Day 1b of the 2013 PPC Aruba World Championship Main Event has concluded. The field grew to 85 entries thanks to another 42 added to the mix. Plenty of players fired multiple bullets, including defending champion Joe Serock and Andy Seth. Both managed to find themselves in the event for four bullets and it looks like they will have to finish in seventh place or higher in order to come close to breaking even.
At the end of Sunday's play, it was Igor Merda who bagged up the chip lead with 195,600 in his stack. He had himself a very successful day that included busting Seth twice within a relatively short period of time. Looking up Merda's records, he has $7,582 in live tournament earnings spread across five cashes.
Other notables from Day 1b that built up nice stacks were Hayden Fortini, Steve Karp, and David Tuthill. Serock fought hard until the end of the day, but could never really gain any traction to get something going. He ended up bagging 21,400.
The 16 players remaining from Day 1b will combine with the 12 competitors that advanced to Day 2 from Day 1a and any other late registrants or reentries to begin play at 3 p.m. local time on Monday. The registration period will remain open until the start of play tomorrow, so the field could see an increase.
Be sure to stay tuned right here to PokerNews for more live coverage from Aruba. We'll see you tomorrow!
From the cutoff seat, David Tuthill raised to 2,600. Current Day 1b chip leader Igor Merda called out of the big blind, and the flop came down. Merda checked, Tuthill bet 3,300, and Merda called.
The turn was the , and Merda checked again. Tuthill fired 5,300 this time, but Merda stuck around to see the river. Lastly, the completed the board, and both players checked.
There was a bit of confusion as to who was to show first. Eventually, Merda showed his hand — the — for a pair of sevens. Tuthill mucked, and Merda won the pot.
After the hand, there was a bit of discussion between the players and the tournament staff as to what the rule is here for who has to show first on the river following action being checked down. The tournament staff said they are following standard TDA rules, minus the "first card off the deck" rule, and that the player to the left of the button must show first.
Defending champion Joe Serock has just been eliminated... for the third time.
Serock was on his third bullet in this event, but Brandon Navarrete just caught a very lucky river card to send him out the door. On the board, Serock and Navarrete got all the money in. Serock had top pair with the , and Navarrete held the for a pair of jacks. The dealer slapped the on the river, delivering a set of jacks to Navarrete and giving him the win.
Serock collected his belongings and headed out the door. Whether or not he'll be back (reentry will remain open until the start of Day 2) is still up in the air, but we'll give you posted if he does return.
Defending champion Joe Serock has been eliminated for the second time. He was all in with versus Joe Ebanks' . Ebanks went on to make trip aces and win the pot to send Serock to the rail.
With 43 entries on Day 1a, this event needs an attendance of at least 46 players on Day 1b in order to reach the $200,000 guarantee on the Main Event. Registration will remain open until the start of Day 2, and there are several notable names still yet to register today including Mukul Pahuja and first winner of the first event of the series, Amir Baron. There are also a few satellites running in the tournament room that will send a couple more players into the field, and then there are the possible reentries from those that busted on Day 1a.
As of right now, with 70 total entries, the 2013 PPC Aruba World Championship Main Event has seen an increase of over 125%, more than doubling last year's 31-entrant field. That's amazing to see and an excellent step forward in the PPC's quest to put Aruba back on the tournament circuit map.
Welcome back for Day 1b of the 2013 PPC Aruba World Championship. The $200,000 guaranteed $2,500 Main Event kicked off yesterday with 43 entries taking to the felt. Through the first 12 levels, play was fast and furious as the field was cut down to just 12 remaining players. Emerging as the Day 1a chip leader was Stephen Sindler, who bagged up a hefty 211,600 in chips.
Several notable faces were in the mix yesterday, and much of the same is expected for Day 1b. Mukul Pahuja and Steve Karp are two players expected to be in action, as will Event #1 champion Amir Baron and last year's runner-up Jesse Chinni.
While only a small percentage of the notables to play Day 1a advanced to Day 2, those that busted should be back today due to the reentry format allowed in this event. All reentries are granted 50% rakeback, enticing players to fire a second bullet even more. One of those to bust yesterday that should return today is defending champion Joe Serock. He fell at the hands of the end-of-day chip leader Sindler.
Another 12 levels are on the schedule with the cards set to be in the air at 3 p.m. local time. It's a beautiful day once again in Aruba, but the action at the tables plans to be just as hot. Stay tuned for the start of play.
flop came down. Merda checked, Tuthill bet 3,300, and Merda called.
, and Merda checked again. Tuthill fired 5,300 this time, but Merda stuck around to see the river. Lastly, the 
completed the board, and both players checked.
— for a pair of sevens. Tuthill mucked, and Merda won the pot.
board, Serock and Navarrete got all the money in. Serock had top pair with the 
, and Navarrete held the 
for a pair of jacks. The dealer slapped the 
on the river, delivering a set of jacks to Navarrete and giving him the win.
versus Joe Ebanks' 
. Ebanks went on to make trip aces and win the pot to send Serock to the rail.
