LIVE BLOG - EO Special Edition Wynn Fall Classic - Day 1b

[AaronMcB]

Hello and good morning from the Wynn Resort and Casino! 

Yesterday was a fantastic first day with 259 entries and 44 players surviving for Day 2. 

Today we have our second starting flight and plenty of Unibet qualifiers taking to the felt!

Joseph Wertz (305,500) leads the Day 1a field with Jo Anders Haukland (218,500), Jussi Perlinen (209,000) and Kim Larsen (189,500) the top three stacks from the qualifiers to get through Day 1a with Simonas Eigminas, Mark Hagendijk, Henrik Tellving, Andrew Mackenzie and Florin Haiduc also progressing. 

Play will shortly commence with plenty of qualifiers taking to the field!

The structure will mirror Day 1a with 40-minute levels and a 20k starting stack. 

If you are railing anyone today, please do let us know! :)

 

, 

[FreedoM]

@AaronMcBHope @IanSimpson makes it to day 2 😉

[AaronMcB]

The field is set to be a large one today! There have been 231 entries in the first 20 minutes of play with the $400,000 GTD already smashed. 

Unibet ambassadors Espen Jorstad and Ian Simpson have taken their seats after an unsuccessful Day 1a. 

Chip Race podcast co-hosts Dara O'Kearney and David Lappin are also in the field alongside eSports ambassadors Sco and Djari. 

Poker vlogger Andrew Neeme who took down the eSports SNG for $5,000 yesterday will be looking to add to his win after taking a seat in Day 1b. 

There are also some famous names in the world of football who have decided to transfer their skills to the poker felt. 

Ex Celtic, Barcelona and Manchester United legend Henrik Larsson is in action with former Liverpool man Phil Babb, and the Netherland's George Boateng and Reggie Binker. 

[AaronMcB]

Level two has just got underway and the entries are rising! 

We are up to 263 in the first 50 minutes of Day 1b. The latest man to take his seat is our most recent Unibet UK Tour champion, Russell Betts. 

Russell was the eventual winner in Nottingham just last month taking home £ 8,966 after a three-way deal with @FeelsBadMan and Richard Knibbs. 

He booked his seat on the plane to Las Vegas by defeating Adrian @FeelsBadMan Nica heads-up. 

With one UK Tour Champion already through to tomorrow's Day 2 in the form of Andrew MacKenzie, Russell will be looking to emulate his success. 

[AaronMcB]

It wasn't a very good start for Unibet's Ian Simpson yesterday as he battled hard to regain his starting stack in the early levels. 

And not to jinx him, but today he seems to be doing a lot better. 

Ian is up to 36k already after putting his opponent all-in on the river. 

Iany went to the flop multi-way after calling with J ♣️ 9 ♣️ . 

The Kx Q ♣️ 5 ♣️ gave him a massive gutshot flush draw and he led 400 into the 750 pot. With two callers, he hit his straight on the turn as the 10 ♦️ was flipped over. 

A bet of 1k got just one player to call and the river 5x was revealed. 

Ian bet enough to put his opponent's 4k stack at risk and his opponent made the call with KT for two pair and was sent to the rail. 

[AaronMcB]

eSports SNG competitors OnScreen and IAMWILDCAT have entered the Day 1b fray. Alongside them is HayliNic who found herself in an thinking spot early on. 

Three-handed to a J ♥️ 3 ♣️ 8 ♠️ flop, HayliNic lead out from the SB for 600 and got a call from the BTN. 

She check-called a 1k bet on the 4 ♥️ turn and thought of her next move as the 2 ♠️ river. She decided to check and so did her opponent who showed QJo for top pair. HaylicNic was unlucky and tabled pocket Tens for second pair. 

 

[AaronMcB]

It's fantastic to see so many qualifiers here at the Wynn this weekend as the majority search for the first place prize money that would be life-changing. 

But it's just as great to see the legends of the game turn up and still show their passion and support for the game. 

Phil Laak has returned to try his luck today after losing with Aces to a straight flush yesterday, and another huge name here today is the man who many would say literally wrote the book on poker, Dan Harrington. 

The WSOP main event champion is a great name to see in the field. 

