Tammer Ilcaffas Bags the Chip Lead in Day 1c of Event #1: $560 NLH
Tammer Ilcaffas of Jacksonville, Florida leads a field of 48 from Day 1c of Event #1: $560 NLH at the 2022 Winter Open. The third and final opening flight drew 378 players to bestbet Jacksonville for the first of 11 tournaments in the annual series. The outsized Saturday flight generated $181,440 in prize pool money, which brings the grand total to $355,200 from 740 players, from which first place will take home a first prize of $63,223.
Ilcaffas bagged the lead with 423,000 in chips, and he is followed very closely by Darren Sherry with 421,000 and Joshua Alewine with 403,000. Sherry would have ended the night with the chip lead, but tossing in a small blind on the last hand of the evening tipped the favor to Ilcaffas. Other players returning from Day 1c includeNick Raio, Bryan Brocman, Kyrylo Kobzyev, James Brown, Barry Teel, and Charlie Campos.
Day 1c Top Ten Chip Counts
| Place | Name | Chip Count | Day 2 Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tammer Ilcaffas | 423,000 | 141 |
| 2 | Darren Sherry | 421,000 | 140 |
| 3 | Joshua Alewine | 403,000 | 134 |
| 4 | Nick Raio | 340,000 | 113 |
| 5 | Bryan Brozman | 321,000 | 107 |
| 6 | James Brown | 318,000 | 106 |
| 7 | Kyrylo Kobzyev | 288,000 | 96 |
| 8 | Clayton Adams | 276,000 | 92 |
| 9 | Jonathan Strange | 267,000 | 89 |
| 10 | Todd Davis | 260,000 | 87 |
Day 1c Action
It was a packed flight and the action started early when Mark Stelter scored one of the first knockouts of the day by dodging a flush to eliminate Curtis Anderson. Stelter hung in there throughout the day and will return for Day 2.
Derrick Cutler found trouble early when he missed a flush draw to give Michael Ison a big pot, but he bounced back right away when he made three fours to eliminate one on his way to finding a bag for Day 2. Conrad Lau did not qualify for Day 2, but he still found some excitement when he looked down at pocket aces and found the opportunity to quadruple up against several big hands.
Charlie Campos found a run during the mid-day and ran his stack up to qualify for Sunday's finale. The night came to an end after a long bubble when Dan Dragomir shoved with king-seven and lost to the ace-king of James Brown.
The final 94 players will return on Sunday at 12 p.m. EST for the final day of the tournament. Action will pick up in Level 13 with eight minutes left and blinds at 2,000/3,000/3,000. All returning players are guaranteed a min-cash of $839 and action will continue on Sunday until a winner is declared.
Be sure to keep it with the PokerNews team throughout the Sunday finale of Event #1: $560 NLH at bestbet Jacksonville.