Recap of Day 1b at the World Poker Tour Playground Championship
Connor Daynard
The excitement at the World Poker Tour (WPT) Playground Championship continues to grow with each passing day. On Friday, the action intensified as Day 1b unfolded, drawing 229 runners into the CAD $3,500 buy-in tournament, which boasts a guaranteed prize pool of CAD $1.5 million. This brings the total entries to 372, with Day 1a’s 143 participants already in the mix and Day 1c still to come.
Dominance by Connor Daynard
As the day concluded after 10 levels of intense poker, Connor Daynard emerged as the chip leader with a staggering stack of 435,500 chips. Daynard’s performance not only put him ahead of the Day 1b field but also outpaced Day 1a chip leader Giuseppe Corapi, who finished the day with 401,000 chips. This sets Daynard in a prime position as the tournament progresses.
Notable Chip Leaders from Day 1b
Day 1b saw several other players also amass impressive stacks. Players who will be returning with healthy chip counts include:
- Jeff Reardon: 388,500 chips
- Adam Cader: 383,500 chips
- Zhi Gang Yang: 365,000 chips
- Bradley Ellis: 352,000 chips
- Guillaume Nolet: 322,000 chips
- Mike Leah: 253,500 chips
- Michael Wang: 222,500 chips
- Senthuran Vijayaratnam: 167,500 chips
- Ami Alibay: 135,000 chips
- Phil Kessel: 135,000 chips (recently signed WPT Global Ambassador)
Stories from the Tables
As the players settled in at their tables, the atmosphere crackled with anticipation. Among those reaping the rewards of day-specific strategies was Jeff Reardon, who played a pivotal hand to secure a significant portion of his chips during Level 8. Here’s a brief overview of that hand:
Reardon opened with a bet of 2,500 from middle position, only to have Howard Feingold re-bet all-in for 14,500 from the small blind. After a round of betting excitement, the board ran out 3♦ 8♦ 7♥ 10♦ 9♠, resulting in Reardon completing a flush with K♦ Q♦. This crucial hand greatly boosted his remaining stack.
Jeff Reardon
Another heartwarming story from the day features two friends and fellow champions, Rob Wazwaz (266,000 chips) and Rich Alsup (104,000 chips). Both are World Series of Poker (WSOP) gold bracelet winners and Hall of Famers from the Mid-States Poker Tour (MSPT). They traveled from Minnesota, with Wazwaz visiting for the first time and Alsup proudly noting it as one of his favorite destinations for poker.
Highlights and Notables
Day 1b was not without its share of heartbreaks, as several notable players exited the tournament early. This included players like Vitalijs Zavorotnijs, Stuart Taylor, and Erik Lemarquand, alongside former poker reporter Tyler Warken, who was profiled earlier that day by PokerNews.
Looking forward, Day 1c is scheduled to commence at 11 a.m. local time on Saturday, October 26. Once the final flight concludes, all participants who remain will regroup for Day 2 on Sunday, October 27.
Ongoing Coverage
PokerNews will be on-site throughout the WPT Playground Championship, providing continuous updates, highlights, and stories directly from the tournament floor.
For aficionados and fans of the game, the unfolding drama of the WPT Playground Championship represents the unrelenting excitement of competitive poker, and the campaign for the coveted championship title is on!
Photos courtesy of World Poker Tour (WPT) / Alicia Skillman
Author: Chad Holloway
PR & Media Manager | Podcast Host & 2013 WSOP Bracelet Winner
1
20
20
