LIVE EVENTS

Day 1A is now in its last level of play before the players bag their chips for Day 2.

The large field is now down to five tables that are now making their way through hand-for-hand play near then end of the sixteenth level of play. The tension has mounted in the tournament hall, as the pressure of the blinds has forced the shorter stacks into taking some risks in order to survive this flight.

Here’s a look at some of the players from the last level of play:

Following the third break in the action on Day 1A, 86 players remain in contention and there is a new chip leader. The field is led by Barry Wood, who ran his stack up past the 6 million mark over the course over the few levels, reaching nearly triple the current chip average.

The pace of play has slowed (slightly) since the end of the re-entry period, as many players have shifted their focus to surviving until the end of the flight rather than taking risks to run up their stacks.

Day 1A’s new chip leader:

The buzzer has just sounded to announce the start of the ninth level of play and the end of the late registration and re-entry period for this flight.

Day 1A, the first starting flight of the Montreal Open, brought out a total of 173 entries, including 23 re-entries. The strong early turnout bodes well for the subsequent Day 1s; expect to see some huge fields in the upcoming flights.

Our chip leader from the first break, Azim Popatia, found ways to substantially increase his stack and still leads after the second break by a healthy margin. But this field is full of highly skilled and determined players so maintaining that chip lead until the end of the flight will be no small feat.

Day 1A recently entered the eighth level of play, leaving just under 30 minutes left in the late registration and re-entry period. Although the pace of new entries slowed during the last level, the steady flow of new players and re-entries pushed the total number of entries up to 172.

There are a number of notable players in the field, including Tony Dunst, Ami Alibay, Chanracy Khun and Tommy Nguyen, as well as previous Playground event champions such as WSOP-C Main Event champion Danny Freitas and WSOP-C Colossus winner Jason Mandanici-Turcot. Even though there are many more starting flights for the Montreal Open in the days ahead, it is already a star-studded event.

Stay tuned for a leaderboard update following the upcoming break.

Here are some photos of the field from level 7:

Play has just resumed following the first break of the afternoon on Day 1A. The field has grown to 151, a figure that was helped along by ten re-entries during the early levels.

Some players have managed to more than double their starting stacks, however, everyone in the field is far behind our current chip leader, Azim Popatia, who is playing a stack of nearly four times the starting amount. As the number of re-entries and big stacks indicates, the players have taken an aggressive approach to this flight and show no signs of slowing down. There remains roughly two hours in the late registration period so expect to see many more (re-)entries before the day’s end.

The current chip leader:

After a brief feeling out period during the first two levels of play, the action has opened up on Day 1A.

Three-betting has become a regular occurrence on many tables, and the players are not being shy about putting their stacks at risk to take down pots. A steady stream of new players and a handful of re-entries have brought the total entries up to 141, a figure that continues to grow with each passing minute. The late registration and re-entries will be available until 4:30pm so there is still lots of time to get in on the action. The first break of the day is just around the corner, stay tuned for the first leaderboard.

Here are some photos of the field from the third level of play:

The Montreal Open is off to a fast start this afternoon. Near the mid-point of the second level of play, the field is up to 114 players and 116 total entries.

Most in the field have started out with a cautious approach, however, a few players came out firing with big three- and four-bets after a couple of orbits of play. So far, only one player opted to re-enter but there will certainly be many more before long. There is still lots of time to register or re-enter this flight; players can (re-)enter the action until 4:30pm.

Here are some photos from the first level of play: