Elegance At Aspers
With so many quality players, it’s been a fantastic second flight and with Flight 3 to come after an hour’s break, the excitement is far from over. Here in one of our exclusive shots from the poker room here in Stratford, London, we see Joe ‘The Elegance’ Beevers chatting with partypoker’s own Kara Scott (below). both players took part in Flight 2 today, with Kara bagging up 61,800 to add to her stack yesterday, meaning her combined total is 95,100 – very impressive.
Aces Cracked For Greco
We didn’t see Michael Greco lose his stack, so as play ended in Flight 2, amid the riffle of chips being tipped into plastic bags and the question repeating around the room like an echo ‘…So how much do you have?’ we caught a moment or two with the L.A. based actor who has returned to Blighty today to play so well here in the WPT UK National event.
“I had pocket aces. I raise to 2,400 and a lady opposite me re-raises to 6k. I’m loving this, and re-pop it to 16k, she shoves for 45,000 and I call.”
It’s the golden situation. I’m guessing she has kings. Michael thought the same.
“She has to have kings there, right? She shows me Ace-Ten and tells me that because I was raising again she thought I was at it. It’s the perfect situation. The three comes out the deck first, I’m loving that. Then jack, queen complete the flop.”
The expression says it all. I know the king came in on the turn, but Michael tells me anyway. It’s horrible – a 120k pot slides across to the other player, and four hours of what Michael called ‘perfect poker’ ends with the former Eastender needing to do it all over again in the final flight.
We’ll see if he does from 8pm right here on the partypoker blog. In the meantime, the players are filing out; we’ll bring you a round -up of the Flight and full chip counts as soon as we have them.
In And Out
Some players are making merry in the last three hands, risking a little to win a lot, while others are praying for a double-up. Kevin Williams, Tom Dunning and Yves Fargas will each have to do it the hard way, trying to make Flight 3 the one where they star and take a big stack from that through to Day 2 – otherwise, they’re out as neither flight so far has helped them. The same doesn’t apply – yet – to Michael Greco (pictured, below) , but he’s lost a huge chunk of his chips, down to just 12k from 68k a few orbits ago – we’ll endeavour to find out how that happened!
Kara Scott has 62,100 and is racing between tables as she multi-tables her special SnG with 5 lucky freerollers all hoping to win a £200 seat for taking it down, and her Flight 2, which has gone very, very well indeed. She has a combined 95,000 chips…as long as she survives the last few hands!
Level 8 – Blinds 500/1000/ante 100
Dead Or Alive?
Two high profile exits have happened in recent minutes, with Ian Frazer (pictured) out of the tournament, and Jerome Bradpiece joining him on the rail ahead of Flight 3. Jerome lost a lot with “pocket sevens into pocket aces” and then got it in with Q-J on a flop of K-T-x. His opponent had K-J and held to eliminate him, but Bradpiece is already regged for Flight 3.
Two players who are still very much alive are the Chattha brothers. Sunny has made a spectacular comeback, grinding his way back up to 45,000 from fresh air just two levels ago. Chaz, meanwhile, got into a real duel with exciting young player Tommy Zhang. Pre-flop, we counted around 4,000 in the middle. The flop fanned 
and Tommy check-called Chaz’s bet of 1400. On the turn of 
Tommy check-called again, this time to 3,800. The pot was building.
On the river, Tommy checked yet again. Would Chaz check behind for showdown value? Not a bit of it. He deliberately fired 11,400 across the line. Tommy thought about folding for a long time but the overbet was too tempting, and he committed around 40% of his remaining stack to the call. Chaz flipped 
for a flopped full house, and rakes a massive pot. Tommy is left with 15,400. His opponent stacked up 60,000.
New Chip Leader
We don’t actually have a picture of our man yet, but Robert Fowler has the biggest stack in the room with 95,000. We fully expect the six-figure mark to crack soon, with 155 players left in the room. Saying that, plenty are enjoying the bar or playing cash here at aspers and waiting for Flight 3, which kicks off at 8pm. Make sure you’re here for that, it’s looking like £120,000 as a projection in the prize-pool if Flights 1 & 2 are replicated and it’s getting busier in the casino.
