Day 1 of the record-breaking, $200,000 buy-in Triton Super High Roller Series Cali Cup at WPT National Philippines attracted a star-studded field of 49 entries, and that number may grow — registration remains open until the start of Day 2 (tomorrow at 12:00 pm Manila time).
The current prize pool is nearly $10 million – with a projected first-place prize of around $3 million, according to WPT Executive Tour Director Matt Savage – and with a few more entries at the start of Day 2, the record for the largest prize pool in World Poker Tour history ($15.5 million in the Season V WPT World Championship) could be in jeopardy. Along with the lion’s share of this massive prize pool, the winner will earn a Aurae Solid Gold MasterCard with Executive Lifestyle benefits.
After nine levels of action, poker legend Phil Ivey, often listed as the best poker player in the world, rose to the top of the chip counts with 932,000. Paul Phua wasn’t too far behind with 854,000, and then there’s a big gap before Mike “Timex” McDonald rounds out the top three with 576,000.
About halfway thru Day 1, Phua announced to the crowd that he would be donating 50% of his winnings in this event to charity, evenly split between the Philippines and his home country of Malaysia.
If you take a look at the top 11 players heading to Day 2, you’ll find it populated with some of the best players in the world, known for their high-stakes play:
1. Phil Ivey – 932,000 (117 bb)
2. Paul Phua – 854,000 (107 bb)
3. Mike McDonald – 576,000 (72 bb)
4. Brian Rast – 541,000 (68 bb)
5. Steve O’Dwayer – 534,000 (67 bb)
6. Fedor Holz – 521,000 (65 bb)
7. Dan Colman – 454,000 (57 bb)
8. Qin “The Chairman” Si Xin – 367,000 (46 bb)
9. Dominik Nitsche – 348,000 (44 bb)
10. John Juanda – 342,000 (43 bb)
11. Tom Dwan – 335,000 (42 bb)
For the full leaderboard, check out our Chip Counts tab. Here is the full seat draw for Day 2, along with their chip counts:
TABLE 1
1. Tom Hall – 191,000 (24 bb)
2.
3. Paul Phua – 854,000 (107 bb)
4. Stephen Chidwick – 263,000 (33 bb)
5. Winfred Yu – 231,000 (29 bb)
6. Andrew Moseley – 313,000 (39 bb)
TABLE 2
1. Keith Gipson – 256,000 (32 bb)
2.
3. Qin “The Chairman” Si Xin – 367,000 (46 bb)
4. Dominik Nitsche – 348,000 (44 bb)
5. John Juanda – 342,000 (43 bb)
6. Brian Rast – 541,000 (68 bb)
TABLE 3
1. Devan Tang – 326,000 (41 bb)
2. Vivek Rajkumar – 197,000 (25 bb)
3. Mike McDonald – 576,000 (72 bb)
4. Shi Jie Cai – 68,000 (9 bb)
5. Elton Tsang – 333,000 (42 bb)
6.
TABLE 4
1. Hui Jin Ying – 255,000 (32 bb)
2. Philipp Gruissem – 235,000 (29 bb)
3. Denny Peng – 85,000 (11 bb)
4.
5. Yang Kit Chan – 181,000 (23 bb)
6. Dan Colman – 454,000 (57 bb)
TABLE 5
1.
2. Phil Ivey – 932,000 (117 bb)
3. Fedor Holz – 521,000 (65 bb)
4. Si Xiao Li – 100,000 (13 bb)
5. Isaac Haxton – 226,000 (28 bb)
6. Luis Yeong – 235,000 (29 bb)
TABLE 6
1.
2. Wang Zuo – 170,000 (21 bb)
3. David Peters – 304,000 (38 bb)
4. Tom Dwan – 335,000 (42 bb)
5. Steve O’Dwyer – 534,000 (67 bb)
6. Stanley Choi – 79,000 (10 bb)
The remaining field is small enough for five tables, but they drew for six tables (with an empty seat at each table) to make room for any last-minute entries.
Day 2 is scheduled to begin tomorrow (Monday) at 12:00 noon local time (11:00 pm ET / 8:00 pm PT), and play all the way down to a winner. Return to WPT.com for continuing coverage. Watch the event on a 30-minute delay here.