From WPT Live Updates:
The first day of play WPT Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic saw a strong turnout that just kept growing throughout the day. Multiple players purchased multiple entries on Day 1, and some players (like Curt Kohlberg, for one) purchased as many as three entries. Thanks to that repeat business, the tournament field settled at 374 players by the end of the night, which put this year’s Five Diamond event in striking distance of topping the 413-player field from Season X. There were 306 players that made it through according to the tournament clock at the end of play.
Defending champion James Dempsey was in action on Day 1 (see video interview above) and he was joined by former Five Diamond winners Daniel Negreanu and Antonio Esfandiari. Negreanu re-entered the tournament and ended the night with 26,225, while Esfandiari held 55,150 when play came to a close.
The overnight chip leader is Jeremy Kottler with 134,975. He is joined in the six-digit chip count club at the top by Randall Flowers (119,400), Russell Thomas (108,000), Gheorge Gradinaru (107,425), and Shawn Cunix (102,000). Notables that made it through with large stacks include AP Phahurat (97,325), Dana Kellstrom (92,200), Sorel Mizzi (86,925), and Tom Marchese (84,425). Full official chip counts will be available later tonight when they are released by the tournament staff.
Former WPT Five Star World Poker Champion Carlos Mortesnen didn’t make it through Day 1 and he has chosen not to buy back in until tomorrow. Others that decided one bullet was enough for today and called it quits include Yevgeniy Timoshenko, Alex Outhred, and Bryce Yockey.
Check back in at noon PST on Wednesday to see just how many players enter (or re-enter) before registration is cut off at the end of Level 8 and the official prize pool and field size is determined. The WPT Live Updates team will be bringing you all of the action from the Bellagio Poker Room in Las Vegas.