Day 1b of the PokerStars UKIPT Blackpool Main Event, running at The Sandcastle Grosvenor Casino, has now concluded. A total of 137 entries were made in the flight, and of those 21 players made it through and into the money.
They will join the remaining field from the other two starting flights to make for 40 players returning for Day 2.
Jacob Mulhern finished as the Day 1b chip leader with 590,000 and also leads the tournament across all flights. Mulhern scored his biggest tournament victory back in 2017, when he won ￡650,000 in a Dusk Till Dawn event. He won't top that this weekend, but he's in a solid position to vye for the top spots.
Daniel Laidlaw of the UK finished the flight in second place. Laidlaw qualified for the event via online satellite and will be looking to cash out on the opportunity. He's not the only one. Seven players from today's flights were PokerStars qualifiers, including four who made the top ten.
Third in chips was Craig Watson with 335,000. Below you can find the top ten from the flight.
Day 1b Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chips |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jacob Mulhern | United Kingdom | 590,000 |
| 2 | Daniel Laidlaw | United Kingdom | 405,500 |
| 3 | Tuan Le | United Kingdom | 316,000 |
| 4 | Constantin Erhan | Moldova | 267,500 |
| 5 | Martin Kradlak | Slovakia | 251,000 |
| 6 | Daniel Jackson | United Kingdom | 244,000 |
| 7 | Renee Xie | United Kingdom | 232,000 |
| 8 | Wendy Watson | United Kingdom | 225,500 |
| 9 | Aleksandrs Golubevs | United Kingdom | 185,000 |
| 10 | Guillermo Gordo | Spain | 181,000 |
Day 1c also concluded just moments after Day 1b. There were 39 entries to the turbo flight and seven players made it through to Day 2. Robert Boon finished as chip leader with 178,000.
Across all three starting flights, 262 entries were made, making for a prize pool of ￡254,140. Payouts are yet to be announced, but will be published on PokerNews as the information becomes available.
As Day 1b was the biggest in terms of entries, many of the overall chip leaders emerged from that flight. PokerStars Team Pro player Sam Grafton, who led Day 1a, will head into Day 2 fourth in chips.
Day 2 of the Main Event will commence Saturday at 12 p.m. local time. Stay tuned as PokerNews bring live updates straight from the tournament floor and follow the action deep into the money.
