Matthew Sundberg Leads 22 Remaining Players in Day 1b of Event #1: $560 NLH
Florida's Matthew Sundberg bagged a big chip lead at the end of Day 1b in Event #1: $560 NLH at the bestbet Jacksonville Spring Series with a stack of 403,000, in front of big stacks George Shenoda (372,000), Michael Cox (271,000) and Lunique Petiote (265,000).
Also among the 22 players who survived the nine-hour starting flight are: Jim Roberts, Keith Jones, Joe Frizzi, "Moose" David Hughes and World Series of Poker Circuit ring winners Justin Matecki and Michael Morusty.
End of Day 1b Top 10 Stacks
| PLAYER | CHIP COUNT | BIG BLINDS | |
| Matthew Sundberg | 403,000 | 67 | |
| George Shenoda | 372,000 | 62 | |
| Michael Cox | 271,000 | 45 | |
| Lunique Petiote | 265,000 | 44 | |
| Justin Matecki | 261,000 | 44 | |
| James Roberts | 245,000 | 41 | |
| Keith Jones | 210,000 | 35 | |
| Joe Frizzi | 162,000 | 27 | |
| Kevin Costello | 149,000 | 25 | |
| Charles Campos | 127,000 | 21 |
Day 1b Action
The second starting flight attracted 175 runners to make it significantly larger than yesterday's field of 114. With the extra players, it was no surprise that the day would drag on longer than Day 1a.
What was surprising, however, was that it took over an hour and a half of hand-for-hand play while 23-handed for a player to be eliminated.
Multiple players were saved from bubbling when they got there against hands that had them dominated. First Petiote moved in with seven-five and got looked up by Hughes with ace-five, only to spike a seven to double-up. At another table, Morusty's ace-six improved against an opponent's ace-jack to keep him alive.
But short stacks with dominated hands can't double every time, and the day ended when Sundberg held ace-king and called an opponent's shove with a weaker ace on an ace-high flop.
The Florida-based grinder had taken the chip lead a few orbits prior when he flopped trips and got his whole stack in against Petiote, who had a mere gutshot straight draw and couldn't improve. Petiote was left with a modest stack but managed to run it up to end the day in the top five.
Some of the players who didn't make it through Day 1b include Gil Levy, Heather Warde, Pom Souvannasoth, Brenda Miller, Rich Haskins and Casey Lutz.
After Day 1c, which kicks off Saturday, April 22 at noon, the remaining players from each starting flight will battle it out on Day 2 on Sunday, April 23, which will feature a live-streamed final table.
The PokerNews live reporting team will be back tomorrow for continued coverage of Event #1: $560 NLH at the bestbet Jacksonville Spring Series.