Event #1: $365 No-Limit Hold'em

Sara Hall is the champion of Event #1, a $365 no-limit hold’em event that kicked off the Circuit’s second visit to Horseshoe Baltimore. Hall bested a field of 293 players, conquering a fast-paced final table to earn her first gold ring. In addition to the prize money and the jewelry, Hall earned 50 points and an early lead in the Casino Champion race for this venue.

Hall is a 25-year-old pro from Cleveland, Ohio, though she considers herself primarily a cash game player. Just a year into her live tournament career, though, her record is already starting to claim otherwise. This marks her second significant score over the span of the last six weeks. Hall made it to Day 5 of the $10,000 Main Event in Las Vegas, before ultimately falling in 233rd place when her pocket aces were cracked by pocket nines. That cash was worth nearly $35,000, and she's added another $17,925 to her tournament results this evening.

"I just wanted to play my best," Hall said about her mindset entering the final table. "And get lucky," she quickly added.

Hall began the day fifth in chips, but she moved up into the top spot by the time the first break arrived. She was the first player to cross the million-chip mark, thanks in part to a big double-up with five players left. Hall was the preflop raiser, and Ian Davis three-bet from the big blind. Hall moved all in, and Davis called with the covering stack, putting nearly half the chips in play up for grabs. Davis was a slight favorite with pocket jacks, but Hall's ace-queen flopped a queen and rivered two pair to secure her double.

Less than two hours later, it was all over. Hall entered heads-up play facing a 3:2 chip disadvantage against Justin Cooke, but she wasted no time flipping the script. On one of the first hands of the duel, Hall was dealt pocket kings, Cooke was dealt a pair of threes, and all the chips went into the middle before the flop. The board ran out clean, jack-high, and Hall was suddenly in control of the match.

On the final hand, Hall was dealt pocket fours, and she found a set as a third four appeared on the flop. Cooke was all in and drawing to a gutshot straight, and he added a flush draw to his list of outs on the turn. Hall faded the river, though, improving to a full house to punctuate the victory in style.

On one of the first hands of heads-up play, Sara Hall opens the button, and Justin Cooke three-bet shoves from the big blind. Hall started the hand with 895,000 chips, and she instantly calls to put herself at risk.

Hall:   
Cooke:   

The board runs out      , and Hall's kings hold up. She doubles up, almost immediately turning the tides of this duel.

Sara Hall - 1,798,000 (75 bb)
Justin Cooke - 592,000 (25 bb)

Christopher Enos is all in for just over 500,000 before the flop, and Justin Cooke puts him to the test. Cooke shows down   , and Enos'    needs to improve to keep him alive.

The board runs out      , and Cooke's pair of jacks hold up. He wins the pot, and Enos is eliminated in third place, taking home more than $8,000.

Cooke is now heads up with Sara Hall for the first gold ring of the series.

Christopher Enos - Eliminated

On a     flop, Mondell Opoku gets himself all in for 254,000, on the draw with   . Justin Cooke looks him up with   , and he has Opoku covered by just 5,000 chips.

The turn is the  , and the river is the   to complete the board. Opoku can't find anything useful there, and he's been eliminated in fifth place. His first career WSOP Circuit cash is worth $4,479.

Justin Cooke - 590,000 (30 bb)
Mondell Opoku - Eliminated

In a battle of the blinds, Mike Dickson opens to 35,000, and Sara Hall moves all in for just over 300,000. Dickson considers briefly, then calls. Hall has him very slightly covered, so Dickson is the player at risk as the cards are turned up.

Dickson:   
Hall:   

The board runs out      , and Dickson can not catch up. He's eliminated in sixth place, earning nearly $3,500 for his work over the past two days.

Sara Hall - 635,000 (40 bb)
Mike Dickson - Eliminated

Mike Dickson opens the button to 29,000, and Bryan Dickens three-bet shoves from the small blind. It's just less than 120,000 total, and Dickson quickly calls with the covering stack.

Dickson:   
Dickens:   

The     flop is bad news for the at-risk Dickens. Dickson pairs his ace to take a big lead with two to come, and the turn   and river   do nothing to improve Dickens' spot.

Bryan Dickens was the youngest player at this final table and the start-of-day chip leader, and he's just earned his first cash in a WSOP Circuit event. His seventh-place finish is worth $2,646.

Mike Dickson - 420,000 (42 bb)
Bryan Dickens - Eliminated

Mondell Opoku opens to 31,000 in middle position, and Karim Baruque three-bet shoves for 136,000 on the button. Opoku spends a few minutes in the tank, then calls for about 40% of his remaining stack. Baruque is at risk and slightly ahead as the cards are shown down.

