidou Sow (125,000), Diego Gomez (96,900), Fraser MacIntyre (89,000), Albert Sapiano (78,300) and Chris Moorman (31,200). PokerStars Team Pro Aditya Agarwal made it through as well with 107,200 while well known casualties included Barny Boatman, Rodrigo Strong, Paul-Francois Tedeschi, Kully Sidhu, Fabio Sperling, Will Givens and Javier Zarco to name just a few.
After all starting days, a total field of 944 entries - including one no show - emerged and 314 hopefuls will be coming back for Day 2 as of 11 a.m. local time. This massive number outshines the 649 entries of the last United Kingdom and Ireland Poker Tour £770 Main Event at the same venue one year ago, which drew 649 entries, and a new record for the Hippodrome Casino was set. More than £820,000 will be up for grabs and the prize pool information will be released at the start of Day 2.
Ten levels of 60 minutes are scheduled for tomorrow, but due to the field size the plan for the day may be altered still. The PokerNews live reporting will be there when history is made here in London, so check back regularly.