PokerStars UKIPT Isle of Man final table bubble is headlined by Fatima Moreira de Melo
The final table is dawning on the latest leg of the PokerStars UK and Ireland Poker Tour, held on the Isle of Man. 9 players currently remain in the main event and they are playing down to the traditional 8-handed final table tonight. The biggest name still in contention is Fatima Moreira de Melo, a Team PokerStars SportStar and a very popular face on the European circuit. de Melo is a regular guest on the acclaimed EPT Live webcast (see the upcoming issue of PokerPlayer magazine for an exclusive look behind the scenes of EPT Live) and has become just as famous for her quick wit and willingness to say naughty words on air as she has for her poker skills. This deep run – she currently sits in 6th position – will do much to redress the balance however. de Melo was recruited to Team PokerStars after winning a gold medal for the Dutch national team in field hockey at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. She has consistently cashed on the EPT but a win in the Isle of Man would rank as her most significant result by a big margin.
Surprisingly for a PokerStars event the UKIPT Isle of Man has to be considered a minor disappointment in terms of numbers. Only 379 players braved the Irish Sea to play in the £1,000 main event, meaning that Stars had to fork out a £121,000 overlay as they didn’t hit the required 500 entrants to meet the £500k guaranteed prizepool. It’s very understandable however given how awkward the location is to get to when compared to the other stops on the UKIPT tour. For those that did make the trip PokerStars were putting on numerous unique events, including the possibility of touring Stars Headquarters for the very first time (the company’s main offices are based on the island).
The final table will play out tomorrow and many big names will be ruing the fact that they didn’t quite make it. A whole slew of stars made deep runs, including Barry Greenstein (11th, £7,670), Sam Razavi (17th, £5,285), UKIPT Ambassador Ben Jenkins (28th, £3,345) and PokerPlayer columnist Sam Grafton (43rd, £2,375). As a special treat the final table will be streamed live with commentary from comedy duo James Hartigan and Joe Stapleton. You can watch it at PokerStars.TV.
PokerPlayer.co.uk will have a full report from the final table later this week.
