Clock has just struck 0 in level 7, and given players are scheduled to play for 14 levels today, we have just passed the half-way mark of the night. A few players have gained some momentum and there are now several big stacks in play, the biggest of which seems to belong to Gaetano Di Maria, who holds upwards of 140,000. There will be a short break following level 8, and we will then bring an update on the leaderboard.
Photographs from levels 6 and 7:
Late registration is now over for Day 1b of The $250 Frenzy, and tonight’s flight attracted a total of 212 players, bringing our total up to 340 after 2 flights. At this pace the tournament is on par to break the $200,000 guarantee, however history dictates that the later flights attract more players than the earlier ones, so we might very well see a massive prize pool develop for this 3rd event in the Playground Poker Spring Classic.
No player has really take a big leap ahead of the field so far, granted there have only been 4 levels of play so far. The biggest stack we came across for now belongs to Ruben Perceval, who with his most recent pot just before the break has climbed up to 64,225 in chips. A few players have also broken the 50,000 mark, but for now the field seems to still be warming up. This should change momentarily, as the early flights in multi-day events such as this one tend to be quite aggressive, as players are trying to build a big stack for Day 2 knowing they will have more chances to qualify.
Photographs taken during levels 3 and 4:
Day 1b is 2 levels into the night, and already over 170 players have registered for this second of six flights. The late registration period will remain open until the end of the first break, and players will therefore have up until 9:40pm to buy-in to this $200,000 guaranteed tournament. If you are unable to make it here tonight, there are still four additional flights scheduled over Saturday and Sunday. Take a look at our Event Schedule to plan your visit to Playground Poker Club!
Photographs taken during levels 1 and 2:
The $250 Frenzy continues tonight with its second of six starting flights, and players are quickly flooding the tables in the tournament hall. Day 1a saw 128 players take their seats, and after 14 levels of play, only 26 players remained with chips in hand.
The tournament follows a “next-day re-entry” formula, giving players the chance to participate in multiple starting flights – with one entry allowed per flight. There are 4 more starting flights after tonight for this 3rd Event in the Playground Poker Spring Classic, as two starting flights are scheduled on both Saturday and Sunday, at 11am and 7:30pm.
The tournament director has just announced the start of this second flight, and with that cards are in the air. Late registration will remain open until the end of the first break at 9:40pm, leaving you plenty of time to jump into the action tonight!
See you on the felts!
Day 1a of Event 3 in the Playground Poker Spring Classic began today at 11am and played through 14 30-minute levels before players counted and bagged their chips for their return to play on Day 2. This 1st of 6 starting flights attracted a total of 128 entries and when the end of the day arrived there were 26 players left.
The chip leader today was Jonathan Poulin – who had been among the leaders for much of the day – followed closely by Michael Mellor.
Any player who entered either (or both of) today’s starting flights in the tournament may re-enter in a subsequent starting flight – this is a “next day re-entry” event, meaning that players enter each of the 6 starting flights once.
| First Name | Prénom | Last Name | Nom | Stack | Tapis |
|---|---|---|
| Jonathan | Poulin | 234,000 |
| Michael | Mellor | 208,500 |
| Maxime | Theroux | 160,000 |
| Tony | Farcy | 154,000 |
| Guillaume | Maurice | 124,000 |
| George | Caragiorgas | 122,500 |
| Sebastien | Fortier | 112,000 |
| Etienne | Leduc | 111,000 |
| Ryan | Hodge | 108,500 |
| Jason | Kastner | 107,500 |
| Dany | Pacitti | 105,500 |
| Yohann | Wagner | 105,500 |
| Christian | Berthelet-Amaral | 100,000 |
| Richard | Myron | 99,000 |
| Roger | Thibault | 94,000 |
| Vladislav | Adoniev | 93,500 |
| Akshay | Sutar | 77,500 |
| Tony | Stratopoulos | 76,000 |
| Maurice | Devereaux | 72,000 |
| Alain | Binette | 71,000 |
| Robin | Millette | 60,000 |
| Ian | Tang | 58,500 |
| Ron | S | 39,500 |
| Nguyen Thi Chinh | Quach | 27,000 |
| Jean Guy | Racine | 17,500 |
| Guy | Tremblay | 12,000 |
Michael Mellor
Michael Mellor has been moving along all day with a near-average stack, but since the last break he has managed to chip up to almost 190K to take the chip lead. Just a little behind him is George Caragiorgas – among the leaders all day – who has chipped up past 165K. Meanwhile, the leader at the last break, Roger Thibault, has lost a few so although he’s still in fine shape, he’s no longer in the top 2.
Roger Thibault
Play has begun in level 12 and the players have just returned from their 3rd and final break of the day. Play will continue through level 14, which means there are just 3 levels to go before the remaining players at that time will be asked to count and bag their chips to return on Day 2.
The leaders at this stage in the tournament are all playing more than 100K in tournament chips, but with the average already over 65K, it’s fair to say that no player has built up a really overwhelming stack at this point. That being said, the final 3 levels are when a lot of the super-stacks in an event like this are really built – so there’s a ton of potential for some players to build up huge stacks on this first of 6 starting flights in the event.
Roger Thibault
The players in Day 1a of The $250 Frenzy have just taken their second break of the day while tournament staff removed the green T25 chips from play. Here’s an up-to-date leaderboard at this point in the tournament.
Play continues in level 9.
Play has entered the 8th level in Day 1a of The $250 Frenzy and during the previous level we managed to get some photos of players still in the field. The final registration number for today, incidentally, is 128 entries, which sets a solid baseline for all of the other starting flights (Day 1a is almost certain to be the smallest, as usual).
Photos taken during level 7
The players have continued to jump into The $250 Frenzy throughout this morning’s starting flight, and with the first break just seconds away – and the end of late reg when the break comes to an end, it looks like final participation will be somewhere just above 125 entries. This is quite strong for a first starting flight held on a weekday, and bodes well for the future flights.
