After a record Day 1A field of 869 entries, which included many satellite winners and online qualifiers, Day 1B of the WSOP Paradise $25,000 Super Main Event was a more intimate affair, drawing 378 entries.
Still, with 2,400 entries needed to reach the $60,000,000 guarantee, the combined entry total of 1,247 is more than halfway there, with Day 1C and 1D to come this weekend.
If at first you don't succeed...
With fewer recreational players in the field, the superstars of the game were more noticeable in the field today.
Many fell early. Among the big names that either called it a day or needed another bullet (or two or three) before dinner break were a who’s who of high rollers, WSOP POYs, Main Event champions, and bracelet winners such as Daniel Zack, Brock Wilson, Daniel Rezaei, Chino Rheem, Mikita Badziakouski and Stephen Chidwick.
Others fared better. By night’s end, Jesse Lonis had bagged the third-biggest stack of the day with 4,190,000, with Alex Foxen's 3,215,000 nearly cracking the top ten.
Badziakouski (1,930,000), Rezaei (1,485,000) and Chidwick (245,000) also found a bag, while the others from that list of poker dignitaries will have to try again on Saturday or Sunday’s final two starting flights.
Also among those presented with a chip containment unit just before midnight were Isaac Haxton (2,750,000), Nick Schulman (2,375,000), Martin Kabrhel (2,370,000), Shannon Shorr (1,460,000), Ebony Kenney (1,293,000), Katie Lindsay (1,265,000), and Samantha Abernathy (805,000).
Big bags for the Brits
One name at or near the top of the counts throughout the day was that of England’s Andy Wilson, a WPT champion with a WSOP final table this past summer. He bagged 5,150,000 for the overall chip lead, topping Day 1A leader Leonardo Song-Carrillo's 4,485,000.
A pair of other notable Brits made noise on the leaderboard at various points of the day.
Eight-time bracelet winner (with three of them this year), Benny Glaser was consistently among the leaders, though a late-day slide saw him fade to the middle of the pack with 1,085,000.
Meanwhile, 2019 WSOP Main Event 7th place finisher Nick Marchington was also among the leaders most of the day before bagging 1,510,000 for just under a top 50 stack.
WSOP Paradise Super Main Event Day 1B chip leaders:
- Andy Wilson - 5,150,000
- Did not report - 4,405,000
- Jesse Lonis - 4,190,000
- Pascal Lefrancois - 3,965,000
- Alex Keating - 3,800,000
- Gilles Simon - 3,745,000
- Neville Costa - 3,740,000
- Santhosh Suvarna - 3,585,000
- Lautaro Guerra - 3,440,000
- Eric Yanovsky - 3,230,000
Day 2A on deck
In all, 124 survivors from Thursday’s flight will join the 295 who advanced from Day 1A for the first of two Day 2s on Friday.
Players can still register or re-enter for the first three levels of Day 2A, and from there, play will continue into the money at 15% of the field. The day is scheduled to continue until 7% of the field remains, with those players bagging for Day 3 on Monday.
