Main Event
Jour 1a a débuté
2018 Unibet Open London
Main Event
Jours 1a
Event Info
Résultats
Event Info
Info Niveau
2018 Unibet Open London
Buy-in
£990
Prize Pool
£314,100
Entrants
349
Niveau
28
Blinds
60,000 / 120,000
Ante
20,000
Day 1a of the 2018 Unibet Open London Main Event Kicks Off at 11am
![Defending champion [Removed:158]](https://s.pnimg.net/shnEvtx1pWSDIvyZioTWjaNQqbAJw1aOJQPrVf02uq0/pr:reporting-leading-desktop/aHR0cHM6Ly9wbmlt/Zy5uZXQvbHJlcC8x/OTI1LzcveDRlZDc2/YzNhOTIuanBn.webp)
The Unibet Open kicks off season 11 at the Grosvenor Casino in London in the heart of British capital and the historic poker room is better known as ‘The Vic” among poker enthusiasts from near and far. It is the 7th ever Unibet Open to take place in London and last year's 419 entries have set the record thus far. Belgium's [Removed:158] took home the lion's share of the £377,100 prize pool and claimed the trophy and payday of £71,950.
Van Lancker will be back in action to defend his title along with many familiar faces of the popular tournament series. The Unibet ambassadors such as Fredrik Bergmann, Ian Simpson, Dara O'Kearney, David Lappin, Espen Uhlen Jorstad and Daiva Byrne are all expected to join the action on one of the two starting days. Furthermore, the eSports stars will also take a shot at poker glory at "The Vic" after determining their champion in the eSports Battle Royale VIII SNG last night. Thijs "Thijs" Molendijk emerged victorious and claimed the £5,000 first-place prize, defeating Phil "syrinxx" Schoenebaum in heads-up, who received £3,000 for his efforts. Last but not least, Scott "Sco" McMillan finished third and took home £2,000.
Unibet Open Events in London at a Glance
| Year | Buy-In | Entries | Prize Pool | Winner | Country | Prize | Prize in US$ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | £2,750 | 266 | £665,000 | Thanh Doan | Finland | £187,000 | $305,326 |
| 2010 | £1,650 | 273 | £409,500 | Paul Valkenburg | Netherlands | £109,550 | $171,408 |
| 2011 | £1,320 | 315 | £378,000 | Pratik Ghatge | United Kingdom | £85,050 | $136,305 |
| 2014 | £1,100 | 399 | £319,200 | Iaron Lightbourne | United Kingdom | £70,000 | $110,163 |
| 2016 | £825 | 418 | £313,500 | Dave Shallow | United Kingdom | £62,000 | $86,747 |
| 2017 | £990 | 419 | £377,100 | [Removed:158] | Belgium | £71,950 | $89,722 |
Day 1a of the £990 Main Event kicks off at 11 a.m. local time and each of the two starting days will play a total of 11 levels of 60 minutes each with a break every two levels. There will be a dinner break after the end of level six, and all participants receive 30,000 in chips. The registration for the Freezeout tournament will remain open until the start of level seven and action is scheduled to conclude around midnight local time.
Day 1 Level Structure
| Level | Small blind | Big blind | Ante |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 50 | 100 | 0 |
| 2 | 100 | 200 | 25 |
| 3 | 150 | 300 | 25 |
| 4 | 200 | 400 | 50 |
| 5 | 300 | 600 | 75 |
| 6 | 400 | 800 | 100 |
| 7 | 500 | 1,000 | 100 |
| 8 | 600 | 1,200 | 200 |
| 9 | 800 | 1,600 | 200 |
| 10 | 1,000 | 2,000 | 300 |
| 11 | 1,200 | 2,400 | 400 |
Follow along right here on PokerNews as the live reporting team will provide all the action until a winner is crowned on Sunday, February 25th 2018.
Niveau: 1
Blinds: 50/100
Ante: 0
Van Lancker Claims First Pot
Niveau 1
: 50/100, 0 ante
Vincent Gabel raised to 250 on the button and was called by defending Unibet Open London Champion [Removed:158] in the big blind. Both players checked the 
flop and Van Lancker bet the 
turn for 325, Gabel called. On the 
river, Van Lancker bet 500 and his fellow countryman folded.
