There was no shortage of action in the early levels, as the short stacks took their chances to try to set up a deep run. Many of the big stacks in the field capitalized on these dynamics to add even more chips to their already significant holdings.

Jishant Sapra emerged as the early chip leader. Sapra brought forward a lot of chips from his starting flight, but he was able to get out ahead of the pack thanks to a heroic call for his tournament life. Sapra tangled with Wai Kit Ngai, another player who brought forward a big stack from his starting flight, in a huge pot where Sapra found the nerve to call off his stack on the turn with third pair when facing an all-in raise from Ngai. Ngai had turned a flush draw, that bricked out, and Sapra’s third pair was good enough to take down the monster pot.