LIVE EVENTS

Day 1B had a great turnout. In all, 25 players opted to re-enter, which helped bring the total number of entries up to 162 on the day. Today’s field surpassed the entries from Day 1A to put the Playground 1000 on pace to surpass the prize pool guarantee and sets up a huge final starting flight.

Several players had turns at the top of the leaderboard today. At the first break, Fadi Al Akzam led the way with a stack of more than double the chip average at the time. Al Akzam kept his momentum, but he was surpassed by several players by the next break. Ha Van Nguyen shot to the front of the pack after the second break but had a narrow lead over the field. At the final break of the day, Senthuran Vijayaratnam was the chip leader, but the final stages of the flight were dominated by William Molson, who bagged the largest stack of the day. To see the combined Day 1 results, click here.

The final starting flight for the Playground 1000, Day 1C, runs tomorrow at 11:00am. Don’t miss out!

Only 74 players remain, as Day 1B enters its twelfth and final level of play. Those who make it through will bag their chips and return on Monday, February 3, at 12:00pm for Day 2.

The players in this flight have been putting some fearless poker on display in the late stages. Nobody is backing down from a big pot or a tough spot. The short stacks have been seizing every opportunity to double up, putting their tournament lives at risk without hesitation.

Here is a look at the action from level 11:

Day 1B has entered the last three levels of play, following the end of the last break of the day and the end of the late registration and re-entry period. The field is down to double digits. Only 93 players remain out of 162 total entries on the day.

There are lots of new names on the latest leaderboard. The action went into another gear prior to the last break, which allowed many players the chance to run up their stacks to new heights. But now that the re-entry period has ended and the prospect of bagging chips for Day 2 becomes realistic, many in the field may look to simply survive this flight.

With less than an hour to go in the late registration and re-entry period, 105 players remain on Day 1B. There have been 24 re-entries this afternoon, and a few more may arrive before the beginning of level 10. They are competing for their share of the 15.8 million in chips in play, each hoping to take the overall chip lead.

The blinds are creeping up slowly but surely. An average stack provides 77 big blinds, but many in the field are doing their best to manage with less.

Here is a look at the action from level 9:

Thanks to a monster pot on the last hand before the latest break, Day 1B has a new chip leader.

Ha Van Nguyen felted an opponent, who was above the chip average, as the players filtered out of the room to seize the chip lead. Nguyen started level 7 with 275 big blinds, which is far above double the current chip average.

For players who jump into Day 1B at this stage, a starting stack still provides roughly 83 big blinds, so we are likely to see a handful of new players and re-entries before the late registration and re-entry period ends at 6:30pm.

Here are the current chip leaders:

The action is in full swing, as Day 1B reaches its midpoint.

There are still 114 players remaining out of 138 total entries. The number of re-entries has crept up to 14, a sign of the loosening action and shift in dynamics. Now that there is a greater disparity between the big and small stacks at each table, all ins have become much more frequent either on the part of the big stacks to pressure the others or the small stacks trying to get maximum value.

Here is a look at the action from level 6:

Day 1B has now collected a total of 129 entries at the midpoint of level 5. This flight has already surpassed yesterday’s turnout, with nearly four hours remaining in the late registration and re-entry period.

The pots are noticeably bigger than they were prior to the first break. Now that the players have settled in, three- and four-bets have become a more frequent occurrence, and the all-in cards are beginning to make regular appearances on the felts. Even the relatively short stacks are still quite deep at this stage, as the player-friendly structure leaves lots of room to play, even for those who register late, for the entirety of each starting flight.

Check out the action from level 5:

The action has resumed after the first break of the day. When the buzzer sounded to indicate the start of level 4, 110 players were still involved. The first three levels only produced six eliminations, half of which have already used their re-entry option for this flight.

Although many players were cautious in their approach prior to the break, there was a sharp uptick in the action in the lead up to the break that allowed a handful of players to run up their stacks and break free from the pack.

Here are the five players who more than doubled their starting chips by the first break:

New players steadily made their way into the field throughout the last level of play to bring the total number of entries beyond the century mark after two hours of play.

The field is full of both local and travelling players, ranging from Albertans to Maritimers and everywhere in between, and nearly table is trading in friendly banter in between hands. Everyone involved understands that there is a long flight ahead so it comes as no surprise to see pot control and cautious play at this point.

Here is a look at the action from level 2:

Day 1B is off to a great start. After only one level of play, 78 players have already thrown their hat into the ring in this starting flight. So far, two players have hit the rail and re-entered, which puts this flight on pace to be far larger than yesterday’s Day 1A.

Thanks to the extended late registration and re-entry period players have until 6:30pm to (re-)enter, so expect many more new players and re-entries throughout the afternoon.

The chip leader from Day 1A, Allan Puzantian, finished his flight with 738,000 in chips. With 8 million in chips in play after the first level, there is a strong chance the a new overall chip leader will emerge from Day 1B.

Event #16 of the World Cup of Cards, the $1000 + $100 Playground 1000, continues this today with the second of three starting flights. This event features a prize pool guarantee of at least $400,000 but will likely award far more than that. 

Yesterday’s Day 1A took in 128 entries, and 58 players advanced to Day 2. To see the Day 1 results, click here. 

Players will start with 100,000 in chips to play through 12 45-minute levels on each Day 1. Play will begin 10-handed before moving to 9-handed play as soon as possible. 

This is a single re-entry event with one entry and one re-entry permitted until the end of the late registration period on each Day 1. Players may play additional Day 1s even if they have survived a previous Day 1 with chips. Players who qualify for Day 2 more than once will resume play on Day 2 with their largest qualifying stack; all other qualifying stacks will be forfeited.

Each starting flight will have an extended late registration and re-entry period, giving players the chance to (re-)enter until the beginning of level 10 at 6:30pm.

Good luck to all!