Meli Marches On as Defending Champ Bags Big on Day 1c of UKIPT Main Event
An exciting day of poker action unraveled at Dusk Till Dawn for Day 1c of the UK and Ireland Poker Tour (UKIPT) Main Event, which ended with 41 survivors from the 276-strong field.
After a quiet start, Harrison Herbert rocketed up the counts during the closing levels to steal the spotlight and finish at the summit with his stack of 617,000 chips. Ben Shannon claimed second with 544,000 chips, and they were the only two players to clear the half-million milestone. Rounding out the podium places is a man that is familiar with being at the top, as last year's winner Vincent Meli bagged up an impressive 497,000 as he seeks to defend his crown.
Top Ten Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Harrison Herbert | United Kingdom | 617,000 |
| 2 | Ben Shannon | United Kingdom | 544,000 |
| 3 | Vincent Meli | France | 497,000 |
| 4 | Hamza Nasir | United Kingdom | 427,000 |
| 5 | Chase Wilson | United Kingdom | 384,000 |
| 6 | Joshua Boulton | United Kingdom | 348,000 |
| 7 | Steven Watts | United Kingdom | 305,000 |
| 8 | Zhicheng Miao | China | 278,000 |
| 9 | Stephen Ayres | United Kingdom | 239,000 |
| 10 | Adam McKola | United Kingdom | 232,000 |
Meli entered the fray mid-way through the flight and got off to a good start after he rivered a straight against Chase Wilson. More chips arrived from Stephen Gray as Meli picked off a bluff with pocket tens, which sent his stack hurtling towards the top.
The Frenchman emerged victorious in this event last year for a career-best score of £159,325 after cutting a heads-up deal with Patrice Brandt, who also played today but failed to make it through.
Four PokerStars qualifiers successfully navigated the Day 1c field to secure their spots in Day 2. Stephen Ayres led the quartet with an impressive stack 239,000, followed by Matthew Greig with 203,000 chips. The aforementioned Gray (93,000) and Maciej Kwiatkowski (75,000) also punched their tickets to the next stage, each making it into the money.
Just as they did in Day 1b, the tournament directors were forced to start hand-for-hand play early on the bubble due to excessive tanking from players trying to make it into the money. Not long after, a double elimination occurred, which left both Ross Boatman and Paul Trotter on the sidelines, despite them both having the best hand preflop.
Other notables to make it through include influence and YouTuber Adam McKola (232,000), Keith Cummins (222,000), George Demetriou (140,000), and Ryan Mandara (86,000).
UKIPT Main Event Schedule
| Date | Event | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 16 November | Day 1d | 12:00 p.m. |
| 16 November | Day 1e | 7:00 p.m. |
| 17 November | Day 2 | 12:00 p.m. |
| 18 November | Day 3 | 12:00 p.m. |
Saturday, November 16 marks the last chance for players to run up a stack ready for Day 2 and presents two opportunities to do so. First, the regular-paced Day 1d will kick off at noon and play the same 40-minute structure as Day 1a/b/c.
Also, at 7 p.m. Day 1e will kick off with faster 20-minute blind levels. Both flights will play until the money bubble bursts, and the survivors will return to play out Day 2 on Sunday, November 19.
As always, PokerNews will be on hand from the tournament floor to deliver the latest news from the felt, so be sure to join us to see who can run up the biggest stack.