LIVE EVENTS

Day 1C of the WPT500 brought out a huge field of players and collected 310 entries. The players contributed 65 re-entries throughout the afternoon, which helped put over 9 million in chips in play.

Many different players held the chip lead at various stages in this flight, as it seemed that nobody was able to maintain their momentum for very long. With each passing break, there was nearly a complete turnover of the leaderboard. But once play entered the late stages, the big stacks in the field were much more cautious with their chips, knowing that qualifying for Day 2 and cashing this event was within reach.

The chip leader from this flight, Wai Kit Ngai, bagged 587,500 in chips, good enough for the fourth largest stack to date in the WPT500. Ngai had taken the chip lead in the late stages and, after losing a few hands that put a dent in his stack, found ways to win some big pots during hand-for-hand play that brought him back to the front of the pack.

There are three more starting flights for the WPT500. Day 1F runs tomorrow at noon, followed by Day 1G at 5:00pm and Day 1E Turbo at 10:00pm.

The bubble hand:

Now that the field is less than ten eliminations away from the money and qualifying for Day 2, the mood at the tables has changed. The field was boisterous throughout most of this flight, but everyone has their game face on now.

Several players have accumulated huge stacks, thanks to the massive amount of chips in play, so Mathyeu Provost’s overall chip lead in this event is likely to be challenged.

Here is an updated look at the field from level 16:

Play has just resumed in level 16, and the field is down to only 56 players.

The blinds caught up to many players in the field in the lead up to the last break and started forcing the action. The result was a number of multi-way all in pots that helped shake up the leaderboard. The former chip leaders in this flight are no longer among the biggest stacks in the field, as the balance of power has shifted to a new group of players.

The current chip leader in Wai Kit Ngai, who was quietly accumulating chips until he scooped a big, three-way all in pot after having played pocket aces in position to perfection. Ngai called the opening raise from early position, which opened the door for another player, who cold three-bet all in from the small blind. This raise elicited a flat call from the original raiser, which is when Ngai moved all in and was called. Ngai’s aces stood in the three-way pot and allowed him to collect a major portion of his stack.

Play has just resumed in level 13, following the latest break in the action.

The blinds are beginning to catch up with the field. The current chip average now provides roughly 44 big blinds, which is quite deep for most tournaments but far from the depth of play seen earlier in this flight.

A new chip leader emerged recently. Prosper Azoulay went on a great run prior to the last break, accumulating nearly four times the current chip average to stand head and shoulders above the rest of the field at this stage. Azoulay has his nearest rival, Neil Macleod, outchipped by about an average stack.

The field will be reduced to double digits before long, which will add to the already mounting tension in the tournament hall. Everyone has their eyes set on cashing this event and advancing to Day 2, but only the top 44 finishers will make it.