Every player in the room is having fun at Aspers here for the WPT UK National Event London.
Level 7 – Blinds 400/800/ante 100
With 160 players left, some players are taking hits. Chaz Chattha had 48,000 at one point, but has dropped back to 37,000, still well above average. Chris Gordon doubled two short stacks when his 
couldn’t beat 
when the chips were all-in pre-flop, and another suckout when he was dominating his opponent has left him with little over 10,000 chips.
Elsewhere, Yigit Isilsoy busted after being ground down to just ten big blinds. He got it in with nines against kings too, but was unable to spike a nine. He’s on the cash tables until Flight 3 starts at 8pm.
Star Spotting
With so many big names in the house, it’s easy for the more recreational players to spot players they know around Aspers Casino here in Stratford, London. This cheeky tweeter used the hashtag #WPTNUK to joke about today’s field being even more star-studded thanks to a certain fictional fireman heating things up – do you know who they mean?
https://twitter.com/pdrussell/status/439409211035099136
Top Ten Chip Stacks
With 185 players remaining, we have lost a number of our players. They include: Barny Boatman, Surinder Sunar and JJ Hazan, but plenty of big names are still involved – and right at the top of the chip-counts. Here are some of the big hitters in the WPT UK National Event London right now…
Wittenbeck de Serge 76,600
Michael Greco 68,000
Nathieu Bragard 61,500
Gareth Holt 58,000
Eddie Cargars 56,100
Keith Boniface 46,300
John Baylis 46,000
Kara Scott 46,000
Chaz Chattha 43,000
Ray Hemp 42,000
Numbers Game
We’ve had 229 entries in Flight 2 here at Aspers, in the second flight of three. Even basic mathematicians amongst you will know that this currently represents £15,000 of overlay to get involved in, and with dozens of players busting yesterday and re-entering on both of today’s flights everyone is in the spirit of the accumulator:
https://twitter.com/AspersPoker/status/439434954041479168
Chattha On The March
We’d expect nothing less than a top performance from Chaz Chattha here at the WPT UK National event in London’s Aspers Casino. The Team Duffy pro may have endured one of his worst years in poker last year, but he’s already kicked off 2014 in style, and having banked over a quarter of a million in 2012, looks well on his way to another decent score this weekend in what could be a big year. Going through last night with just over 27,000 from Flight 1, Chaz has more than that now with three more levels still to come. He just punished the aggressive Gabriel Carter in an interesting hand.
Raising to 800 UTG+1, Chaz saw Gabriel raise him to 2300 from the small blind. That got a slow call from Chattha and both players eyed each other as the flop came [Jd 
. Gabriel took a long time leading out 1700, but Chaz called quickly, his eyes back on his younger opponent before the turn of 
fell. Carter checked that card, and Chaz did likewise, before another nine, the dropped on the river. Carter checked, and Chattha followed suit.
“King-high.” said Gabriel. Chaz turned over 
to take the pot and grow the gap between the two men’s chip stacks considerably.
Gabriel Carter – 14,500
Chaz Chattha – 46,150
Level 5 – Blinds 200/400/ante 75
Michael Greco Interview
When he’s not been busting players up here at Aspers, former Eastender and now U.S. based film & television actor Michael Greco (right) has been speaking with us here at partypoker, as he told us how his career has been going since leaving London for L.A., what it was like working with Kevin Costner and how he never stops learning in poker.
Michael has 68,000 at the break, one of the biggest if not the biggest stack in the room, and he’s not the only big name to be crushing. Kara Scott has been pounding the players at her table, the partypoker pro busting two people with flush draws that didn’t get there in the hand before the break to sit on 55,000. Average is 22,000, so those two players have made phenomenal starts.
https://soundcloud.com/partypoker/michael-greco-interview-at-wpt
Stacking ‘Em High
With just a few minutes to go until the players take a half-time break and gather their wits for the next four levels, we thought we’d bring you some more chip-stacks as the great and good do battle for as many fun-discs as they can gather ahead of Flight 3, which starts at 8pm.
