LIVE EVENTS

Day 1D of the Playground 100 brought out a huge field of 223 entries.

Just like the heat outside, the pace was blistering this afternoon. In most starting flights, the fast and loose action subsides after the end of the late registration and re-entry period. But that was not the case today. It took only 20 levels of play to get down to ten percent of the field and bag chips for tomorrow’s Day 2. Although 23 players were slated advance from Day 1D, a double bustout during hand-for-hand play brought the field down to 22 at the conclusion of play.

Eric Hoevenaars emerged as this flight’s chip leader, with 708,000 in chips bagged for Day 2. Hoevenaars flew under the radar during the early levels of this flight before capitalizing on both good spots and good cards to rise to the top of the leaderboard after 16 levels. From there, he only extended his chip lead and sent many players to the rail in the process. To see the full list of Day 1 chip count, click here.

The final starting flight for this event, Day 1E, just got underway, but late registration will be available until 9:15pm so there is still lots of time to get in on tonight’s action. Day 2 begins tomorrow at 3:00pm and will continue until there is a winner.

There are only 29 players remaining on Day 1D. The huge starting field of 223 entries put a huge amount of chips in play, and the players took a very aggressive approach to go get them. The result has been a steady stream of bustouts all afternoon, one that has shown few signs of slowing down. At this stage, however, we are likely to see a change in tactics from many in the field, as the top 23 players will advance to Sunday’s Day 2, which means that the pressure will mount with each passing elimination.

Here’s a look at some of the remaining players.

As we enter the late stages of play on Day 1D, Eric Hoevenaars has emerged as the new chip leader. Lots of chips changed hands in the lead up to the last break, and Hoevenaars was able to take advantage to leap to the top of the leaderboard. Former chip leader Pengyu Yu has managed to maintain one of the larger stack in play. But the swings have been will this afternoon so everyone on the leaderboard will have to stay sharp until the chips are in the bag if they hope to advance to Day 2.

The action has kept up its break-neck pace on Day 1D. Unlike some of the other starting flights, the players have kept the pedal to the metal throughout the middle stages of the flight and show no signs of slowing down. With the chip average providing roughly 20 big blinds, many in the field have few options other than to take their chances with strong pre-flop moves and hope for the best.

Here’s a look at some of the remaining players.

The action has been wide open all afternoon on Day 1D, reducing the field to only 80 players after 11 levels of play.

Many of the remaining players are well ahead of the average stack, while the chip leader, Pengyu Yu, is sitting comfortably with a stack of more than triple the current chip average. The top 23 players from this flight will qualify for Day 2 so pace of play will likely slow down significantly as field approaches that number.

The late registration and re-entry period has just closed on Day 1D. The early levels were full of wild action, resulting in some players building imposing stacks and generating 51 re-entries in the process. In all, this flight took in 223 entries, which bodes well for the prize pool in this event, which will be far larger than the $50,000 guarantee.

Many players were able to run up some big stacks before the first break, but they all trail Rachid Bahaj, who more than quadrupled his starting stack.

With slightly more than an hour of play in the books on Day 1D, the field keeps growing. There was a healthy crowd ready and waiting for the opening announcement to start this flight, and the players continue to file in at a steady clip.

The late registration and re-entry period will be open until 2:15pm for this flight so this just might turn out to be the busiest starting flight to date. The final starting flight, Day 1E, runs tonight at 7:00pm, providing anyone who missed out on the previous starting flights a chance to get in on the action and the chance to build a bigger stack for Day 2 for all those who already advanced stacks.

Here’s a look at the field from the early levels.

The final starting flights of Event #3 of the June Power Weekend, the $100 + $100 Playground 100, will be held today. The first, Day 1D, kicks of at 11:00am, followed by Day 1E this evening at 7:00pm.  This exciting event guaranteed a prize pool of $50,000, but that figure has already been surpassed, thanks to the huge turnout for the first three live starting flights.

Players will start their journey with 20,000 in chips, and each Day 1 will play until 10% of the starting field remains, at which point the remaining players will bag their chips for Sunday’s Day 2. Players can enter as many Day 1s as they like, as only the largest qualifying stack will advance to Day 2. A total of 54 players have already advanced stacks. To see the full list of Day 1 chip counts, click here.

This event permits unlimited re-entries during the late registration period, which will be open until the beginning of the seventh level of play.

The cards will be in the air soon. Good luck to all!