WPT bestbet Jacksonville Day 1b: 358 Total Entries and Eriquezzo Leads the Pack
On Saturday, Season XII of the World Poker Tour continued with Day 1b of the bestbet Jacksonville Fall Poker Scramble. The second starting flight attracted 215 entries, which combined with the 143 entries from Day 1a, brought the total field size to 358 entries. That created a prize pool of $1,145,600 with $252,749 set aside for the eventual winner.
Just 46 players advanced from Day 1a, and after ten 60-minute levels on Day 1b, only 83 players advanced to Day 2. 2012 World Series of Poker National Championship winner Ryan Eriquezzo finished as the chip leader with 275,200, but he has some stiff competition nipping at his heal in the form of Billy Swaringen (223,000) and Jake Bazeley (202,500).
End-of-Day-1b Top 10 Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Count |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ryan Eriquezzo | 275,200 |
| 2 | Billy Swaringen | 223,000 |
| 3 | Jake Bazeley | 202,500 |
| 4 | Rob Manjura | 201,500 |
| 5 | Jacquelyn Scott | 198,500 |
| 6 | Men Nguyen | 185,500 |
| 7 | Derahn Sikes | 174,500 |
| 8 | Derrick Cutler | 173,900 |
| 9 | John Dolan | 173,700 |
| 10 | Paul Balzano | 162,000 |
According to the WPT Live Blog, Eriquezzo began to build his chip stack in Level 3 (75/150/25) when Shawn Cunix opened for 375 from early position and Jay Romano called from middle position. The hijack also called, and then Jordan Cristos three-bet from the cutoff. Eriquezzo proceeded to four-bet to 4,600 from the big bling and action folded back to Cristos, who opted for a five-bet to 7,200. Eriquezzo made the call and then checked the K♠Q♠6♣ flop.
Cristos moved all in for roughly 10,000 and Eriquezzo wasted little time in making the call. Cristos tabled the A♠K♦, but it was no good as Eriquezzo had flopped two pair with the K♥Q♥. Neither the 8♣ turn nor 10♦ river helped Cristos and he was sent to the rail.
Eriquezzo got off to a great start, but he also finished strong by eliminating former WPT Player of the Year Andy Frankenberger. It happened in Level 10 (500/1,000/100) when Eriquezzo raised to 2,100 under the gun and Frankenberger called. Rob Manjura then three-bet to 4,200 from the button, Tony Ruberto called from the big blind, and both Eriquezzo and Frankenberger came along to see a flop of 10♦8♦2♣.
Frankenberger bet 10,000 after action checked to his, Manjura and Ruberto folded, and Eriquezzo woke up with a check-raise to 27,000. Frankenberger moved all in for approximately 120,000 and Eriquezzo snap-called with the 8♣8♠ for middle set. Frankenberger then tabled the J♦9♦ for an open-ended straight flush draw, but he wound up missing as the 5♥ blanked on the turn followed by the 10♣ on the river.
In Level 6 (200/400/50), the defending champ was eliminated from play. Noah Schwartz, who won the event in Season XI after defeating a field of 477 players, got his last 8,000 or so all in on a J♠10♥10♦ flop with the A♠A♣, but his opponent had flopped trips with the A♦10♠. The 4♣ turn left Schwartz in need of the case ace on the river, but it wasn’t in the cards as the K♦ blanked.
One level later (Level 7: 250/500/75), the lead pro for the Mid-States Poker Tour (which just announced the schedule for Season 5), Blake Bohn was sent to the rail by Bazeley. On a 6♦6♠2♠ flop, a raising war broke out that saw Bohn get his last 30,000 all in holding the 7♦7♥ only to find himself up against the 6♣9♣ of Bazeley. The J♥ turn was of no consequence, and the 6♥ river actually gave Bazeley quads to dispatch Bohn.
Other notables to fall on Day 1b were Brian Hastings, Darryll Fish, Chris Klodnicki, Aaron Massey, Matt Waxman, Marvin Rettenmaier, Kevin Eyster and John Racener, just to name a few.
Of course not everyone was so unlucky. Among those advancing from the Day 1b field were Micah Raskin (137,500), Maurice Hawkins (80,600), David Diaz (77,700), Jake Schwartz (46,000), Lily Kiletto (35,400) and Andy Seth (14,000).
PokerNews will be bringing you daily recaps of the WPT bestbet Jacksonville
Fall Poker Scramble all weekend long, so be sure to check back for those in the coming days. In the meantime, check out the Day 1b update from Jacksonville:
*Photos courtesy of the WPT Blog.
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