The Women’s Winter Festival, sponsored by PokerStars, at Hippadrome Casino, continued today with another impressive Day 1 flight of the £400 Women’s Main Event; 81 new entries amassed over the first ten levels of play, bringing the final field size to 271.
Of those participating in today’s turbo, 16 players bagged and tagged and will return for Day 2 tomorrow. Leading the way from Day 1c was Laura Glasgow, whose late-night chip lead was claimed with a stack of 361,000. Glasgow now stands in second in the overall counts for Day 2, just behind Christina Solli with a stack of 429,000.
Day 1c Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Laura Glasgow | United Kingdom | 361,000 | 72 |
| 2 | Sophie Stubbs | United Kingdom | 350,000 | 70 |
| 3 | Tina Abery | United Kingdom | 259,000 | 52 |
| 4 | Lindsay Kenny | United Kingdom | 239,000 | 48 |
| 5 | Aytan Eldarova | United Kingdom | 212,000 | 42 |
| 6 | Jennifer Steele | United Kingdom | 179,000 | 36 |
| 7 | Rachel Wong | United Kingdom | 128,000 | 26 |
| 8 | Jodie Kerr | United Kingdom | 116,000 | 23 |
| 9 | Caroline McKeever | Ireland | 114,000 | 23 |
| 10 | Renee Xie | United Kingdom | 100,000 | 20 |
A Historic Event
A brief pause in play allowed Kerryjane Craigie to make a statement to the room officially announcing that this Main Event now held the record for the largest Women’s event held outside of Las Vegas. The record was previously held by the Women’s Event hosted at the Goliath festival in 2016, which amassed 219 runners for its humble £50 buy-in, further accentuating the achievement set today.
Last Chance for Spragg
Marle Spragg was the only PokerStars ambassador to try her luck in the last remaining flight of this Main Event, looking to join the likes of Jen Shahade and Georgina James on Day 2.
Spragg had a turbulent journey in this turbo flight, first being left short by an unconventional line taken by Camilla Buswell, forcing the ambassador to pitch her cards into the muck.
But it wasn’t long before momentum seemingly switched; Spragg’s short stack jam on the flop ran into the pocket aces of Sophie Stubbs, but a runner-runner flush ensured her survival, doubling her up.
However, it wasn’t to be; Spragg finally crashed out in 21st place, just five spots away from making Day 2.
Steele's Sun Run Continues
Familiar faces to progress include Jennifer Steele (179,000). Steele most notably came into today fresh off her 2nd place finish in the £1,100 Women’s Winter Festival High Roller, last night, for £6,400. In addition, Steele sent Buswell to the rail on the stone bubble to conclude this Day 1 flight.
Play will recommence tomorrow, November 23, at 12:30 p.m. local time. With 20 minutes left on the clock in Level 15, blinds will be at 2,000/5,000 with a 5,000 big blind ante. Players will first navigate a tricky bubble with 15% of the field making the money. Play will conclude at approximately 4:30 p.m. to allow participants to also play the upcoming £220 NLH 50/50 Freezeout.
The PokerNews live reporting team will be back tomorrow to bring you more coverage of the Women’s Winter Festival Main Event here in London, so stay tuned.