Danny Blair 23,300
Ross Boatman 19,225
Ian Frazer (pictured) 18,800
Sunny Chattha 15,500
Chris Gordon 15,200
Alex Van Der Weyer 12,600
Jerome Bradpiece 9,700
Kevin Williams 8,400
Level 4 – Blinds 150/300/ ante 50
Barny Busto
Barny Boatman has left Flight 2, after he called off the last of his shortish stack on a cruel board. Chaz Chattha talked us through the hand at his table, as – just like last weekend – he’s outlasted the Hendon Mob, with a little bad luck for Barny again contributing. Two players joined Barny on seeing a flop of 
. Only one player called Barny’s continuation bet of 500, exactly the amount he raised pre-flop. The turn of a prompted a check-call again from Barny’s mop-haired opponent, doing a passable impression of Manchester United footballer Maroane Fellaini. On the river of a 
, Barny’s nemesis shoved to put Barny in for the extra 5,000 chips he still had and the Hendon Mobster called it off. His opponent showed pocket sixes for a full house, and while Chaz thinks Barny might have showed the king, the bracelet winner is out.
Tuna Fished
Gabriel Tuna is used to playing big buy-in tournaments in London and all over Europe, and the pro is a fearsome competitor. Stoea Ratevan qualified online for this tourney via partypoker and this is definitely an enjoyable step up for him, and with both men sat right next to each other, we joined the action on the turn. With a board of 
, Ratevan bet 1800 in the hijack, but Gabriel, in position on the button raised, ‘clicking it back’ to 3600 with change.
Ratevan called, and the 
fell on the river. Ratevan led again, looking hesitant to gamble 2,000 into the pot. Tuna called, but grimaced and stood up in anger when the qualifier showed 
for the nut flush.
The cards never care about reputation or experience, and Ratevan leaps to around 30,000, Tuna sinking a little to 24,000. both men are above average in chips, so we can see them clashing again.
Everyone is having fun here, as Tommy Zhang tweets:
https://twitter.com/teezey/status/439416457127264257
Michael Greco Leads Field
With Level 3 well under way, some big names are doing well here at the WPT UK National Event in Straford’s Aspers Casino. Michael Greco (above) leads the field at present, but some other notables are gaining in his slipstream.
Michael Greco 48,500
Kara Scott 28,600
Chaz Chattha 27,000
Greg Moore 22,500
Chuck Khuu 20,400
Barny Boatman 9,500
Will Kassouf 8,900
Level 3 – Blinds 100/200/25
Greco Gets Hazan
They’ve only been sat together a short while, but already JJ Hazan and Michael Greco have clashed, with the latter ending up with all the chips. In a sensational pot, Greco has got the biggest stack in the room after he managed to oust the gregarious Hazan.
“I hit middle set, and he flopped top pair. When he rivered the set, I had a full house and he just couldn’t get away from it.”
Modest stuff from Michael, who we’ll chat to at the next break. Unless something goes dramatically wrong, we’ll be speaking with one of the chip leaders in the room.
Value Hunting
With 214 people playing already and late registration open until approximately 4.00pm here at Aspers Casino, the WPT UK National Event London is heating up nicely. If you like overlay, there’s still £20,00 of that, so get down here!
Some fun players are playing on the same table. We hope to speak with legendary actor and director Michael Greco later on, so if you have any questions for the former Eastender pitching up in the East End from his new base in L.A., let us know. He’s sharing the felt with former Dragons Den pitcher JJ Hazan, a larger than life personality to match his poker prowess. Kara Scott (seen left in an exclusive partypoker Sit N Go giveaway yesterday) has been joined by the livewire Chuck Khuu, who we’ve seen in action before. The popular London circuit regular plays any two cards extremely well post-flop, so there will be fireworks on his table before long.