[AaronMcB]

We have our first feature table of the day and it has the potential for fireworks! 

Not only does it feature Unibet ambassador Daiva Bryne and football legend Henrik Larsson but also UK poker high-roller Chris Moorman.

Moorman, who has over $14million in online earnings, won his first WSOP Bracelet during the summer and collected $ 498,682 for his efforts. 

The stream will go live on the Unibet Twitch channel in 20 minutes time. 

[AaronMcB]

It's been a rollercoaster of afternoons for Iany so far. 

The first two hours of play have seen him go from 20k to 40k, back to 27k and then up to 35k...we can't take the swings, Ian! :haha:

In his most recent hand, Ian cold called a 3bet from Ryan Laplante of 1300 with A ♠️ T ♠️ and the original raiser also called. 

Both players checked to Ian and he decided to bet 1600 into the 4200 pot after seeing the J x 5 ♥️ 3 ♥️ flop. It was the original raiser who made the call with Laplante giving up. 

The Q ♣️ turn was enough for Ian to bet 3600 but his opponent was resilient and called. 

The river Ace gave Ian top pair and he decided to use his showdown value and checked behind. It was enough for Ian to rake the pot with his opponent holding KQ. 

[AaronMcB]

The Unibet twitch stream is live! 

Level five has just begun with 297 players in the field and blinds at 100/200/25 ante. 

Entries are up to 330 with over four hours of registration still available. 

[AaronMcB]

He is back and he is ready! It's Rauno 'Estonian Jesus' Tahvonen. 

The Unibet ambassador's plans to make Day 2 didn't go well yesterday but we enjoyed his time at the table with Phil Laak nevertheless. 

But ever the competitor, he is back in the EO for a second shot today and already up to 51k. 

In a strange start to the hand, three players limped for 200 and the fourth accidentally raised to 300. After the SB called, Rauno pumped it up to 2100 with K ♠️ Q ♠️ 

Just one of the limpers called and everyone else folded and a Q ♥️ 8 ♦️ 2 ♣️ flop was revealed. 

If Rauno thought his 2000 cbet was going to be enough he would be wrong as his opponent check-raised to 5k. He made the call and saw a 3 ♥️ with both players deciding to slow down and check. 

The 6 ♥️ river brought about a bet of 6k after Rauno checked. 

Rauno said he had a lot to think about and eventually had the clock called on him. But despite the pressure from his table he made the call and saw his opponent bluffing with A ♣️ 3 ♣️ for 4th pair. 

A great read and pot to take down! 

[AaronMcB]

Updates around the room include:

esports: Sco (20k), OnScreen (15k), Hotted89 (6k), Andrew Neeme (30k), IAMWILDCAT (15k), Djari (Eliminated), HayliNic (Eliminated). 

Brutal hands for both Djari (below) and HayliNic as they exit Day 1b. 

Djari held AA and lost vs the flopped set of fives versus Starr Valdez, whilst Hayli's QQ was not strong enough to beat the JJ of her opponent after a J on the turn. 

 

[AaronMcB]

Rauno's action isn't slowing today and he is picking up hands! He told us all about this one. 

With the blinds at 150/300/50, UTG opened to 700 and was 3bet by the HJ to 2100 in his first hand at the table. 

Rauno decided to 4bet to 4500 and just the HJ called. 

The flop came 6 ♥️ 4 ♥️ 2 ♣️ and the HJ announces all-in for 15.4k. Rauno calls and tables pocket Aces with the HJ behind with pocket Tens. 

However, it was to be a brutal run out for Rauno as they turn and river both came hearts to give the HJ a runner runner flush. 

Rauno moves back down to 32k. 

[AaronMcB]

Day 1b players have returned from their first break of the day at the end of level 6. 

Of the 371 entries so far, 279 players remain with blinds at 200/400/50 ante. 

 

 

[AaronMcB]

Alan 'Hotted89' Widmann has been showing he has a real passion and talent for poker this year with his confidence in the game seemingly increasing at every event. 

After winning a previous Unibet eSports SNG he went on to cash at the WSOP in the $ 1,500 No Limit Hold'em (Event #66) and made a deep run in the WSOP $10k Main Event before eventually busting just short of the money places. 

