A brutal river card late in the night catapulted Ali Abdulzahra into the chip lead after Day 1a of the ��888 888poker LIVE Coventry Main Event.
Elliott Panyi had moved all in for 110,000 with ace-king. Abdulzahra called with a dominated ace-queen. Panyi took a bigger lead when he flopped top pair as Abdulzahra was prepared to hand over the massive pot. But the river gave Abdulzahra a straight as he ended the night with 318,000 and leading the 17 players who will return for Day 2 on October 28.
Bhavin Khatri, winner of 888poker LIVE London last year, is in second place with 258,000 after winning a pot when he shoved with just a pair of fours on the river and got called by a pair of threes. Gary Miller, coming off a deep run in the EPT Cyprus Main Event just a few days ago, cracked a pair of aces with a set of sevens on his way to 171,000.
Teodor Evstratiev (252,000) and Greg Thomson (202,000) round out the top five, while Lukas Dimsa (156,000) and Abdullah Alshanti (152,500) also survived the day.
Day 1a Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ali Abdulzahra | United Kingdom | 318,000 | 106 |
| 2 | Bhavin Khatri | United Kingdom | 258,000 | 86 |
| 3 | Teodor Evstratiev | Bulgaria | 252,000 | 84 |
| 4 | Greg Thomson | United Kingdom | 202,000 | 67 |
| 5 | Gary Miller | United Kingdom | 171,000 | 57 |
| 6 | Lukas Dimsa | Lithuania | 156,000 | 52 |
| 7 | Glynn Owen | United Kingdom | 156,000 | 52 |
| 8 | Abdullah Alshanti | United Kingdom | 152,500 | 51 |
| 9 | Man Li | n/a | 115,500 | 39 |
| 10 | David Morris | United Kingdom | 114,500 | 38 |
A total of 85 entries entered the first of four starting flights into the Main Event. Day 1b begins tomorrow at noon local time, with action lasting an additional 14 40-minute levels. Day 1c is on October 27, followed by a turbo Day 1d flight later that night. The remaining players will then combine for Day 2 at 11 a.m. on Saturday, with late registration remaining open until the start of the day.
Plenty of British poker stars were playing the high roller in the Coventry Building Society Arena today and are likely to jump into tomorrow��s flight. They include 888poker Ambassador Ian Simpson, along with Carl Shaw, Niall Farrell, Dean Hutchison, and Ludovic Geilich. 888poker Ambassadors Lucia Navarro and Vivian Saliba are also poised to jump into the field during a later flight.
PokerNews will return tomorrow at noon for the second starting flight as another crop of hopefuls take their shot at capturing the 888poker LIVE title.