Barny Finds A Fold
Two players from Flight 1 enjoying a superb atmosphere in the Aspers cardroom during the WPT UK National Event in London.
There’s nothing like instinct in poker – knowing when you’re behind or ahead can mean the difference between winning nothing and piling up trophies. Fine margins decide everything in the game, and we have one of the best in the business at making those crucial decision here on Flight 2. Barny Boatman won a WSOP Bracelet last summer, and it was universally agreed to be thoroughly deserved. He’s since been awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award, but if you thought he was taking it easy after gaining the recognition of his peers, well, you don’t know Barny!
Barny raised under-the-gun here in Level 1 to 225, from blinds of 50/100. He got an immediate raiser to 575 two seats around, and only the small blind joined Barny in calling that raise. The flop came [Kd 
which prompted a quick check from both the small blind and Barny. Our aggressor popped a chunky 1125 bet into the middle, and both the small blind and legendary Hendon Mobster got out of the way. A small pot goes away, but you get the feeling that a big one will be raked towards Boatman before too long… instinctively.
Also joining the tables in late registration are: Tommy Zhang, Surinder Sunar and Paul ‘The Rock’ Romain.
Table Mates
Some of the players who will be taking each other on at their first table aren’t just acquaintances. Plenty of them know each other’s games inside out, so the ability to mix it up will be crucial.
Chaz Chattha shared a table with Barny Boatman just last week, but the pair can’t leave each other alone. The two players, each with well clear of a million in tournament cashes alone will be looking to run over their table. Sunny Chattha has a familiar ‘frenemy’ in the shape of Jerome Bradpiece, who of course came 2nd in the debut WPT Event in South Africa. He – with his fearsome beard – is already in the zone.
Kara Scott has Greg Moore for company at the far end of Aspers Casino, while Gabriel Tuna and Alex van der Weyer lock horns nearer the bar. Mohammed Suheil (above) was well clear of average in chips yesterday and is back in for both flights today – could he be the overall chip-leader going into Day 2? Over the next ten hours we are going to find out!
Level 1 – Blinds 50/100
Legends At Lunchtime
We have spied some great players already in their seats, with the following players all playing today for their first flight so far: Barny Boatman, Ross Boatman, Joe Beevers, Michael Greco, Gabriel Tuna, Alex van der Weyer and Ian ‘The Razor’ Frazer.
Returning after varied results in their Flight 1’s are: Chaz & Sunny Chattha, Will Kassouff, Rahim Tadj-Saadat, Mohammed ‘Dr. Ash’ Suheil, Kevin Williams and of course, partypoker Pro Kara Scott, who has got the very best preparation in for her assault on Flight 2.
https://twitter.com/KaraOTR/status/439401016124248064
Two For Company
With 217 players taking part yesterday on Flight 1 (and 99 surviving with stacks) we welcome players for what is sure to be one of the biggest flights ever. Everyone in London seems to be gathered in the stunning Aspers Casino cardroom in readiness for the WPT UK National Event here in Stratford. We expect a huge field, with Barny & Ross Boatman, Michael Greco and Joe ‘The Elegance’ Beevers all here. Joe’s excited as you can tell from his tweet on the way in…
https://twitter.com/joebeevers/status/439360416209436672
With eight levels, the kick off at 2pm will start at blinds of 50/100. Can we beat flight 1’s total of 217 players? We’re confident!
Coming up today, we’ll have exclusive photos of your favourite players, live updates right here and even some interviews with the big names in attendance. Play starts in around ten minutes, so let battle commence!
Take On Pokerfest!
Now take all of above and go crush it at Pokerfest! Yes that’s right it’s back, bigger and better than ever before! Running from the 2nd-16th March, 2014 Pokerfest is a 15-day online poker series packed with 67 events! And with more than $1 million in guaranteed prize pools this could be your one time!
