2015 WSOP National Championship - No-Limit Hold'em

Action resumes Thursday at noon ET. Brad St. Vincent tops the counts.

Cherokee, N.C. (July 29, 2015) — Day 1 of the 2015 National Championship kicked off Wednesday at Harrah’s Cherokee in North Carolina. The fifth installment of the one-of-a-kind event featured a guaranteed prize pool of at least $1,000,000 and granted free seats to 100 of the World Series of Poker Circuit’s top players. Additionally, the top 100 point earners from the previous year’s gold bracelet events were permitted to buy in for $10,000. When all was said and done, Day 1 saw a total of 122 players take their seats including the Circuit’s top points earner Paul Sokoloff, defending champion Dominik Nitsche and POY qualifiers Daniel Negreanu and Phil Hellmuth. When the dust setlled, just 49 remained with Brad St. Vincent (pictured) leading the way.

St. Vincent, who earned his berth via Casino Champion honors at Foxwoods, claims 178,800 to edge out second place David Peters who holds 168,400. The Circuit has a strong showing at the top of the counts as eight of the top 10 stacks belong to the tour’s qualifiers including Charles “Woody” Moore (159,900) who’s the only player to qualify for the season-ending championship in each of its five years. Those POY qualifiers to grace the top 10 include Peters and Loni Harwood (136,400).

Other notables still in the hunt include all-time ring leader Alex Masek (126,700), Josh Tuner (105,700), seven-time ring winner Ari Engel (100,400), Negreanu (93,400), Nitsche (90,800), Tristan Wade (51,100), Jeff Madsen (45,800) and Scott Clements (30,900).

The above player’s journeys to the National Championship began last year at the Palm Beach Kennel Club in West Palm Beach, Fla. and their trip continues Thursday on Day 2 at noon ET with blinds of 800/1,600 and a 200 ante. While their hopes of a gold bracelet are still alive, not all players were so lucky. Those whose fires were extinguished in the Smoky Mountains included Sokoloff, Hellmuth, Ryan Riess, Jake Bazeley, Valentin Vornicu, Doug Carli, John Holley, Shannon Shorr and Jesse Martin.

While Hellmuth’s participation in the event was much hyped, his shot a gold bracelet was short lived. The 14-time WSOP champion registered shortly after the dinner break and made it less than two levels before he met his demise at the hands of Justin Liberto.

Registration in the championship event closes when cards go back in the air tomorrow and complete prize pool information will be posted shortly thereafter.

Top 10 chip counts:

1. Brad St. Vincent - 178,800
2. David Peters - 168,400
3. Charles Moore - 159,900
4. Darryll Fish - 139,800
5. Loni Harwood - 136,400
6. Robert Hankins - 131,900
7. Alex Masek - 126,700
8. Jake Schindler - 123,900
9. Jesse Wilke - 119,800
10. Juan Mendoza - 116,500

Complete chip counts are available under the "Chip Counts" tab above.

Taylor Black moves all in from the small blind, and Seth Berger calls from the big blind.

Black:   
Berger:   

The board rolls out      . Both players makes trip aces, and Berger wins the pot with his jack kicker, eliminating Black from the tournament.

Seth Berger - 92,000
Taylor Black - Eliminated

Josh Evans opens the action for 2,600 from middle position. Darryll Fish calls from the small blind and they are heads up to the flop.

Both players check the     flop.

The turn is the   and Fish leads for 3,800. Evans calls.

The river completes the board with the  . Fish leads again, this time for 9,400, and Evans practically beats him into the pot. Fish tables    for flopped quads and Evans' cards hit the muck.

Ari Engel raises to 2,600 from late position and it folds to Sean Troha in the small blind. He shoves for 7,500. Russ Head folds his big blind and Engel calls. Troha is at risk and behind.

Engel:   
Troha:   

The runout comes       and Troha is eliminated at the hands of seven-time ring winner Engel.

Ari Engel - 82,000
Sean Troha - Eliminated

Russ Head opens the action for 2,500. Seth Berger calls from his immediate left and it's on Brad St. Vincent in late position. He three bets to 7,100. Head and Berger call and they are three-handed to the flop.

The flop is     and all three players check.

The turn brings the   and Head checks again. Berger bets 11,000. St. Vincent and Head call. They are still three handed to the river.

The board completes with the   and all three players check. Head flashes the   and mentions he missed multiple draws. Berger shows    for top pair with a queen kicker. St. Vincent is the last to show as he exposes    for top pair with a king kicker. St. Vincent wins the pot and contends for the chip lead in the process.

Brad St. Vincent - 174,000
Seth Berger - 81,000
Russ Head - 45,000

Jake Schindler opens to 2,500 from late position. It's on Josh Turner on the button and he three bets it to 7,300. The blinds fold sending the action back to Schindler. He takes a minute to think before four betting to 16,800. Turner eyes Schindler's stack before deciding on a fold. Schindler takes the pot uncontested.

Jake Schindler - 83,000
Josh Turner - 131,000

Damjan Radanov gets his last 10,600 in holding    against the    of Mike Bratovich. The board runs out       and Radanov doubles through Bratovich.

Damjan Radanov - 22,500
Mike Bratovich - 16,000

Foxwoods Casino Champion Brad St. Vincent raises to 2,100 from under the gun. Horseshoe Southern Indiana Casino Champion Russ Head calls from the button, and Southern Indiana Main Event champ Gregory Johnson three-bets to 8,500 from the small blind. St. Vincent asks how much Johnson has behind - it's about 50,000 - then calls. Head folds, and they see the flop heads up.

The flop comes    , and Johnson continues for 9,000. St. Vincent folds, and Johnson takes the pot.

Gregory Johnson - 70,000
Brad St. Vincent - 105,000