LIVE EVENTS

Although the clock is winding down on Day 1C, the action shows no signs of slowing down.

The field is now down to only 87 players, less than a third of the total entries for the day, and most of the remaining players are playing very deep stacks. The deep stacks are creating big pots with nearly every hand so the players will have to tread carefully if they hope to bag chips for Day 2.

Here’s a look at the field from level 14:

Play has just resumed following the final break of Day 1C. The field has been reduced to less than half of the original entries, leaving only 109 players in contention as they head down the home stretch.

Thanks to the massive amounts of chips in play, many players have been able to build stacks of more than double, in some cases more than triple, the current chip average. An average stack provides more than 60 big blinds at this stage, leaving lots of room to maneuver, even for those slightly below average. But it remains to be seen whether or not the big stacks in the field will keep their feet to the gas pedal or will simply be content to coast to the end of the flight.

The current chip leader:

The late registration and re-entry period has just closed on Day 1D. But before it did, there was time to gather 271 entries for this flight, a figure that was helped by 43 re-entries.

The huge turnout has put a massive number of chips in play in this flight, and many players in the field are now playing with some very deep stacks. The current chip average now provides over 70 big blinds, but the players near the top of the leaderboard have several hundred blinds at their disposal, leaving them lots of room to maneuver and take creative lines in any given pot.

The current chip leader:

There are now 187 players remaining on Day 1C out of 265 total entries. The size of this field was helped along by the 42 re-entries up to this point, a testament to the fast, loose action of the early levels.

As the timer winds down on level 8, the stacks are deep. The current chip average provides roughly 86 big blinds, and many players in the field are playing stacks big enough to provide several hundred blinds. The depth of play at this stage has helped stabilize the field, as the rate of bustouts and re-entries has slowed significantly. Also, with the end of the re-entry period on the horizon and the prospect of bagging chips for Day 2 beginning to enter player’s minds, many players have shifted their approach away from risk taking and towards surviving to the end of the flight.

The next break is only a few minutes away, stay tuned for a leaderboard update.

Here are some photos from level 7:

Play has just resumed in the fifth of 16 levels on Day 1C. The action was wide open during the early stages, allowing many players to run up imposing stacks. But there is still a long way to go in this starting flight before the chips go in the bag for Day 2 so it remains to be seen if the early chip leaders will be able to keep their momentum.

The field is led by Rey Lee, with a stack approaching quadruple the starting amount, however, he is closely followed by a number of players so his lead is anything but safe.

The total number of entries has reached 243 for this flight, and players still have nearly two hours to (re-)enter. With so many chips in play, the overall chip leader is likely to emerge from this flight.

Day 1C of the Montreal Open has brought the players out in droves. As we approach the end of the fourth level of play, the field stands at 198 remaining players from 227 entries, and there is still more than two and a half hours left in the late registration and re-entry period.

Many players chose to sprint out of the gate this afternoon, leading to lots of big pots in the early levels and generating 18 re-entries in the process. The fast action has already created a fairly significant gap between the big and small stacks in the field, as some players have more than doubled their starting stacks while some others are already clinging to their last few chips.

The first break of the afternoon is just around the corner. Stay tuned for the first leaderboard.

Some photos from the early levels of play:

Day 1C has brought out a huge field to start the day. After only one level of play, this flight has 182 entries, and the ice has been broken on today’s re-entries. This is already the largest starting flight to date with plenty of time left to register.

Every starting flight for the Montreal Open offers an extended late registration period and unlimited re-entries so players can get in on this afternoon’s action until 4:30pm. A player may play additional Day 1s even if he/she has 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 so Day 1C presents a great opportunity for players who played an earlier starting flight to gather some more ammunition for Day 2. 

The MILLIONS North America rolls on this afternoon with Day 1C of Event #2, the $1,000 + $100 Montreal Open. This will be the third of seven starting flights for the Montreal Open, an event with a player-friendly structure and a massive prize pool guarantee. There will be at least $1,000,000 in cash up for grabs as well as $10,000 + $300 seats to the Main Event given to the top 15 finishers.

Now that two starting flights are in the books, the Montreal Open has already gathered 295 entries. The early turnout has been helped along by a series of $150 + $15 turbo re-entry satellites that have helped 109 players qualify for this event at a major discount. The final satellite for the Montreal Open runs tonight at 8:00pm; it features a 15-seat guarantee, but, as the popularity of earlier satellites suggests, it will likely put many more players than that into Event #2. 

Each Day 1 flight of the Montreal Open provides players with a starting stack of 1,000,000 in tournament chips to play through 16 30-minute levels of 9-handed play before bagging chips for Day 2. This is a re-entry event with unlimited re-entries permitted until the end of the late registration period at the beginning of level 9 on each Day 1 so players have until 4:30pm to join Day 1C. A player may play additional Day 1s even if he/she has 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.

The action is about to begin. Good luck to all!