Ben Jackson heads UKIPT Grand Final
Wednesday, 6 March 2013
In the heart of the London poker scene a gruelling 11 hour day saw 194 starters whittled down to just 43 as UKIPT’s £700+£70 Grand Final Main Event got under way yesterday.
Taking place inside the Vic Casino, Day 1A of the event attracted a slew of recognisable pros that all did their best to relieve the healthy number of qualifiers in the room.
Among those taking a shot at UKIPT glory yesterday and surviving the day were recent Big Game winner Matthew Perry (137,900), Scott Shelley (109,500), Sky Poker TV regular Ryan Spittles (100,200), this month's Genting Poker Big Game champion Nik Persaud (67,800), 2011 WSOP runner up Sadan Turker (47,800) and 2008 Poker Million winner Marty Smyth (42,200).
However, it was the same positive result for some of the UK’s other top players as Sam Grafton, Neil Channing and Julian Thew all felt the rough side of variance.
With two more starting days left to play those involved are predicting this year’s field could top 800 players and possibly push the 1,000 mark which would make the prize pool and impressive £700,000.
The chip leaders are as follows:
Benjamin Jackson 197,700
Philippe Souki 159,800
Mathew Perry 137,900
Mark Gardner 136,000
Adrian Veghinas 123,600
Patrick Simcoe 118,600
Timothy Clarke 110,800
Scott Shelley 109,300
Arkady Kielman 102,300
Tristan Taylor 101,200
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