With just over 20 minutes left to register in today's event, we have yet to spot last year's champion Hoang Anh Do. Do bested a field of 246 players last year to win just a shade under six million Philippine Pesos. It should be noted that this is not a re-entry event, so perhaps Do is simply waiting until tomorrow's Day 1b flight to come and defend his title. If we spot the champion, we will be sure to let you guys know!
It seems like every time we walk by Dan Kelly's table, he has cards in front of him, and chips in the pot. We just caught Kelly on the positive side of a hand, though his stack is still in the red for today.
We got to the table after the flop had been dealt out 
. The small blind fired out 1,050, and the player from under the gun called. It was on Kelly, who was on the button, and he cut out a raise of 2,800, and slid it into the middle. The original raiser shrugged after 30 seconds of thought, and kicked his cards in, while the caller took little time in folding.
Kelly collected the pot, as his stack jumped back up to 19,000 in the process.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
19,000
4,000
|
4,000 |
Some more notable players have been seen scattered around the tournament floor including 2012 ANZPT Melbourne champion Sam Razavi, 2012 Macau Poker Cup Red Dragon Event champion Nicky Tao Jin and 2012 Asia Poker Player of the Year Yosuke Sekiya.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
20,000 | |
|
20,000 | |
|
20,000 | |
|
||
|
20,000 | |
|
20,000 | |
We caught up with the action on the turn, with the board showing 
. There was about 1,700 in the middle, and both Antoine Amourette and his opponent checked to see the scary 
hit the river. Amourette's opponent fired out a bigger then pot sized bet of 2,220, and Amourette thought for just a few moments before kicking his hand in, dropping him to 15,500 in the process.
Amourette is looking to final table this event for the second year in a row, as he finished ninth in last year's tournament.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
15,500
-4,500
|
-4,500 |
Level: 2
Blinds: 100/200
Ante: 0
A tournament director advised us that PokerStars Team Pro Vivian Im was all in on an outer table, and waiting on a decision from Savio Chan. Im had her remaining 11,575 in the middle with the board reading 
.
Chan went into the tank for a few minutes before another player on the table called time. With a few seconds left to decide, he made the call to see Im table her 
for trip queens. He then tabled his for a full house, which was good enough to take down the monster pot.
As Im makes her way out of the tournament, Chan moves up to 45,000 in chips.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
45,000 | |
|
Busted | |
|
||
A few more players have taken their seats in the first level of play.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
20,000
20,000
|
20,000 |
|
|
20,000
20,000
|
20,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
20,000
20,000
|
20,000 |
Trung Tran may be the hottest player coming into this tournament, as he just took down the APT Main Event at the Philippines in Manila ten days ago, to the tune of $124,000. Well Tran is looking to make it back-to-back big tournament titles here in Cebu, but he's heading south early.
We caught up with the action on the turn, with the board showing 
. Tran's opponent checked, and he fired out 600. His opponent called, and when the 
hit the river, he quickly threw out a bet of 1,525. Tran took about 20 seconds or so before mucking his hand, giving his opponent the pot, knocking him down to 18,200 in the process. Trun
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
18,200
-1,800
|
-1,800 |
We arrived at the table to find Ivan Zalac opening to 300 from the button, before being met with a raise to 1,500 from the player on the big blind. Zalac then bumped it up to 2,900 which was called, as both players saw the flop come down .
The player on the big blind thought for a minute, before throwing out a bet 3,250, which was snap-called by Zalac, as the 
fell on the turn. Zalac would again snap-call a bet of 4,000 and then a bet of 5,000 as the 
completed the board.
His opponent tabled 
for a pair of fours, as Zalac tabled his 
for a pair of aces. He took a moment to take in the hand, before raking in the pot.
Zalac now has 34,000 in chips and the early chip lead in the tournament.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
34,000
14,000
|
14,000 |
Dan "djk123" Kelly is another player who took his seat a few minutes late, and as to be expected, he got right into the action. We caught up with Kelly in the middle of a three way pot on a board that read 
. The first opponent fired out 600, and Kelly was the lone caller. The river brought the 
, and Kelly once again called a bet, this time of 1,100.
His opponent tabled for a turned flush, and Kelly quickly let his hand go. Kelly took the hit, dropping him to 15,000, which is still plenty to work with this early on in the tournament.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
15,000
-5,000
|
-5,000 |
