There were 240 players total in Day 1b, the 2nd of 10 starting flights in Playground Poker Club’s 5-Year Extravaganza tournament. This means that 24 players qualified for Day 2 – 10% of the starting field in each flight qualifies.

The following are player-provided counts and although we do our utmost to verify that players are reporting their precise count, it’s the physical chips sealed in their bags which are returned to play on Day 2.

First Name | Prénom	Last Name | Nom	Stack | Tapis
Jeremy	Chandler	407,500
Rami	Hammoud	367,000
Stephane	Arbour	335,000
Ghislain	Soucy	329,500
George	Kazarian	280,500
Mathieu	Boucher	235,000
Renaud	Conti	165,000
Vital	Cleary	161,500
Daniel	Lemay	144,000
Marco	Circe	130,000
Michel	Ghaleb	114,000
Jacques	Iza	113,500
Maxime	Paquette	111,000
Theo	Psihogios	108,500
Mathieu	Jawirnycki	107,000
Driss	Aber	101,500
David	Brillon	97,500
Gino	Dinardo	88,000
Joel	Thibeault	80,000
Siamak	S	53,500
Joselito	Figuereo Lopez	40,500
David Elliott	Marrache	36,000
Daniel	Gates	10,500
Yvon Robert	Blais	3,000

After what can only be called an absurdly long period of hand for hand play on the bubble, play in Day 1b has finally ended with 24 players bagging up chips to return for Day 2 on Monday. Hand for hand play continued for 2.5 levels…

Each flight ends with hand for hand play because they each finish when 10% of the field is left, and everyone who returns for Day 2 is in the money. So essentially, the end of a flight is also the money bubble in the tourney. This most recent flight ending saw things like pocket Queens folded by a late-position player with 6bb and the timing was *almost* there for a single-ante on single-ante showdown – though each of these players were on different tables. One player did end the flight with just 3 antes, however…

The players in Day 1b have just returned from a break and we took the opportunity to build a current leaderboard in this, the 2nd of 10 starting flights in the 5-Year Extravaganza event at Playground Poker Club. With just 34 players remaining, that means there are only 10 more eliminations required before the players who have qualified for Day 2 bag their chips for storage.

First Name | Prénom	Last Name | Nom	Stack | Tapis
Jeremy	Chandler	330,000
Raphael	Clayette	238,000
Michel	Ghaleb	238,000
George	Kazarian	230,000

Day 1a has ended and Day 1c is just getting warmed up, and meanwhile Day 1b – so far, the largest of today’s starting flights – continues moving right along. There are just 50 players left of the 240 that started the event, and while the earlier chip leader is nowhere to be found, Theo Psihogios has put a stranglehold on the flight, playing a stack with more than 230K in chips.

Players in Day 1b have taken a break and we found that Yvon Robert Blais has a wide lead on the field – he’s already playing over 100K in chips! Day 1b will play down to 24 players remaining tonight (10% of the starting field in the flight).

Late registration has just closed here in Day 1B of the 5-Year Extravaganza, and a total of 240 players have registered to this second of ten flights, including hockey legend Larry Robinson. Combined with Day 1A, this tournament now has a total of 356 entries after two flights.

Anyone wishing to participate in this featured tournament of the Playground Anniversary Series can do so by registering in any of the 8 remaining starting flights. The next one is scheduled today at 4pm, with another one starting at 7pm, and a turbo edition at 10pm.

Photographs from the early levels of Day 1B:

The second starting flight to the Playground Anniversary Series 5-Year Extravaganza is about to begin. Over 120 players have already bought-in to this Day 1B, and registration will remain open through until the end of the first break, or roughly 2:30pm. Day 1A saw 116 players take their seats in the tournament hall.

This flight is capped at 200 entries + 50 alternates, and it is looking like we might reach the cap, but the tournament staff will do whatever is possible to accommodate players into the tournament.

See you on the felts!