Day 1 of the Season XVI WPT L.A. Poker Classic $10,000 Championship is in the books. With the first eight levels done, a field of 475 players has been generated. Registration will remain open through the first level of Sunday’s Day 2 and close at approximately 1:45 p.m. PT.
Grabbing the early chip lead was John Misirian (pictured). Misirian busted Sean Winter on the final hand of the night to help solidify that chip lead with a stack of 234,300 in chips.
When he busted Winter, Misirian had Winter all in on the 
board. Misirian had the 
and Winter had the 
. The river was the 
and Winter was eliminated.
“Nothing really to say about it, it just happened,” Misirian said of his end-of-day rish. “I wish I knew what happened so I could repeat it every time I played this game. Hopefully it will take me far in Day 2, 3, 4, and 5… still a lot of days to come. It’s still too early, but it’s a good result for today. I think it is a good job.”
Misirian boasts a career record that includes $268,377 in live tournament earnings, according to his profile on HendonMob.com. His best two results came from the L.A. Poker Classic festival, one from 2015 when he won $49,990 for a second-place finish and another from earlier in this year’s festival when he won an event for $46,850.
“That definitely builds your confidence,” Misirian said when asked about his win earlier in the series. “But you can’t be too confident in this game, especially with a field like this with all these pros here. I need to be smart, and I can’t lie, get lucky [laughs].”
The largest buy-in event Misirian has cashed in was a $1,675 buy-in, and most of his results are from events that cost just a few hundred to enter. Nevertheless, Misirian has the Day 1 chip lead in the $10,000 Championship at the WPT L.A. Poker Classic.
“I absolutely enjoy that, I absolutely feel more comfortable playing with good poker players,” Misirian said of competing in this event. “It’s definitely a good feeling to be playing with a field like this where you have a lot of professionals, and you learn a lot too.”
Joining Misirian in advancing to Day 2 was reigning WPT L.A. Poker Classic champion Daniel Strelitz. Last season, Strelitz blasted through a field of 521 entries to win $1 million. This season, he’s advanced out of Day 1 with a stack of 66,200.
Others to advance from Day 1 were Toby Lewis, Andy Frankenberger, and Richard Seymour.
On the flip side, plenty of players hit the rail on Day 1, including WPT Champions Club members Jared Jaffee, Ryan Riess, Darren Elias, Eric Hershler, and Sam Panzica.
Approximately 280 players advanced to Day 2.
Day 2 will start at 12 p.m. PT on Sunday from Commerce Casino. Stay tuned to WPT.com for continued covered from the Season XVI WPT L.A. Poker Classic $10,000 Championship.
Photography by Joe Giron / PokerPhotoArchive.com
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