LIVE EVENTS

Day 1A of the WPT500 brought out a huge field of players that made a total of 183 entries this afternoon. As the first of eight starting flights for the WPT500, Day 1A provided a great start to the live action, which bodes well for the remaining starting flights.

The large turnout made for a lengthy flight, one that surprised most players in the field. The pace of play kept things moving along at a brisk pace until the end of the flight came into sight. Hand-for-hand play lasted for over an hour and led to significant changes in the balance of power. The players who led this flight at various stages – Ami Alibay, Robert Gariepy and Ara Asatoorian – each stumbled in the late stages and ended up bagging far fewer chips than they each had at their respective high points.

In the end, it was Mathyeu Provost who emerged with the chip lead, thanks to solid play and fortuitous timing. Provost managed to steadily accumulate chips throughout hand-for-hand play and ultimately put the remaining field into Day 2 when his pocket tens survived a pre-flop all in against Steve Fournier’s ace-king. Provost seized the overall chip lead with his performance on Day 1A, sending 715,000 in chips on to Day 2. Other prominent stacks include Ami Alibay with 570,000, Laurence Louie with 441,500 and Marc-Andre Yelle with 369,500.

There are three WPT500 starting flights scheduled for tomorrow. Day 1C runs at noon, followed by Day 1D at 5:00pm and Day 1E Turbo at 10:00pm. Day 2 will be held on Monday, October 28 at 1:00pm.

The field on Day 1A now fits on only four tables. From the 183 entries in this flight, only 30 players are left, each with their sights set on Day 2.

Ami Alibay remains the overwhelming chip leader, with a stack in the vicinity of the 700K-mark. Former chip leaders Ara Asatoorian and Robert Gariepy are still in the field, but neither player is within striking distance of the chip lead at this stage.

Play will conclude once the field is down to 26 players, which is only four eliminations away, so the anticipation is building with each passing hand.

Here is a look at the action from level 17:

Play is set has just resumed in level 16 with only 43 players left in contention.

The player-friendly structure of this event has seen to it that the field is still enjoying significant depth of play. The current chip average provides roughly 31 big blinds, but the player at the top of the leaderboard has nearly triple that amount.

Ami Alibay seized the chip lead by playing a strong hand to perfection and getting maximum value after flopping the nuts. He was already above the average stack at that point, and he now stands head and shoulders above the field with over 90 big blinds at his disposal. Former chip leader Robert Gariepy has been holding steady and was surpassed by a handful of players shortly before the last break.

Play will continue until only 26 players remain, at which point the remaining players will advance to Day 2 and be in the money.

Play has just resumed in level 13, and Day 1A has a new chip leader. Robert Gariepy jumped to the top of the leaderboard, thanks to a dramatic three-way all in shortly before the break.

Gariepy was up against Tam Ho and Ernest Kelly, when each of the three played all their chips on a flop. Gariepy was fortunate enough to improve his thanks to running fours, which gave him three of a kind, and sent both Ho and Kelly to the rail. Gariepy is now sitting comfortably with roughly 120 big blinds in his possession, more than double the current chip average.