EVENT UPDATES
view updates for day:
Thursday, September 28, 2017 11:58 PM Local Time
Budding tournament grinder collects second Circuit win of the season
Ryan McAllister is doing what he can to become the WSOP Circuit’s newest success story. Fresh off a breakthrough win at Cherokee, McAllister took down the $1,125 event at Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood for a career-best payout.
McAllister, 28, is a professional poker player from Waymouth, Massachusetts. He now makes his home in Charleston, South Carolina, and he’s starting to travel to tournaments more frequently of late.
“Cherokee has me following the Circuit now,” he said. “I have to.”
McAllister has already accumulated 120 points in the season-long race for seats in the Global Casino Championship. That puts him in second place right now and well within striking distance of the projected cutoff for qualification. He’s earned more than $100,000, too.
As was the case with McAllister’s previous win, the final table provided quite a test on the way to the title. Double bracelet winner Loni Harwood was among those standing in his way, as were ring winners Mark Fink (4) and Alex Rocha (2).
McAllister outlasted them all, though, conquering the deep-stacked affair that stagnated at points.
“A lot of it was just waiting it out,” he said. “There were some tough ICM spots where I was handcuffed. All the sudden, we’re five-handed. Then we’re heads-up.”
Then, we're posing for winner’s photos for the second time in as many months.
[Full results]
Thursday, September 28, 2017 8:27 PM Local Time
With 11 players remaining, one was eliminated at each table, shrinking the field to the final table of nine.
The remaining field is stacked, including double bracelet winner and three-time ring winner Loni Harwood (pictured). Here's the lineup:
Seat 1: Cero Zuccarello - 504,000 (63 bb)
Seat 2: Yaniv Shushan - 621,000 (78 bb)
Seat 3: Jeffrey Trudeau Jr. - 166,000 (21 bb)
Seat 4: Alex Rocha - 189,000 (24 bb)
Seat 5: Loni Harwood - 153,000 (19 bb)
Seat 6: Mark Fink - 74,000 (9 bb)
Seat 7: Chad Eveslage - 282,000 (35 bb)
Seat 8: Erik Christensen - 310,000 (39 bb)
Seat 9: Ryan McAllister - 400,000 (50 bb)
Blinds are 4,000/8,000 with a 1,000 ante, putting the average stack at 37.5 big blinds. Everyone left is guaranteed to earn at least $4,331 this evening, with a top prize of more than 10 times that amount reserved for the winner.
And the ring, of course.
Thursday, September 28, 2017 2:27 AM Local Time
Level 12 concludes, signaling the end of Day 1.
This $1,125-buy-in event boasted a $100,000 guarantee, and that number was exceeded with ease on a busy day at Hard Rock. A total of 180 entries were booked by the time registration closed, creating a prizepool of $180,000. By the end of the day, just 41 players remained.
Farid Jattin ended the day atop the counts, finishing play with 213,900 chips. He's the only player above the 200,000-chip mark so far, and he'll be a force to contend with on Day 2. Jattin is an accomplished player from Colombia, racking up more than $2.2 million in tournament earnings over his career. He has a chance to add to that tomorrow.
Here's the overnight top five:
1. Farid Jattin - 213,900
2. Erik Christensen - 196,900
3. Steve Karp - 184,800
4. Cero Zuccarello - 158,100
5. Kurt Jewell - 131,300
The field in chase is filled with danger, too, including the likes of Alex Rocha (109,600), Arkadiy Tsinis (86,600), Josh Beckley (80,600), Mark Fink (76,800), Darryll Fish (48,100), Loni Harwood (pictured, 41,600), and too many others to name.
Day 2 chip counts | Day 2 seat draw
Blinds will be 800/1,600 with a 200 ante when play resumes, putting the average stack north of 40 big blinds for the time being. Only the final 18 players will earn payouts on Thursday, with a top prize of $48,600 reserved for the winner. And the ring, of course.
Day 2 begins at 2 p.m.
Wednesday, September 27, 2017 11:31 PM Local Time
Wednesday, September 27, 2017 4:32 PM Local Time
