Today makes way for the final flights of the Women’s Winter Festival £400 Main Event, here in London. The last of three starting flights is expected to attract a final surge of hopefuls to the Hippodrome Casino for its 6 p.m. start time, all fighting for their place in the history of this inaugural event.
As Day 1a drew to a close last night, a total of 42 entries amassed by the conclusion of late registration, of which eight players bagged and tagged for the Day 2 restart on Saturday. But with both Day 1b and Day 1c happening in tandem today, the number of entrants is expected to swell.
It was Mary-Rose McCann who bagged the overall chip lead, taking through 351,000. McCann is nearly 100,000 chips in front of her nearest competitor Lisa Roberts, of the United States, who amassed an impressive 256,000.
End of Day 1a Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chips | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mary-Rose McCann | United Kingdom | 351,000 | 44 |
| 2 | Lisa Roberts | USA | 256,000 | 32 |
| 3 | Kim Kilroy | Canada | 210,000 | 26 |
| 4 | Louisa Plint | United Kingdom | 150,000 | 19 |
| 5 | Svetlana Lebedeva | Russia | 118,000 | 15 |
| 6 | Cheryl Simmons | United Kingdom | 65,000 | 8 |
| 7 | Ilze Zolte | United Kingdom | 63,000 | 8 |
| 8 | Neena Patel | United Kingdom | 62,000 | 8 |
Players will be met with a starting stack of 30,000 as they play through 25-minute levels. Blinds will start at 100/100 with a 100 big blind ante. Each player can enter a maximum of twice per flight with registration closing after Level 10. Each flight plays to 20% of the field. Day 2 will commence at the lowest finishing level among all Day 1 flights.
Today's schedule has a 20-minute break every four levels, as well as a 45-minute dinner break after Level 10.
The PokerNews team will be providing coverage from the tournament floor until a winner is crowned on Sunday, so stay tuned for all the updates.