The opening day of action in the $1 million Big One for One Drop event is winding down and there are still 38 hopefuls in the running for the bracelet and the eight-figure first place payday. If you've been paying even an iota of attention to the action, you probably know Sam Trickett is unstoppable today, but what else should you know as players head to their last break of the night? We've got ten ideas:
1. There is just one Poker Hall of Famer in the field this year, Erik Seidel. In 2012, there were four Hall of Famers in the field.
2. The top two players, Sam Trickett and Tom Hall, are the only players who have managed to double their starting stack of 3 million chips so far today. We’ll have more on just how Trickett ascended the counts, but it is worth noting Hall managed to chip out without eliminating another player. Also worth noting? These two are two of the three Brits in the field this year. The third, Paul Newey, is in the middle of the pack when it comes to chips.
3. The winner in this event will earn 300 points in the WSOP Player of the Year race. The current frontrunners, George Danzer and Brandon Shack-Harris, did not take part in this event, but their leads are still safe. The most progress someone could make in this event is Daniel Negreanu, who could jump to third place with a victory.
4. Let’s not forget that this is a tournament that isn’t just about bracelets and big paydays, it is about raising money for a great cause, the One Drop Foundation that strives for worldwide water accessibility. Thanks to the turnout, the participants in this tournament raised $4.6 million for the cause.
5. With the elimination of Kurganov, it was time to break the first table of the night. We are now down to five tables.
6. With 42 players, we are just six players shy of matching the 2012 field of 48 players. We will pay out eight places, one less than in 2012.
7. Phil Hellmuth may not have joined the One Drop field, but for the bulk of Level 7, he was the talk of the tournament when play got back from dinner break as rumors swirled that he would join the field as the 43rd player. Despite some teasing tweets from the Poker Brat, he ended up not taking part, despite making the final table in 2012.
8. The first player to eight-figure territory is also one of the two players to earn an eight-figure payday in this event in 2012, Sam Trickett. The Brit picked up his second knockout of the day, eliminating Igor Kurganov to move his stack past 10 million chips. He didn’t stop there either. This one-man wrecking crew picked up KO number three a short while later, busting the lone woman in the field, Vanessa Selbst, to move to 15 million chips.
9. Last time we played this event, we lost nine players on the first day. So far, this field is down four players, which is roughly 9.5% of the field. There is still one level of play to go before bagging up for the night though.
10. The payouts are in. Here is what the top eight finishers in this event will earn:
1st: $15,306,668
2nd: $8,288,001
3rd: $4,480,001
4th: $2,800,000
5th: $2,053,334
6th: $1,680,000
7th: $1,418,667
8th: $1,306,667