Opoku:   
Baruque:   

Both men elect to use their, "One time," pleading with the dealer for something useful. The     flop gives Opoku a big lead with two to come, and the turn   and river   provide no help to Baruque.

Karim Baruque finishes in ninth place, earning $1,658.

Mondell Opoku - 480,000 (48 bb)
Karim Baruque - Eliminated

Over the course of the first half hour, there have been at least four all-in showdowns. Each time, the shorter stack has won the pot, so play is still nine-handed at the final table.

In the most recent confrontation, Joey Wideman opens from middle position, and Sara Hall three-bet shoves for an additional 196,000. Wideman calls, turning over   . Hall is well ahead with   , and the     flop all but ends the drama. The turn   secures Hall's double one card early, and the meaningless   completes the board. Hall survives the must-win pot with kings full of tens.

Wideman is now the short stack at the table with just under 100,000 chips, while Hall doubles into the chip lead with more than 400,000.

Start-of-day chip leader Bryan Dickens has been responsible for several of the other doubles, and his stack is beginning to dwindle down toward the chip average. He has just over 300,000 left in front of him.

Over the course of this 13-hour day, the field of 239 players was reduced to the final table of nine. Each of the remaining players are guaranteed at least $1,658, but more than ten times that amount awaits the winner.

Here's the lineup for tomorrow's final table:

Seat 1: Mondell Opoku - 307,000 (51 bb)
Age: 34
Hometown: Woodbridge, VA
Occupation: None listed
WSOP Earnings: $0
Circuit Earnings: $0

Seat 2: Mike Dickson - 140,000 (23 bb)
Age: 51
Hometown: Columbus, GA
Occupation: Retired banker
WSOP Earnings: $0
Circuit Earnings: $12,104

Seat 3: Joey Wideman - 281,000 (47 bb)
Age: 51
Hometown: Belle Chase, LA
Occupation: Poker player
WSOP Earnings: $0
Circuit Earnings: $89,759

Seat 4: Bryan Dickens - 705,000 (118 bb)
Age: 21
Hometown: Columbia, MD
Occupation: Software engineer
WSOP Earnings: $0
Circuit Earnings: $0

Seat 5: Karim Baruque - 71,000 (12 bb)
Age: 26
Hometown: Tampa, FL
Occupation: None listed
WSOP Earnings: $0
Circuit Earnings: $4,703

Seat 6: Sara Hall - 252,000 (42 bb)
Age: 25
Hometown: Cleveland, OH
Occupation: None listed
WSOP Earnings: $34,157
Circuit Earnings: $0

Seat 7: Justin Cooke - 118,000 (20 bb)
Age: 29
Hometown: Baltimore, MD
Occupation: Financial advisor
WSOP Earnings: $0
Circuit Earnings: $0

Seat 8: Christopher Enos 209,000 (35 bb)
Age: 25
Hometown: Fayetteville, NC
Occupation: Poker player
WSOP Earnings: $0
Circuit Earnings: $0

Seat 9: Ian Davis - 307,000 (51 bb)
Age: 41
Hometown: Baltimore, MD
Occupation: Financial planner
WSOP Earnings: $0
Circuit Earnings: $11,171

The eventual champion will earn $17,925, along with their first gold ring. Play resumes at 2:00 p.m. with the blinds at 3,000/6,000 and a 1,000-chip ante. There are 5 minutes 30 seconds remaining in the level.

The full list of payouts is available in the "Prizepool" tab above.

Level 15 is winding to a close, and the field has been reduced to 27 players. A full redraw was conducted with 30 players remaining, and a trio of quick eliminations has left the final three nine-handed tables in play. The bubble is approaching fast, with only the final 24 players earning a share of the prizepool.

There won't be a repeat victory for Damion Norton this week. Norton, the defending champion of this event, was eliminated shortly after the dinner break. The same can be said for the defending Casino Champion, Justin Liberto, though he lasted a bit deeper into the evening before running out of chips.

Bryan Dickens and Jimmy Peters, on the other hand, have continued to grow their stacks since the last break, and the two men are the current chip leaders with about 200,000 chips apiece. Mike Dixon, a Georgia native, is a new addition to the top of the leaderboard. He's hot on the heels of the big stacks now, sitting with more than 180,000 chips.

Action is scheduled to continue until the end of Level 21, but they'll bag up early if they reach the final table of nine.