"Show the bluff, make me look stupid, they are writing it up," Gabel joked but Van Lancker simply sent his cards into the muck. While the hand was taking place, two-time Unibet Open champion Mateusz Moolhuizen sat down and took a seat at the same table.
| Joueur | Jetons | Progression |
|---|---|---|
![[Removed:158]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
|
30,700 | |
|
||
|
30,000 | |
|
29,425 | |
More Players Are Trickling In
Niveau 1
: 50/100, 0 ante
There are already some 110 players registered but the vast majority of them are not seated just yet. Among those to already claim their 30,000 starting stack are the Unibet Poker ambassadors Espen Uhlen Jorstad and Dara O'Kearney, Gordon Plomp, Francois Pirault and Pavao Veza. The latter qualified online through the loyalty program for the previous stop in Bucharest and turned that into a payday of €38,965 for his third place finish.
| Joueur | Jetons | Progression |
|---|---|---|
|
30,000 | |
|
||
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
Pictures of the eSports Battle Royale VIII
The pictures are courtesy of Tambet Kask and the Unibet Open.
New Faces Included
Niveau 1
: 50/100, 0 ante
Joe Beevers and Katief Swift were among those to enter the competition while Dara O'Kearney has already built some profit early on.
| Joueur | Jetons | Progression |
|---|---|---|
|
|
35,000
5,000
|
5,000 |
|
30,000
30,000
|
30,000 |
|
30,000
30,000
|
30,000 |
|
30,000
30,000
|
30,000 |
|
30,000
30,000
|
30,000 |
|
30,000
30,000
|
30,000 |
|
30,000
30,000
|
30,000 |
High Roller Update
Niveau 1
: 50/100, 0 ante
The £2,200 High Roller attracted a field of 67 entries on Day 1 and 46 players bagged up. They will return at noon local time and the registration closes when cards get back underway. The goal of the day is to play down to a winner and the current chip leader going into Day 2 is Mikko Hirvonen with 110,400. Other notables still in contention include Matt Perrins (74,100), UnibetPoker.fr sponsored pro Alexandre Reard (66,700), Nicolas Cardyn (65,500), 2015 Unibet Open Cannes champion Julien Sitbon (58,500), Jack Sinclair (55,100), Peter Jaksland (36,400) and Preben Stokkan (32,000).
Among those that busted were Mateusz Moolhuizen, Laurent Polito, Unibet Poker ambassador Espen Uhlen Jorstad and Antoine Saout.
Dunleavy and Veza Start Well
Niveau 1
: 50/100, 0 ante
On the tail end of a bigger pot between Michael Dunleavy and Unibet Poker ambassador Espen Uhlen Jorstad, the completed board showed 
and Dunleavy checked in the hijack. Jorstad bet 2,600 into 4,300 and Dunleavy eventually called to get shown for a missed flush draw by the Norwegian. Dunleavy had that beat with 
for top two and raked in the pot.
Katie Swift and Pavao Veza were playing for an even bigger pot with some 11,500 in the middle and the turn showed 
. Swift checked in the hijack and Veza made it 4,500 to go on the button. After spending more than a minute in the think tank, the Grosvenor sponsored Swift sent her cards into the muck.
| Joueur | Jetons | Progression |
|---|---|---|
|
|
48,000
48,000
|
48,000 |
|
|
37,000
7,000
|
7,000 |
|
|
26,000
-4,000
|
-4,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
21,500
-8,500
|
-8,500 |
Lappin Arrives and Builds Stack
Niveau 1
: 50/100, 0 ante
Joining up the action on the 
turn, Eirik Sorlie in the small blind checked and called a bet of 3,150 by Unibet Poker ambassador David Lappin on the button. Sorlie quickly checked again the on the river and Lappin et 7,525. Sorlie was sent into the think tank and called after more than two minutes.
Lappin turned over the 
for a straight and that won a decent pot only minutes after Lappin had sat down.
| Joueur | Jetons | Progression |
|---|---|---|
|
44,000
44,000
|
44,000 |
|
|
13,000
13,000
|
13,000 |