The players in today’s Freezeout have just returned from their first break of the day and play has resumed in level 5 of the tournament. Players continue to join the event at a regular pace – late registration is available until the end of level 6, so there’s still plenty of time to jump in.

During the break we surveyed the Tournament Hall for the largest stacks so far, and found 6 players who had taken an early lead.

Players continue to join the tournament on a very regular basis and registration has now passed the century mark – in fact, there are 114 players in so far. The 100-mark is significant, because that was roughly the number of players required to achieve the prize pool guarantee – and now that it has been surpassed, the prize pool is simply going to grow.

Photos from level 2:

Play is now underway in today’s $550 Freeze, and with just 15 minutes off the clock in level 1, there are already 75 players at the tables. This is a great indication that there will be a large field today – and so a large prize pool – because late registration is open until 2:15pm and players will continue to join the event all the way up to the end.

We’ll get photos of the field soon, but among the players who have assembled so far are such big event regulars as Sylvain Siebert, Kevin Macdonald, Carter Swidler, Christopher “D0r1t0s” McClung, and Patrick Braga.

Today at Playground Poker Club is the first of the “larger” buy-in events in this year’s Playground Winter Festival. The tournament is a $500 + $50 NL Hold’em Freeze that will play out over the course of a single day. With 30-minute blinds, the event is likely to continue for at least 12 hours of play – it will be a true test of poker ability and stamina!

This event is the next in a long tradition of true freezeout events hosted at Playground Poker Club. While re-entry tournaments are an important part of the modern game of poker, there’s something about a tournament that allows players a single buy-in that is inherently fascinating – freezeout tourneys may be the purest form of tournament poker around, and are an important test for any poker player.

Late registration is open through the first 6 levels of play today, so there’s lots of time for players to jump in the action. And considering it’s a chilly and slightly snowy day outside, there’s no better place to be than in the Tournament Hall for this fantastic event.

Good luck on the felts!

Event #5: $500 + $50 NL Hold’em Freeze

$50,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool

• Tuesday February 7th at 11:00am