The tables were set at the Dusk Till Dawn casino in Nottingham, and it was time for poker history to be written. The 2025 Hendon Mob Championship had arrived at 17:00 local time, and it was time for Day 1a of the £280 Main Event.
It’s no secret Hendon Mob events (or THMC, for short) have their unique charm. By cashing in a THMC event, players will get a certain flag symbol on Hendon Mob that can’t be acquired any other way. With this information, it couldn’t come as a surprise that 87 entries were made in Day 1a. It should also be mentioned that the £500 Luxon Pay High Roller event attracted over 100 players, some of which we’ll presumably see tomorrow during Day 1b of the Main Event.
An Unmatched Atmosphere
Dusk Till Dawn is, without a doubt, the perfect venue to host THMC. The casino offers unparalleled support, first-class service, and a great overall atmosphere. Day 1a was no exception to this, on the contrary, England’s qualifying match for the Soccer World Championships against Albania brought a little extra spice to the tournament area. There’s no doubt there were some friendly banter and shenanigans going on around the tables.
With 100,000 in starting stack and 30-minute levels, there were opportunities to play some serious poker. Under the first two hours, chips traded owners here and there and after a while, it was Timotheos Timotheou who was the player to beat. For the most part of the tournament, Timotheou was a top-five stack, even though he lost the occasional pot here and there.
Plater’s Silver Platter
As the tournament progressed, more players started accumulating mountains of chips. One of them was Kieran Platter, who began his ascendancy when he rivered a flush against big-stacked Colin Paddington. As he and a couple more players continued to build smaller empires, things weren’t looking as bright for the awe-inspiring Timotheou, who found himself on the wrong side of a brutal cooler, which started his descent. As the tournament reached its final two tables, Timotheou was no longer part of the field.
However, that wasn’t the case for Plater, who kept winning big hands. He eliminated Jonathan Hewston, and when the bubble stage of the tournament was reached, Plater used his big stack to put pressure. when all was said and done, he ended Day 1a as the chip leader.
Day 1a Chip Counts
| Player | Chips |
|---|---|
| Kieran Plater | 1,148,000 |
| Paul Noble | 1,121,000 |
| Gintautas Razma | 890,000 |
| Danny Ball | 720,000 |
| David Benoit Janin | 716,000 |
| Xiantong Li | 709,000 |
| Artur Craciun | 652,000 |
| Ben Parkin | 580,000 |
| Sean Randall | 549,000 |
| Matthew Wilson | 540,000 |
| Ian Plater | 423,000 |
| Terence Mitford | 422,000 |
| Scott Meredith | 161,000 |
After Demosthenes Harris had busted in place 14, the remaining 13 players could bag their chips. Now, they’ll return on Sunday to continue their journey for eternal poker glory on Day 2. They’re all already guaranteed a minimum cash, and they’ll be accompanied by those who advance from Day 1b and 1c, which will both be played tomorrow, Saturday 22.
The poker.pro team will follow all the action from Day 1b while also glancing at the 1c tables now and then. We hope you’ve enjoyed today’s coverage and are excited to see you again tomorrow.