He started off quite badly today but has been able to get back up to a starting stack. 

In a hand that our friends at PokerNews caught Hotted raised to 750 from EP and was called by the CO and BB.

The flop landed 6 :Spades: 5 :Spades: 2 :Hearts: and Alan continued for 1,250 with just the cutoff calling.

Alan bet 1,900 on the 8 :Clubs: turn and his opponent raised to 7k to effectively put Alan all-in. 

He made the call however and tabled pocket eights for the turned set and he was up against 10 :Clubs: 8 :Spades: 

The river landed the A :Spades: and Hotted got his double and back up to 19k. 

[AaronMcB]

UK tour Nottingham winner Russell Betts entered play at the start of level 2 today and hasn't been able to make many manoeuvres on his starting stack since then. 

He is currently sitting with 15k but is no stranger to large buy-in events. 

Back in November 2015, he won £50,000 for fifth place in the £ 2,000 + 200 No Limit Hold'em WPT Main Event held at Dusk Till Dawn, his biggest recorded live cash. 

He also min-cashed the $ 1,000 No Limit Hold'em (Event #63) at the WSOP in July 2016. 

Russell clearly has the skills to match the players at this level and will be confident of increasing his stack. 

[AaronMcB]

Ian's swinging session continues... :speechless:

Ian's stack is more up and down than a startled cat right now! 

Firstly he opened the action and got a call from a player he has identified as quite loose. 

On a J high board, he called an all-in with top pair J ♠️ 8 ♠️ only to see he was losing to pocket Queens. Sigh!  

Soon after he was in battle against the same player.  

Ian once again opened and was called. The flop came Ax J ♦️ 9 ♦️ and Ian's cbet was called. 

It was a Queen on the turn and Ian's cbet was shoved on. He made the call and tabled K10 for the turned straight, this time he was ahead versus the set of pocket Jacks. Ian avoided a disaster river and moved back up to 52k. 

 

[AaronMcB]

A royal time for Dara

Unibet's Dara O'Kearney was so close to making the end of Day 1a yesterday, but a run of bad hands and no good way to get his chips in the middle meant he found it tough to survive. 

But he is back today and just told me about a hand he was involved in. 

After the Button opened to 1200, Dara called from the SB and the BB came along as well.

Kx  Q ♦️ 6x was the flop and all three players checked. On the K ♦️ turn Dara lead out for 1500 with the BTN making the call. 

The J ♦️ fell on the river and Dara's small 2k bet was not tempting for the BTN who let his hand go...and what did Dara hold...only the A ♦️ 10 ♦️ for a runner runner Royal Flush! 

[AaronMcB]

We lose Espen Jorstad on Day 1b

Ambassador Espen is the latest player to depart the field. 

The Norweigan, who this month won the 'PokerListings Rising Star' award has been unable to secure a Day 2 stack after running into a horrible spot

He opened AKo to 1200 from the HJ and got a call from the CO before the BTN squeezed to 3.8k. I jam 24k and CO has aces.

Espen moved all-in for 24k and in brutal fashion, the CO called and tabled Aces.

There were no surprises on the board and Espen is left to wonder a re-entry or evening checking out the Vegas sites. 

Blinds have increased to 300/600/75 ante in level 9 with 243 of the 396 entries remaining. 

[AaronMcB]

Lappin takes down the Twitch battle

David Lappin and Craig Shannon, otherwise known as OnScreen, have played the most part of Day 1b on the same table and it has finally ended in the battle of the ambassadors. 

OnScreen, who is known for his Counter Strike and Unibet poker Twitch streams, moved all-in from UTG for 20bb before David re-shoved from the Button. The blinds got out the way and OnScreen was behind with A ♣️ 10 ♣️ versus A ♠️ K ♦️

OnScreen couldn't survive and David added 14k to his stack and move up to over 40k. 

[AaronMcB]

Estonian Jesus produces miracle flop

Rauno has just taken down his biggest pot of the day! 

After going four ways to the flop of 9♥️ 2 ♣️ 4♥️ , Rauno checked in-position to the original raiser before facing a 1.2k bet from the HJ. The BB called the bet as the OR folded. 

