Day 1C of the Strangers in the Night brought out a huge field of 259 entries, in what was by far the event’s largest starting flight.
Hockey legend Larry Robinson made an appearance and went on a good run, but he did not advance to Day 2. While he was here, he indulged fans with handshakes and photos so many in the field were able to leave with a souvenir, if not chips in the bag.
The mood was electric during the early levels as the loose action let players build stacks quickly and generated 59 re-entries before the late registration period finished following level 6. Predictably, the mood settled down after that point. The dynamics changed later in the evening when the blinds crept up high enough to begin to pressure the short stacks; the result was some bloated pots and numerous short stack shoves. This dynamic gave way to very conservative play during the last level of the evening, as the players were deep enough to not have to worry about the blinds and began to set their focus on returning for Day 2. When the buzzer sounded at the end of the fourteenth level, 58 players remained to bag chips.
This flight saw the chip lead change hands on many occasions, with a new chip leader at every break. When the chips finally went in the bag, Kyle Runnings emerged as the chip leader for the day with 378,000 in chips ready for tomorrow’s Day 2.
