30th Edition of Unibet Open Kicks Off in London

The Unibet Open kicked off in London yesterday. Day 1A of this €1,100 event gathered 201 players, a number that will likely be shattered today. The cap is set at 500 players, but it is possible that it will be increased if the situation permits, so it could accommodate all of those looking to take part in one of the most recognized tournaments on European soil.

Unibet’s event in the UK capital is no ordinary one, as it is the 30th edition of this popular tournament. The organizers make sure that everyone enjoys it to the maximum, and that includes increasing the guarantee to €250,000, making it Unibet's biggest event to date.

Apart from the Main Event that features a 30,000 chip starting stack and a 60-minute clock, the Aspers Casino in East London will host a number of smaller side events, making sure there is no lack of action at any point. London’s leg of the Unibet Open this year was also introduced by the Golden Cash Game that lasted for three days and led up to the Main Event. The cash game gathered many familiar faces, with the likes of Viktor ‘Isildur1’ Blom and Neil Channing taking seats.

Some of those coming down to play Day 1A included UKIPT finalist Ryan Spittles, Lucille Cailly, Daniel Smith, Peter Sodergran, Yves Siess, reigning Unibet Open London champion Pratik Ghatage, Morten Mortensen, and many others.

After nine levels of play, only 69 players stood tall. A total of 132 were sent packing, some getting outplayed, others unlucky. But regardless of how it happened, the way to the rail remained the same. It can now be safely stated that the €250,000 guarantee will be shattered by the end of registration today and the field of 315 that took to the felt in London back in 2012 will be, in all likelihood, easily surpassed.

The player bagging the biggest stack of chips after the last river card fell was Nathan Dippie from the UK with a stack of 356,500. He is followed by the Swede Johan Backfjard (271,800) and fellow countryman Richard Pullen.

The action continues today with Day 1B and when play concludes, we will have the final number of players progressing to Day 2 and the information that everyone is most interested in – the numbers. The way things have been going so far, it seems that there will be a very nice amount up top for players to battle for.