Dara O'Kearney Leads at the End of Day 1a
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The UKIPT arrived at a new venue with the first ever event based in the Isle of Man. Of course, it was no coincidence that the island is also host to the headquarters of PokerStars, very much making this “home territory” as far as the organisers of the UKIPT were concerned.
On Day 1a, 113 players entered the tournament but after eight levels of fast-paced action, it was Dara O'Kearney who was left as the chip leader going into Day 2 with 112,100. The Irishman had a very slow start, dropping down to around 18,000 midway through the day before he flew up to the very top in the last couple of levels. Indeed, for most of the day it looked to be Niall Farrell who would dominate the counts, the Scotsman was the first player to break six-figures before losing several large pots towards the end.
With many of the Team PokerStars Pros flying in from Barcelona today after a special advertising shoot, it was left to Team PokerStars Online players Mickey Petersen and Andre Coimbra to fly the flag for the company. Coimbra was eliminated late on in the day against Caleb Sheridan, a member of the Rational Group Staff (the parent company of both PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker).
There were lots of Rational Group Staff members playing in this event, a special one-off dispensation for people who work for PokerStars or Full Tilt Poker and are usually not allowed to playing events online or live organised by either company. In an effort to show full transparency, all staff members were fully kitted up with special staff patches featuring the famous three-legged symbol of the Isle of Man.
Despite the expectation of this tournament drawing a smaller field than usual, it had not stopped several notable big names from entering the field, especially with the potential of a big overlay. Dominik Nitsche, who finished third in the WSOPE Main Event barely a week ago was back grinding on Day 1a, having already got his first ever Manx flag with a min-cash in the £150 6-Max event the night before.
Also appearing was [Removed:17], the New Zealander had finished 12th at EPT London and started off incredibly well as the early chip leader before losing a sizeable pot to Mickey Petersen. Yan made it through the end with 39,800.
People who won't be coming back on Saturday include Full Tilt Poker Tour Ambassador Dermot Blain, the Irishman lost a big pot with a set to Sam Razavi's straight draw and was never able to recover. American Jason Wheeler ran top pair into top pair that held a better kicker while UKIPT Galway finalist Daragh Davey's fate was exactly the same. David Docherty's exit, meanwhile, was much more simple, running 
into Priit Brikker's 
. Zoe Gillings was also on hand to try her luck in the event but the Olympic snowboarder's tournament was curtailed rather early when she ran queens into Razavi's aces about halfway through the day. Razavi finished the day with an entirely respectable 61,600.
Despite only 54 players having made it through the day, there were lots of players who also have successfully navigated the minefield of the first eight levels to come back for Day 2. These include: Mickey Petersen (46,200), Alexander Schilt (101,400), Niall Farrell (73,600), Jamie O'Connor (105,900), and Chris Straghalis (102,300).
With only 113 players for the first start day, the field is expected to be huge for tomorrow, especially given that 387 players will be needed just to meet the £500,000 guarantee. There will be numerous Team PokerStars Pros getting involved tomorrow including the newly crowned WSOP Player of the Year Daniel Negreanu, Jason Mercier, Liv Boeree, Vanessa Rousso and Jake Cody.
The PokerNews Live Reporting Team will be back tomorrow at 12pm local time for another eight levels of fun as we watch some of the biggest stars in poker make their UKIPT debut!
Meanwhile, since it's Halloween, we'll leave you with a spooky video from Laura Cornelius....