Just 30 Players Between Hellmuth and No. 14
Day 1 of the AU$2,200 Six-Max No-Limit Hold'em event from the 2014 World Series of Poker Asia-Pacific worked its way through the first 10 levels of play. At the close of registration, 243 entries had been tallied and a AU$486,000 prize pool was generated. Leading the surviving 31 players was Alexander Antonios with 138,200 in chips.
Antonios didn't have the chip lead until the final hand of the night when he won a monster pot against former chip leader Maz Misaghian with a Broadway straight. Misaghian finished on 35,600 in chips.
The first day of this event proved fast and furious, as nearly 90% of the field was eliminated and big stacks were tossed around left and right. Notables Greg Merson, Ryan Riess, Daniel Negreanu, Jonathan Karamalikis, Brandon Shack-Harris, Jeff Madsen, Jeff Lisandro, Antonio Esfandiari, and Jackie Glazier were among the carnage, but just because they busted doesn't mean there aren't some important faces left.
Of those advancing to Day 2, you've got Phil Hellmuth, Jesse Sylvia, Tony Hachem, Bruno Politano, Ami Barer, Van Marcus, Ashley Mason, and Brendon Rubie. Hellmuth will take 82,500 in chips into Day 2, and he'll be looking for his 14th WSOP gold bracelet.
The players are scheduled to return on Friday at 12:30 p.m. local time at Crown Melbourne, and PokerNews will be on hand for all live coverage starting then.