Pedro Grochocki Shines Brightest As the Stars Come Out to Play in BSOP Championship Day 1c
With the Super High Roller Series now wrapped up, a wave of elite poker talent shifted its focus to the BSOP Championship. Day 1c — the penultimate starting flight — brought arguably the most star-studded lineup of the Championship so far to the WTC Sheraton in São Paulo.
Drawn by the chance to claim a share of the colossal R$20,000,000 ($4,000,000 USD) guaranteed prize pool, 131 players entered the flight. By day’s end, only 45 survived to book their place in Day 2.
Shining brightest, Pedro Grochocki put together a stellar performance that saw him finish atop the leaderboard with chips to spare. Having bagged 886,000, he now sits among the top three stacks from all starting flights combined so far.
The next largest stack belonged to Brazilian high-stakes force Alisson Piekazewicz, who shifted gears from the Super High Roller Series into the Championship and ended the night with 656,000 in the bag.
Completing the all-Brazilian podium, Fredwillian Viana Da Costa eliminated fellow countryman Rafael Moraes in one of the final hands of the night, a late boost that saw him bag 610,000.
Day 1c Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pedro Grochocki | Brazil | 886,000 | 148 |
| 2 | Alisson Piekazewicz | Brazil | 656,000 | 109 |
| 3 | Fredwillian Viana Da Costa | Brazil | 610,000 | 102 |
| 4 | Ramiro Araujo | Brazil | 546,000 | 91 |
| 5 | Fernando Nogami | Brazil | 541,000 | 90 |
| 6 | Paulo Pinto | Brazil | 484,000 | 81 |
| 7 | Bruno Vasconcelos | Brazil | 468,000 | 78 |
| 8 | Felipe Boianovsky | Brazil | 460,000 | 77 |
| 9 | Jeremie Beneteau | France | 448,000 | 75 |
| 10 | Danilo Gomes | Brazil | 411,000 | 69 |
Dietrich Fast was another to survive the day — and survive really was the operative word. As the flight neared its conclusion, Fast was down to just three big blinds, but a remarkable late surge saw him spin his stack into 293,000, giving him nearly 50 big blinds to work with when Day 2 begins.
Fast will be in good company, as the list of elite talent advancing to Day 2 was extensive. Notable names such as Felipe Boianovsky (460,000), Mehdi Chaoui (379,000), Renan Bruschi (212,000), Martin Kabrhel (191,000), Laurie Tournier (121,000), and Zdenek Zizka (120,000) all progressed.
Many players were not so fortunate and must now set their sights on Day 1d if they hope to find a way through a starting flight. Among those who fell before the day ended were Vitor Dzivielevski, Vladimir Minko, Gabriel Tavares, Sebastian Fonseca and Masato Yokosawa.
Tomorrow marks the final opportunity for those who have not yet participated, or indeed, not yet progressed, to take a seat in pursuit of building a stack to advance to Day 2.
BSOP Championship Remaining Schedule
| Day | Date | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1d | November 25 | 2pm |
| Day 2 | November 26 | 2pm |
| Day 3 | November 27 | 2pm |
| Day 4 | November 28 | 2pm |
| Day 5 | November 29 | 2pm |
Beginning at 2:00 p.m. local time on Tuesday, November 25, Day 1d gives each player a 100,000 starting stack, with blinds starting at 300/600 and a 600 big blind ante. Each level will last 60 minutes in duration, and late registration remains open until the start of Level 9, with players allowed one re-entry during that window.
The flight wraps after ten levels, at which point all survivors will bag their chips and join those who advanced from earlier flights in moving on to Day 2.
Day 2 begins at 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, November 26, featuring extended 90-minute levels as the field returns to play through six more levels.
Be sure to follow along with PokerNews, where full coverage continues with live updates, chip counts, and all the key moments as they unfold.