McKuin Bags Day 1a Chip Lead of Winter Poker Open PLO Championship
Following just over nine hours of play, Day 1a of the Champions Club Winter Poker Open PLO Championship wrapped up with five players advancing to Day 2 in the money, led by Steven McKuin of Fisk, Missouri.
McKuin was the only player to cross half a million chips from the field of 37 entries, finishing the day with 507,000 chips. Danylo Turov, who scored the final elimination of the day by bubbling Jason Fitzpatrick finished second with 346,000.
Michael Kuney (278,000) was third, with Chezz Romero (176,000) and Drake Roetker (173,000) also advancing.
PLO Championship Day 1a End of Day Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Hometown | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Steven McKuin | Fisk, MO | 507,000 |
| 2 | Danylo Turov | Houston, TX | 346,000 |
| 3 | Michael Kuney | Houston, TX | 278,000 |
| 4 | Chezz Romero | Lake Charles, LA | 176,000 |
| 5 | Drake Roetker | Lafayette, LA | 173,000 |
The opening flight field of 37 players built $35,705 toward the $150,000 guaranteed prizepool for this event with two starting flights to go on Sunday and Monday before Day 2 on Tuesday.
The Day’s Action
With 400 big blinds to start, it appeared that players may have been hesitant to start the day so deep, leading to a slight delay at the start of the day. Once five players arrived, it didn’t take long after that for a second and then a third table to open with plenty of action between them.
By the first break of the day, Fitzpatrick had established a solid chip lead holding nearly 200,000 chips while no one else had even entered six-figure territory. He would carry a sizeable stack throughout the day before his unfortunate demise on the bubble at the hands of Turov.
It wasn’t until registration closed that another contender for the chip lead emerged in the form of McKuin, who surged past Fitzpatrick and never relinquished his lead the rest of the way.
Among the notables who took their shot on Saturday but failed to advance was Thai Ha, who won the series-opening Monster Stack event Friday for $21,000. Ha fell just before the final table, while Ray Henson was eliminated a couple of levels earlier after a late-reg appearance following his successful bagging of the opening flight of the $400 Mystery Bounty event.
Next Up
A larger field is expected on Sunday for the second of the three opening flights which will move the prizepool closer to that $150,000 guarantee. PokerNews will be on hand again and right through until a champion is crowned on the Champions Club live stream on Tuesday.