Ian Simpson picked the right time to wake up with a monster twice as he vaulted near the top of the leaderboard on Day 1b of the €888 888poker Live Madrid Main Event.
Simpson was involved in a three-way all in with Tarmo Tammel and another player as his kings had his opponents’ tens and eights dominated. Simpson held on to score the double knockout as he catapulted up to around 180,000. Simpson later found kings again late in the night for another knockout as he ended the day with 172,500 and firmly inside the top 10 among the 38 players going to Day 2.
Day 1b Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alejandro Perez | Spain | 380,000 | 190 |
| 2 | Alexander Stevic | Sweden | 249,500 | 125 |
| 3 | Carlos Perez-Dosio | Spain | 217,000 | 109 |
| 4 | Antonio Espin | Spain | 201,000 | 101 |
| 5 | Stefan Cupic | Montenegro | 198,000 | 99 |
| 6 | Beltran Garcia | Spain | 182,000 | 91 |
| 7 | Ian Simpson | United Kingdom | 172,500 | 86 |
| 8 | Tarmo Tammel | Estonia | 172,500 | 86 |
| 9 | Eduardo Santi | Argentina | 156,000 | 78 |
| 10 | Dmitrijs Kozlovskis | Latvia | 130,000 | 65 |
For as good as his day was, however, he’s still far behind Alejandro Perez. Perez was also involved in a massive three-way all in, snapping off two opponents with a full house as he bagged 380,000 that makes him the overwhelming chip leader among the players already through to Day 2.
A familiar name to poker historians sits right behind him on the leaderboard. Alexander Stevic made history when he won the inaugural EPT event in Barcelona two decades ago. He took his shot today and earned a massive double up off Taago Tamm when his aces held up against Tamm’s straight draw. Stevic ended up with 249,500.
Other players through to Day 2 include Carlos Perez-Dosio (217,000), who made the final table of this event last year, Stefan Cupic (198,000), Tammel (172,500), Tom-Aksel Bedell (85,500), and Tamm (75,000). In addition to Simpson, Team888 members Lucia Navarro (62,500), Ricardo Mateus (46,000), and Vivian Saliba (23,500) made it through the day.
Fellow team pro Alexandre Mantovani wasn’t so lucky, busting on the final level of the night. Jonas ten Cate, who lost a more than 200,000-chip pot to Tamm, fired two bullets but couldn’t survive either of them and will have to try again on a later flight.
A total of 87 players descended on the Casino Gran Via today, creating a total field of 145 through two starting flights with 66 already guaranteed a seat on Day 2. Tomorrow’s Day 1c is expected to be the largest of them all, while there is also a turbo Day 1d flight on January 18 at 1 p.m. with 20-minute levels. Late registration remains open until the start of Day 2 at 5 p.m. on the 18th.
PokerNews will be back tomorrow reporting on all the action from the Spanish capital.