Rauno raised to 7,500, with the HJ calling and the BB moving all-in for 15k. 

A huge pot escalated as Rauno moved all-in and the HJ, who had both players covered, called. 

Rauno had a set of deuces, BB had 3 ♦️ 4 ♣️ for bottom pair and the HJ held the A ♥️ 6 ♥️ for the nut flush draw. 

It was to be a massive turn and river for Rauno! 

The turn was an Ace and the river a non-heart 7, leaving Jesus to pull off his miracle and move up to 74k. 

Since then he was further increased his stack to 82k. 

[AaronMcB]

After nine levels the players have gone on their one-hour dinner break. 

Entries are up to a massive 402 for Day 1b, meaning the GTD has been hit from today alone! The prize pool is currently over $650,000. 

Of today's entries, 234 still have stacks including David Lappin (64k), Ian Simpson (75k), Dara O'Kearney (50k),  Scott 'Sco' McMillan (55k), IAMWILDCAT (35k) and Russell Betts (35k) 

[AaronMcB]

From euros to European Open in Las Vegas

When it comes down to the feeling of community, Unibet poker players really can say they understand what that means.

Since the introduction of the UK tour, and especially in the last 12 months, I have personally been able to experience the sense of community that Unibet has with both its online and live players. It's been a pleasure getting to know many players both on and off the felt who regularly attend Unibet events. 

One such player is Adrian @NMPfan Nica, who after cashing in the Glasgow leg of the UK Tour in 2016, was able to finish runner-up in Nottingham's leg just under a year later. 

I was able to chat with Adrian today and find out how he is finding the Las Vegas experience courtesy of Unibet. 

Despite being unable to bag a stack in Day 1a, he was in good spirits after an evening of exploring the strip with some fellow qualifiers who he hadn't previously met before. 

When I asked him if Las Vegas were a destination he thought he would get to see this year if it wasn't for the event, he said "No chance!"

Qualifying via the online Unibet client has enabled him to tick many places of his wish list such as Prague, Venice and Copenhagen....but he isn't stopping there! 

@NMPfan has already won packages to the UK Tour Brighton and DSO La Grande Motte. 

He is currently working his way up the qualification ladders starting with the 4 and 25 euro steps. 

With the final EO taking place in Bucharest in November there is still plenty of time to win your package to the event and experience the Unibet community just like @FeelsBadMan and many others have done. 

[AaronMcB]

Day 1b entries confirmed at 414 as Dara O'Kearney, Chris Moorman and Andrew Neeme depart. 

A huge field for Day 1b of the Wynn Fall Classic European Open with 414 entries. A $400,000 GTD was announced for the event and today's entries have surpassed that without even bringing Day 1a's 259 players into consideration. 

Before official confirmation, the prize pool is set to be over $650,000. 

But unfortunately, Dara O'Kearney, Chris Moorman and Andrew Neeme won't be getting their hands on a share of it. 

Dara's reshove for 13bbs against a very active player was to be no good as his KT could not get the better of A2. 

Chris Moorman (below) was even more unlucky when he called a 4bet all-in whilst in the BB, only to find his AK up against Aces. 

eSports SNG winner Andrew Neeme could not replicate his success from yesterday as he departed in level 12. 

Blinds are 600/1,200/200 ante with 162 players remaining. 

[AaronMcB]

A double for Russell Betts as Ian Simpson and Rauno rise up

Russell Betts put his tournament life at risk moments ago in a classic flip situation. 

He moved all-in for 10bb with pocket Tens and was called by AK. The board ran out J 6 J 8 4 to give him hope of making Day 2. 

But it could be so much better for him as earlier on in the level he doubled up an opponent with AK vs KQ on a K J 6 rainbow flop.  

Russell was a big favourite to make the pot but the three-outer Queen found its way onto the board. 

Elsewhere in the room, Ian Simpson is up to 125 after his KK held against AQ for a 20bb pot all-in preflop. Rauno is up to the 100k mark, Daiva Bryne is sitting with 46k and David Lappin is not too far in front on 50k.