The Montreal Open got off to a fast start today, as Day 1A brought out a field of 173 entries, including 23 re-entries.

Hefty amounts of chips were put into play early and often this afternoon. In many starting flights, the players often take a measured approach to the early levels, but that was not the case today. Three-bets quickly became the norm and there were plenty of big pots up for grabs. Azim Popatia, better known as “Sammy” by Playground regulars, took full advantage of the early action and jumped out to a huge chip lead, one that he was able to maintain until after the second break of the day. But several players were able to capitalize on the late stages to surpass Popatia’s once-dominant chip lead.

When the dust settled at the end of the flight and the players were ready to bag chips, Carla Sabini emerged as the chip leader with 9.11 million in chips ready for Day 2. Carl Martel and Samuel Grafton are not far behind Sabini, with 8.59 million and 8.28 million, respectively, while Popatia finished the flight with the fourth largest stack of 8.12 million.

To see the combined Day 1 results, click here.