Day 1a of the Mega Series Main Event attracted 55 entries at the Hippodrome with 13 players surviving the day.

George Demetriou had a heck of a day by nearly running his 30,000 in chips to 10 times as much after ending the day with the Day 1a chip lead with 296,000 in chips. Here is a look at the chip counts of the Day 1a survivors.

Welcome to the Mega Series at the PokerStars at the Hippodrome located in the center of the booming British capital of London.

The festival boasts a handful of value-added events including the £1,100 Main Event on April 14-16. MainEventTravel.com will be live reporting the Main Event on Day 1b and Day 2 which will also include some of the highlights from some of the side events including the £440 Mystery Bounty (April 13-14) and the £175 Ladies Event (April 16).

The Main Event provides plenty of action with players kicking off the action with 30,000 in chips during the three opening flights on April 14-15. In past Mega Series Main Events, the action will continue until just 15% of the field remained and at which point would be in the money. This time around is a bit different. The Hippodrome listened to feedback from their players and changed the structure so that each opening flight plays 12 blind levels.

Day 1a and Day 1b feature long 40-minute blind levels with Day 1c kicking along a little faster with 30-minute blind levels. Players can late-enter during the first eight blind levels of the day. Players have plenty of opportunities to build a big stack with two re-entries permitted during the late registration period during all three opening flights.

Players surviving the three opening flights will converge for one final day of play on April 16 with longer 50-minute blind levels until the latest Mega Series Main Event winner is crowned at the Hippodrome.

All eyes were on Thomas Pearn during the last Mega Series in November. This was due to the fact that he was on the final table aiming for back-to-back wins after previously winning the Mega Series Main Event in November 2021 for £51,900. Pearn navigated through the field of 203 entries during the past event to make it to the final two players. He was unable to defeat Yuval Rosenberg and had to settle for the healthy runner-up prize of £28,040 while Rosenberg went on to win the £41,646 top prize. 

Massive value is added to the Main Event thanks to a luxurious Hippodrome Las Vegas prize package added to the Main Event prize pool with an opportunity to 'Spin to Win' for players that run deep. The package boasts an amazing eight-day experience including return flights to “Sin City”,  accommodation at a strip hotel, tournament buy-ins along with dinners, activities, an exciting helicopter ride, and an invite to the Hippodrome Vegas welcome party. All players making the last 36 of the Main Event will randomly choose a number from 1 - 36. A spin of the promotional wheel will determine the lucky winner who will join Team Hippo for a trip of a lifetime to Las Vegas this summer.

MainEventTravel.com will be on the floor on April 15 at 12 p.m. when cards are in the air for Day 1b. Day 1c will then kick off after late registration has closed on Day 1b at 6 p.m.