LIVE EVENTS

The last of three flights of Day 1’s for Event #2 Strangers in the Night $125 + $25 is over. Tonight’s flight logged a total of 173 entries, including 20 re-entries. Things started off with a bang and it only took a few levels to reach 100 entries. A few players having already bagged chips in the previous Day 1 flights were seen at the tables, trying to secure a larger stack for Day 2.

During the early levels, the action was steady, and the air was buzzing with the sound of chips and players chatting. As is often the case in re-entry tournaments, the players took more risks until the end of the late registration period. Once it became impossible to re-enter, there was a noticeable shift in the action, and the elimination rate abated. A clear sign that the players were getting more selective, and taking more calculated chances. There was no monster stack tonight, and quite a few of the chip leaders maintained their edge throughout the evening.

With a whopping 4,325,000 chips in play, we expected some players to dump huge amounts of chips into their bags. But it did not go down that way; Marco Dickner is the top gun tonight, having sealed a very respectable 338,500 chips. Breathing down his neck are his two closest rivals, Vsevolod Malamud (275,500) and Mohammadamin Khalilian (272,500). Only two other players managed to bag more than 200,000 chips: Atbin Abbasianafrapoli (237,500) and Frederic Laurin Fortin (225,000). After all was said and done, Richard Gariepy, who played this afternoon’s Day 1B, remains the overall chip leader with a staggering 409,500 chips waiting for him tomorrow.

A total of 370 entries were logged during the thee Day 1’s, 95 Thursday night, 102 this afternoon and 173 tonight. At the end of level 14 tonight, 36 players managed to bag chips. They will join the 40 players that qualified through Day 1A and 1B. Everyone will be back tomorrow at 1:00pm for Day 2, when they will resume battle after a complete seating redraw, and play for 10 levels. Day 3 will be Sunday May 5th, at 1:00pm.

The combined results of Day 1’s combined will can be found here.

Players are coming back from their break and settle in for the last three levels of the evening. Any player left with chips after the 14th level will get to bag his chips and come back tomorrow at 1:00pm for Day 2.

Right now, one player has distanced himself, by collecting more than three times the average. Marco Dickner makes his first appearance on the leaderboard, with a wall worth 255,100 chips in front of him. Three other players make the 150K minimum list, but barely. Mohammadamin Khalilian and Alfonsi Pio have managed to protect their respective leads and Vsevolod Malamud makes his first appearance.

The action is continuing on the 7 remaining tables, as we head into level 11. There will be a break between levels 11 and 12, which will give us a chance to update the leaderboard and see where the chips lay.

Here a a few photos from levels 9 and 10.

After 8 levels of play, the players went on break and we went looking for chips. This time around, only players with 100,000+ chips would make the cut.

Mohammadamin Khalilian leads the pack with a respectable 163,400 stack in front of him. A familiar face at Playground, “Amin” he was only too happy to pose for the camera after the break, knowing full well it means he is the current chip leader. Three other players have managed to pass the 100K mark: Kiril Martinov Gelev, Frederick Gougeon, and Jonathan Poissant.

There are 4,325,000 in chips and the average keeps rising and rising, as the bust outs occur at a steady pace.

Late registration is now closed, there were a total of 173 entries tonight, including 20 re-entries. There are currently 101 players still in, with seven levels to go.

Day 1A saw 95 entries grace the boards, and 102 more were added in this afternoon’s Day 1B. With tonight’s 173 entries, this brings the total entries for the Strangers in the Night event to exactly 370. Right now there are 40 players qualified for tomorrow’s Day 2. In a few more hours, we’ll be adding tonight’s players to that list.

A total of 161 entries are presently logged for this last flight of Day 1 flights. This includes 13 re-entries, and there are now 128 players left. Late registration is open for another 30 minutes, so players can get into the action, or choose to fire another bullet.

Players took a short break between levels 4 and 5 and this gave us the opportunity to survey the field. With the average hovering at 30,000, only stacks above 75,000 have made the leaderboard. In total four players have managed to attract attention. Topping off the list is Alfonsi Pio, with 102,500 chips, and he is the only player above 100K. He’s followed closely by Dat Doan who has 97,500 chips in front of him. Rounding off the chart are Michel Leblanc and Kenneth Myles Budd, with 77,500 and 75,800 chips respectively.

It’s obviously anyone’s game, and everyone will try to grab as many chips as possible, of the 4 million chips in play.

Things are moving along in the early levels of Day 1C. The boards are now showing 133 entries, including 5 re-entries. With a $50,000 guaranteed prize pool, the Strangers in the Night tournament is always a big hit with the local players.

Last night’s Day 1A saw 21 players still standing after 14 levels. Josef Ares was the chip leader among them, having sealed 281,500 chips in his bag. This afternoon’s Day 1B qualified another 19 players for Day 2, with Robert Gariepy bagging a whopping 409,500 stack.

Here some photos of the early levels.

The tournament is getting under way and the players are heading to their tables at a steady pace. This is the 3rd and last flight of Day 1’s for the Strangers in the Night event.

As for all Day 1’s, play will end tonight after 14 30-minute levels. Any player left standing will get the opportunity to bag his chips and return for Day 2, which gets underway tomorrow at 1:00pm. This is also a re-entry event with unlimited re-entries permitted until the end of the late registration period.

Players start with 25,000 tournament chips and registrations and re-entries are open until the beginning of level 7, so players have until 10:15 to get into the action.