Another day is in the books here at Champions Club in Houston, Texas as Day 1b of the WPO Event #15: $1,500 Main Event has come to a close. 71 players took their shot today in the $1 million guaranteed event, but only 9 finished the day with chips in a bag. Leading the way is Tai Vo who bagged up 1,190,000, which is over 400,000 more than Gabriel Andrade who finished in second with 760,000. Rounding out the top three is Champion's very ownIsaac Trumbo who ended the day by busting David Mzareulov and managed to bag up 670,000.
| Place | Player | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tai Vo | 1,190,000 | 149 |
| 2 | Gabriel Andrade | 760,000 | 95 |
| 3 | Isaac Trumbo | 670,000 | 84 |
| 4 | Robert Burnett | 501,000 | 63 |
| 5 | Robert Valden | 357,000 | 45 |
| 6 | Thai Ha | 262,000 | 33 |
| 7 | Yunkyu Song | 196,000 | 25 |
| 8 | Matthew Liu | 193,000 | 24 |
| 9 | Benjamin Rose | 131,000 | 16 |
As with all of the tournaments here at Champions Club, the action was fast and heavy from the jump, with players not afraid to stick their stacks in at Level 1. Most of the action came from one particular table, where Derek Normand and Zhong Wilkerson were both seated. Wilkerson went on a heater midway through the day, and was even chipleading at one point, but alas, she was crippled in a big hand with Normand and then finished off by Matthew Liu. Normand also drove most of the action and managed to build up a healthy stack until a brutal beat sent him home early. He got it all in with pocket kings against the pocket tens of Jamie Ho and the pocket fives of Tai Vo, but a five on the flop gave Vo the lead and spelled the end for Normand, who was left crippled and exited soon after. On the other table, Trumbo and Andrade didn't get involved in quite so many big pots but slowly grew their stacks throughout the day. Local crusher Thai Ha ( 262,000)was also in the mix today, bouncing from table to table as he either busted or just kept getting moved. It was interesting to see how the dynamic at each table shifted whenever he would be placed there.
As this is only the second of six starting flights, there is still plenty of time for players to get in on this action, with a flight every day until Sunday, when the players return for Day 2. There will also be multiple satellites each day as well as PLO flips for many chances to get into this tournament cheaply.
