Duncan McClellan Leads the Remaining 30 Players into Day 3
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There were 161 players returning today to the Villa Marina in Douglas on the Isle of Man. Within eight levels the money bubble had burst and just 30 players remained. For those still in, the hope remains to capture the UKIPT title and pick up £94,090 for first place.
The chip leader at the end of the day was Duncan McClellan with a staggering 890,000, over three and a half times the average stack. He became chip leader in the fifth level of the day when he knocked out Giedrius Grigorius and never relinquished his lead.
Team PokerStars SportStar Fatima Moreira de Melo had led for much of the day after winning a huge pot to catapult herself into the lead in the third level of the day. Overtaken later on in the day, the Dutch lady nevertheless remains in an excellent position going into Day 3 with 573,000 in second place.
She'll be joined by the legendary Barry Greenstein, whose ascent was much quieter as he gradually accumulated his stack, picking up the pace on the bubble to finish the day with 211,000.
It was slim pickings for the rest of the Team PokerStars Pros, Liv Boeree busted about 20 spots from the money while Leo Margets only made it about halfway through the day. Team Online's Dale Philip suffered an equally early exit but Mickey Petersen managed to make it in the money being eliminated in 32nd place for £2,860 right at the end of the day. Jake Cody became one of several players to jump straight into the £2,000 High Roller event after being eliminated from the main event. Max Silver and Alan Gold followed suit after their respective bustouts, the thirst for poker having not been quenched just yet.
Those expecting a dramatic bubble were to be disappointed as the day's most anticipated moment occurred quickly with the first all-in showdown proving decisive. Christopher Jonat had pushed all in over a raise from chip leader Duncan McClelland before Tim Michels called off for less on the button. Jonat did not look confident but turned over 
and Michels flipped 
, unable to spike on a 
board. This left the remaining 55 players in the money and the short stacks quickly began to fall.
Players to make it through included Sam Razavi (197,000) who won a crazy pot halfway through the day with queens against Dominik Nitsche's kings and Martin Hanitz' aces. Jack Ellwood came back from having his kings cracked by jacks to finish the day in a very strong position. Ellwood dropped as low as 17,000 with blinds 600/1,200 but ended the day with 225,000. James Browning (187,000) and Thomas Dunwoodie (187,000) also got through to Day 3, as did Full Tilt Poker Tour Ambassador Ben Jenkins (105,000).
The list of those who didn't make it past the second day made for much longer reading as it included Miika Anttonen, former UKIPT winners Richard Evans and Nick Abou Risk, EPT winner Julian Thew, Simon Deadman, Pierre Neuville as well as Full Tilt Poker Tour Ambassadors Martins Adeniya and Sin Melin.
Tomorrow, the remaining players will be playing down to the final table of eight, safe in the knowledge that they are guaranteed a minimum payout of at least £3,345.
Play will begin at 12pm local time and the PokerNews Live Reporting Team will bring you all the updates!