Day 2 of the PokerStars UKIPT Blackpool Main Event, held at Grosvenor Casino at The Sandcastle in Blackpool, has now reached it’s conclusion.
A total of 262 entries were made to the event across three starting flights, making for a prize pool of ￡254,140. Of those, 40 players returned for Day 2 already in the money. After a fast and intense day of action, only six now remain in contention for the top spot.
The next player to be eliminated will recieve ￡10,800 in prize money. First place is set to walk away with ￡53,630.
Tuan Le is the Day 2 leader with 2,161,000 chips. Manchester-based Le is happy to have made the final table in Blackpool and has found the tournament far from stressful. He says his poker trips are primarily for relaxation and a break from his job as a beautician.
“I’m not a professional –far from it! I just like to get away from the kids!” he said, jokingly. He describes himself as “still a beginner –from 30 years ago”.
Le enters the final fight for the title with the chip lead having busted Maz Bako in 9th to bring about the official final table.
Close behind in second place is Teodor Evstratiev of Bulgaria with 1,838,000 chips. Evstratiev tripled up his stack early in the day when he eliminated Craig Watson and took chips from Sam Grafton before busting Robert Boon right at the end of the day.
Evstratiev's list of live tournament results, which totals over $85,000, was mainly built up in the midlands. His early experience playing small live tournaments has put him in a comfortable frame of mind as he heads into Day 3.
Ali Zia of the UK is currently in third place, followed by Beihao Wang in fourth, Daniel Jackson in fifth and Jacob Mulhern in sixth place.
End of Day 2 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chips |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tuan Le | UK | 2,161,000 |
| 2 | Teodor Evstratiev | Bulgaria | 1,838,000 |
| 3 | Ali Zia | UK | 1,300,000 |
| 4 | Beihao Wang | China | 1,042,000 |
| 5 | Daniel Jackson | UK | 871,000 |
| 6 | Jacob Mulhern | UK | 830,000 |
PokerStars ambassador Sam Grafton started Day 2 fourth in chips but slowly lost his stack as the day progressed. He was then on the wrong side of an all in to leave himself short and then busted out in 11th place.
When play resumes on the Final Day of the UKIPT Blackpool Main Event, blinds will be on 10,000/20,000 with a 20,000 big blind ante. Blind levels will continue at 60-minutes and the event will play down to a winner.
PokerNews will be bringing you coverage straight from the tournament floor, catching every elimination until a winner is crowned.
