Day 1C of the Playground 200 brought out a field of 110 entries. There were 17 re-entries this afternoon, in a flight in which many players set out with a conservative approach. Although the action picked up pace following the first break of the day, play slowed from a sprint to a marathon pace from there, one that it would hold until the end of the flight.
The chip lead changed hands several times, but there were a handful of players who were at the head of the pack throughout the afternoon. Charles Gagnon took the pole position by the first break, but he was overtaken by Francois Semaan only a few levels later. But Gagnon would reclaim his lead later in the flight. All the while, Vladimir Avetisian quietly accumulated chips and built a monster stack by the end of the flight.
When play concluded, Charles Gagnon led the 21 Day 2 qualifiers with 320,000 in chips ready for Day 2. Following Day 1C, a total of 71 players have qualified for Day 2, which will be held tomorrow at 2:00pm.
The final starting flight for this edition of the Playground 200 starts tonight at 7:00pm, and late registration will be available until 10:15pm.