2013 PokerStars.com UKIPT Isle of Man Day 2: McClelland Leads Final 30

There were 161 players returning today to the Villa Marina in Douglas on the Isle of Man for the 2013 PokerStars.com UK & Ireland Poker Tour Isle of Man £1,100 Main Event. 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 McClelland with a staggering 870,000 in chips — over three and a half times the average stack. He became chip leader in Level 13 when he knocked outGiedrius Grigorius and never relinquished the lead for the rest of the day.

Day 2 Top 10 Chip Counts

Rank	Player	Chips
1	Duncan McLellan	870,000
2	Fatima Moreira de Melo	573,000
3	Matthijs Rebel	496,000
4	Daniel Stacy	406,000
5	Colin Marks	373,000
6	Harry Lodge	348,000
7	Chris Straghalis	293,000
8	Jamie O'Connor	279,000
9	Dahe Liu	250,000
10	Christopher Jonat	242,000

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.

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 Philipsuffered 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 McClelland before Tim Michels called off for less on the button. Jonat did not look confident but turned over the  and Michels flipped the , 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'skings 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 winnersRichard Evans and Nick Abou Risk, EPT winner Julian Thew, Simon Deadman, Pierre Neuville as well as Full Tilt Poker Tour AmbassadorsMartins 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 of £3,345. Play will begin at 12 p.m. local time and the PokerNews Live Reporting Team will bring you all the updates.

In the meantime, check out a special, behind-the-scenes tour of the PokerStars Data Centre thanks to PokerNews' Laura Cornelius:

 There were 161 players returning today to the Villa Marina in Douglas on the Isle of Man for the 2013 PokerStars.com UK & Ireland Poker Tour Isle of Man £1,100 Main Event. 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 McClelland with a staggering 870,000 in chips — over three and a half times the average stack. He became chip leader in Level 13 when he knocked outGiedrius Grigorius and never relinquished the lead for the rest of the day.

Day 2 Top 10 Chip Counts

Rank	Player	Chips
1	Duncan McLellan	870,000
2	Fatima Moreira de Melo	573,000
3	Matthijs Rebel	496,000
4	Daniel Stacy	406,000
5	Colin Marks	373,000
6	Harry Lodge	348,000
7	Chris Straghalis	293,000
8	Jamie O'Connor	279,000
9	Dahe Liu	250,000
10	Christopher Jonat	242,000

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.

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 Philipsuffered 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 McClelland before Tim Michels called off for less on the button. Jonat did not look confident but turned over the  and Michels flipped the , 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'skings 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 winnersRichard Evans and Nick Abou Risk, EPT winner Julian Thew, Simon Deadman, Pierre Neuville as well as Full Tilt Poker Tour AmbassadorsMartins Adeniya and Sin Melin.

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2013 World Series of Poker Main Event November Nine: David Benefield

David Benefield, known better in the online poker community as "Raptor," will be sitting on the shortest stack heading into the November Nine with 6.375 (16 blinds) million in chips. Despite this fact, Benefield's experience on both the virtual and live felt will make him a worthy adversary to the other eight competitors who are looking to be crowned world champion.

In fact, Benefield's quest from Day 7 up through the November Nine was one that was filled with picking spots and playing the short stack to his benefit.

“I just kept winning hands and staying alive,” said Benefield. “I was the short stack going into Day 7 and I’m the short stack going into the final table. I’ve just kind of progressively been staying alive each level.”

Perhaps his success has come from the fact that this is territory that he’s explored before. Benefield made a solid run at the Main Event in 2008 where he ultimately finished in 73rd place for $77,200.

"My deep run was, I guess, about five years ago, and I got 72nd? 73rd? Something like that,
Benefield said. "I was pretty certain that was the deepest I’d ever get. There’s just so many people that play you have to get so lucky to get this far."

