LIVE EVENTS

Day 1A of the Playground 200 brought out a field of 98 entries, a figure which was helped along by 21 re-entries throughout the afternoon. Although the field was small when the action began, things got off to a fast start and showed no signs of slowing down until the final level of play.

Maxime Duhamel sprinted out of the gate to amass a huge chip lead during the early levels. Unfortunately, he ran out of steam shortly past the midpoint of the flight and made his exit shortly thereafter. From that point on there were three players who distanced themselves from the rest of the field – Mikael D’amico Orsini, Ami Alibay and Maurice Devereaux. These three players controlled the lion’s share of the chips all throughout the late stages. When the dust settled at the end of the fourteenth level of play Ami Alibay emerged as the chip leader with 408,000 in chips in the bag to become the new overall chip leader.

The Playground 200 has three more starting flights. Day 1B starts this evening at 7:00pm. Day 1C and Day 1D will be held tomorrow at 11:00am and 7:00pm, respectively. The Playground 200 is an unlimited re-entry event so players can players as many starting flights as they wish to set up a deep run on Day 2.

The timer has just sounded to indicate the final level of play on Day 1A. The players involved in this flight have kept their eyes on the prize, as everyone has shown that they are trying to collect as much ammunition as possible for Day 2. The result has been a steady flow of players hitting the rail, and some players amassing huge stacks.

The field now stands at 19 players out of 98 entries so all those who will survive this flight should have a hefty amount of chips in the bag, thanks to the 2.45 million in chips in play.

Here is a look at the field from the late stages:

Play has just resumed in level 12, following the final break in this flight.

The new chip leader is Mikael D’amico Orsini who, after getting off to a slow start, has only gained momentum throughout the afternoon and is now the only player with a stack of more than triple the current chip average. Maxime Duhamel, who had the chip lead during the early levels, was sent to the rail by Ami Alibay, who now controls the second-largest stack in play.

With only three levels left to go, there are 28 players left. The chip average now provides roughly 55 big blinds but, given how the early levels played out, it seems likely that those left in contention will continue to try to amass as many chips as possible rather than simply cruising into Day 2.

Here are the current chip leaders:

Day 1A has just made the shift to nine-handed play, as only 38 players remain on Day 1A. This flight has maintained a fast pace right from the beginning, and the action shows no signs of slowing down.

Even though the chip average provides over 60 big blinds, the players are clearly trying to run up their stacks as high as possible to set up a deep run on Day 2 instead of simply coasting to the end of this starting flight. Longtime chip leader Maxime Duhamel is no longer miles ahead of the field but still has one of the larger stacks in play.

Here is a look at the action from level nine:

Play has just resumed in level nine. The field now stands at 47 players, competing for the 2.45 million in chips in play. The chip leader from earlier in the flight, Maxime Duhamel, managed to hang on to the chip lead from the first to second break and is now sitting comfortably with 170,500 in chips, more than triple the current chip average.

Although this flight did not see a spike in re-entries near the end of the late registration and re-entry period, the action picked up pace towards the end of level eight. The shorter stacks in the field now have few options to choose from, but the big stacks have enough blinds at their disposal to take any line they see fit. The confluence of these two dynamics created a number of bloated pots, which helped save some players from the brink of elimination and allowed others to take their stacks to new heights.

Here is the current leaderboard:

The action is picking up pace, as Day 1A approaches the end of the sixth level of play. The number of entries is rapidly approaching the century mark, driven by 21 re-entries, but there are only 66 players left in contention.

The chip leader at the first break, Maxime Duhamel, has continued to accumulate chips and has only added to his stack since the last leaderboard update. But a number of players are closing in on Duhamel. With 2.4 million in chips in play at this point, there are likely to be some monster stacks in the field by the next break.

Here is a look at some of the remaining players:

The players have just returned from their first break of the day on Day 1A. New players and re-entries continue to add up, bringing the total number of entries to 80 with roughly one hour left in the late registration and re-entry period. Most players who hit the rail in the early stages opted to re-enter, with nine re-entries up to this point.

The current chip leader, Maxime Duhamel, arrived dressed for success and got off to a flying start, finding ways to run up his stack to more than four times the current chip average after only three levels of play. But there is a long way to go in this flight so time will tell if Duhamel will be able to hang on to the lead from wire to wire.

Here are the current chip leaders:

Players have been steadily joining the field since the beginning of play here on Day 1A, pushing the total number of entries past the 60-mark as we near the end of the third level of play.

The Playground 200 is an unlimited re-entry event, and players can enter multiple Day 1s, even if they survived a previous flight with chips, with the largest stack advancing to Day 2. Two players have opted to re-enter up to this point, but there should be many more re-entries before the end of the late registration and re-entry period at 2:15pm.

Here is a look at the field from the second level of play:

The September Power Weekend has arrived!

The action kicks off today at 11:00am with the first live flight of the $200 + $20 Playground 200, Day 1A. As usual, this event features a guaranteed prize pool of $100,000 and is sure to bring out a huge field. A handful of players have already secured their spots on Day 2, thanks to the Online Day 1 on partypoker where the current chip leader, Eric Brand, bagged 205,000 in chips. Expect to see lots of chips in play during today’s flights so don’t be surprised if a new overall chip leader emerges.

Each Day 1 starts players with a stack of 25,000 in chips and permits unlimited re-entries until the beginning of the seventh level of play. Starting flights will play 14 30-minute levels. Players can enter multiple Day 1s, even if they have already qualified for Day 2. Players who qualify for Day 2 more than once will resume play on Day 2 with their largest qualifying stack; all other stacks will be forfeited. Day 1B starts this evening at 7:00pm. The last two starting flights, Day 1C and Day 1D, run tomorrow at 11:00am and 7:00pm, respectively.

Good luck to all!