William Ferdinand Leads Final 16 into Day 2 of The $34,000 Championship
The day began with a long lineup at the Doubletree by Hilton Boston Milford, as hundreds of Eastern Poker Tour qualifiers arrived to register and take their seat in The $34,000 Championship.
By the end of the three-hour late registration period, a total of 291 players collected their starting stack and battled for a spot in Sunday’s final at the Eastern Poker Open. Only 16 would survive the night to earn $150 and advance to Day 2, and it was William Ferdinand who paced the field as the only player to stack up more than a million chips.
Ferdinand vaulted up the leaderboard late in the day, scoring a double knockout before the bubble to take the top spot. He also earned a special bonus prize as the chip leader, scoring a $400 Bar Poker Open hotel & seat package. All 16 counts were recorded for Eastern Poker Open points, but they will reset to begin the second stage of the tournament on Day 2.
End of Day 1 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | William Ferdinand | United States | 1,120,000 |
| 2 | Richard Rollka | United States | 880,000 |
| 3 | Les Mildenberg | United States | 645,000 |
| 4 | Tyler Logan | United States | 600,000 |
| 5 | Bill Lyons | United States | 585,000 |
| 6 | Elijah Sampson | United States | 545,000 |
| 7 | Richard Marchant | United States | 455,000 |
| 8 | Ron Brodeur | United States | 415,000 |
| 9 | Steve Morey | United States | 360,000 |
| 10 | Lisa Bowman | United States | 315,000 |
| 11 | Bill Haley | United States | 300,000 |
| 12 | John Foley | United States | 300,000 |
| 13 | Slade Edmonds | United States | 235,000 |
| 14 | Bill Acerra | United States | 205,000 |
| 15 | Bryant Taylor | United States | 195,000 |
| 16 | Shaun White | United States | 190,000 |
* Chip Counts Do Not Carry Over to Day 2
Sitting in second spot behind Ferdinand was Richard Rollka, who also made a charge in the later levels to secure a spot on Sunday. Les Mildenberg, Tyler Logan and Bill Lyons rounded out the top five and will also return to action on Day 2.
John Foley found pocket kings before the final break of the night to score a big double-up, while Lisa Bowman held the chip lead for several levels before settling for tenth place and a spot in the money.
Day 1 came to an end when Joseph Silvestre moved his short stack into the middle and was at risk against three opponents. Richard Marchant made two pair to take down the final pot of the night, sending Silvestre to the rail on the stone bubble.
Action will resume at 10:00 a.m. local time, when the remaining 16 players are joined on Day 2 by qualifiers from the monthly Eastern Poker Open championships, regional winners, and wild card spots.
Players will start the final day with 100,000, other than those who qualified with a double stack of 200,000. Blinds will begin at 500/1,000, along with a 1,000 big blind ante. Levels will be 30 minutes in length, and action will continue until an Eastern Poker Open champion is determined.
Day 2 Payouts
| Place | Prize | Place | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $10,000 | 7 | $1,200 |
| 2 | $6,000 | 8 | $1,000 |
| 3 | $3,400 | 9 | $800 |
| 4 | $2,400 | 10 | $500 |
| 5 | $1,800 | 11-13 | $300 |
| 6 | $1,400 | 14-16 | $200 |
It is shaping up to be an exciting final day of the series, and the PokerNews live reporting team will be inside the ropes to cover all of the action so don’t miss a moment.