Benefield hails from Forth Worth, Texas and began playing online poker during his senior year of high school. After finding much of his freshman year of college consumed with grinding online as well as underground live cash games, Benefield opted to drop out of school after just one semester. Despite successfully grinding his bankroll up, he ultimately found himself nearly broke and longing for a social life. Benefield then enrolled back in school but found himself doing more partying than studying. Eventually, he returned to the game he knew so well and began grinding once again.

Although he was not old enough to participate, Benefield took to the 2006 World Series of Poker where he spent the summer living in the "Ship It Holla Balla Mansion," a place rented by some of the best online young guns around. Benefield used his time this summer to increase his bankroll and solidify his place as one of the best Internet players around.

Prior to his finish in the November Nine, Benefield racked up a total of 12 cashes at the WSOP including his 2008 Main Event run and an eighth-place finish in the €50,000 No Limit Hold'em — Majestic Roller at the 2012 WSOP Europe.

Benefield has been active post-2013 WSOP as well, making numerous final tables at high roller events around the world. Benefield had a successful trip to the EPT Barcelona where he finished fifth place in the €50,000 Super High Roller for €208,150 ($278,439). He immediately followed that up with a 110th-place cash in the Main Event and he capped off his trip with an eighth-place finish in the €10,000 High Roller for €47,850 ($64,008). Benefield continued his high-roller consistency at EPT London where a seventh-place finish in the £50,000 High Roller earned him a payday of £139,600 ($226,348).

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2013 World Series of Poker Main Event November Nine: JC Tran

Prior to his run at the 2013 World Series of Poker Main Event, JC Tranamassed roughly $8.3 million in live tournament winnings with cashes dating back as far as 2003. A first-place finish at this year’s final table could almost exactly double that number

.

Tran is the odds on favorite heading into the final table as he holds the chip lead with 38 million (95 blinds), which is a whopping 8.3 million ahead of Amir Lehavot,who sits in the second chip position.

“I’m in a very, very good spot with the chip lead,” Tran commented toPokerNews. “But as far as chip count wise, everyone is pretty close besides a couple of the short stacks, and everyone can play. So I can’t count myself as a huge favorite or anything, I just feel like I need to go out there and respect these guys and play some real, real serious poker and bring my best to have a shot of winning. “

Playing serious poker seems to be one of Tran’s strong suits, as he is clearly the most decorated player at the final table. Tran is a two-time WSOP bracelet winner, winning jewelry in both 2008 in Event #49: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em and 2009 in Event #30: $2,500 Pot-Limit Omaha. Bracelets aren't the only piece of WSOP-related jewelry that he owns, though, as Tran also won a WSOP Circuit ring at the Rio Las Vegas Poker Festival back in 2005.

While Tran has scored much success at the WSOP, an even greater sum of his lifetime winnings come from his exploits on the World Poker Tour. Tran won his first WPT title at the World Poker Challenge in 2007. He also has two second-place finishes on his résumé, one of which accounts for $1.17 million of his lifetime tournament winnings.

In the time since the Main Event went on hiatus in July, Tran continued to make his dominating presence known in the poker world. In late August, Tran was one of the 21 entries into the inaugural WPT Alpha8 Florida, which is a $100,000 buy-in tournament that plays eight-handed. Tran battled through a stacked field of his peers and fell just short of adding another trophy to his name. Despite finishing runner-up to Steven Silverman, Tran was still able to pocket $526,890 for a very sound return on investment.

Other than his big splash at Alpha8, Tran spent a solid majority of his time after the summer with his family. Tran, the youngest of eight children in his own family, emphasized to PokerNews the importance of family in his life.

“The next few months for me is going to be all, all family time,” Tran said. “I want to go home. I want to be a father. I want to be a husband and just enjoy life and relax."

Despite his calm and relaxed demeanor toward the final table, Tran is a true competitor and desires nothing more than to win. He will approach the final table searching to solidify his position as one of the most successful tournament poker players in history.

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