Only 1 level separates the remain players from locking in a seat to Day 2, as Day 1a is set to finish once this 13th level has been completed.

Two more flights remain for this Main Event of the TonyBet Winter Festival, with Day 1b scheduled on Saturday 11am, and Day 1c on Sunday at 11am. This tournament does follow a “next day re-entry” format, meaning that anyone wishing to participate in more than 1 starting flight can do so. Should they have more than 1 stack qualify for Day 2, only the biggest one will be kept.

Photographs from level 12:

A new chip-leader has emerged since the dinner break, as Rabah Belal Ahin Al-Nasseri now tops the 66 remaining players here in level 10 with his stack of nearly 150,000.

Former chip-leader Alexandre Rochette lost a few chips, but still holds a place amongst the big stacks, as he currently owns roughly 135,000. Local hero Bill Kontaratos has made some moves in recent orbits and climbed the leaderboard, now holding a healthy 3rd place stack upwards of 130,000. Duff Charette, Jesse Wheatley and Xin Qi are holding onto their six-figure stacks since dinner break, and round up the top 6 stacks.

A little under 4 levels remain today.

Photographs from level 9:

After 8 levels of actions, players in Day 1a of the Main Event have earned a 45-minute dinner break, and are scattered across the tournament hall chatting away about nothing and everything.

Alexandre Rochette certainly has a few stories to tell, as he managed to build his 30,000 starting stack into a cool 157,000, good enough for the current chip lead. 4 other players have managed to break the 6-figure cap as well, although Alexandre holds a healthy lead on the rest of the field.

Here are the top 5 stacks entering level 9:

First Name | Prénom	Last Name | Nom	Stack | Tapis
Alexandre	Rochette	157,000
Xin	Qi	111,900
Duff	Charette	110,800
Rayan	Chamas	106,800
Nazareth	Maghakian	106,600

A few additional counts:

First Name | Prénom	Last Name | Nom	Stack | Tapis
Marco	Sousa	93,000
Ryan	McGarry	91,200
George	Caragiorgas	90,600
Marc-Olivier	Carpentier-Perreault	87,500
Benoit	Jean	82,100
Marco	Caza	74,400
Yann	Dion	70,800
Jonathan	Poissant	65,400
Ami	Alibay	56,500
Samuel	Barre	55,800
Alexandre	Lavigne	55,000
Jonathan	Roy	54,200
Derek	Lerner	51,400
Jason	Comtois	36,400
Rodney	Ramalho	23,700

Photographs from level 7:

Day 1a of the TonyBet Winter Festival Main Event is well into level 8, and following this level will be a 45-minute dinner break. As per usual, a wide range of options are available to players, with a buffet provided by the house – or players can always order from The Rail at any point in the day (or night, as it is open 24h a day).

Photographs from level 7:

 

Here are a few photos of the players in Day 1a of the Main Event in the TonyBet Winter Festival.

Photos taken during level 4

The players in Day 1a of the TonyBet Winter Festival Main Event have completed 3 levels of play and are now taking their first break of the day. While on break, they could relax in the TonyBet Lounge and check out the Champion’s Belt, which has arrived and is on display for players to view!

Registration today has climbed to 122 players with another 3 levels (plus the break) of late registration still available. Some big name players have joined us for this event – we’ll publish some photos of the field during the next session.