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$1,200 Main Event
Day 1ab Completed
2026 Great Lakes Poker Classic
$1,200 Main Event
Day: 1ab
Event Info
2026 Great Lakes Poker Classic
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 1ab
Buy-in
$1,200
Prize Pool
$321,700
Total Entries
314
Level
26
Blinds
40,000 / 80,000
Ante
80,000
Entries
63
Players Left
10
Players Left 1 / 314
Filter
Level 15
: Blinds 3,000/6,000, 6,000 ante
The first flight of the Great Lakes Poker Classic $1,200 Main Event has come and gone. 47 entrants came out to battle for their chance to advance to Day 2 and play for the $300,000 guaranteed prize pool. After 15 levels of play, just 9 made it through to the end.
Leading the way is Brian Barnes, who bagged up 407,000. Barnes’ first bullet of the day did not pan out well, which left him registering again with just minutes left before Level 13 began. From his ten big blind stack, he managed to spin up to take out multiple players like Thomas Midena and Justin Chan. With just over $15k in recorded live cashes and the majority of them coming from Battle Creek, Barnes is in the hunt to take down his first major title out here at the Great Lakes Poker Classic.
Sitting just behind him is Alec Magdan, with 391,000. Also hailing from Michigan, the tournament player has collected a good chunk of cashes around the Michigan poker circuit over the past seven years.
With his second biggest cash coming here back in 2022 where he final tabled the MSPT Battle Creek Main Event and finished in ninth place for $36,196, Magdan looks to make another deep run at this casino to add to his burgeoning resume.
Day 1a Full Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Hometown | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brian Barnes | Augusta, MI | 407,000 |
| 2 | Alec Magdan | Warren, MI | 391,000 |
| 3 | Abbas Haidar | Dearborn Heights, MI | 315,000 |
| 4 | Christopher Moon | East Lansing, MI | 179,000 |
| 5 | Bnayahu Nisanov | Novi, MI | 168,000 |
| 6 | Kenneth Khosravani | Portage, MI | 139,000 |
| 7 | Ron Puleo | Sarasota, FL | 115,000 |
| 8 | Conor Caughey | Belfast, Ireland | 98,000 |
| 9 | Cody Stewart | Jackson, MI | 69,000 |
One who knows all about big titles at Battle Creek is WSOP bracelet winner Christopher Moon (179,000). It was in 2019 when Moon took home his biggest live score here when he took down the MSPT Battle Creek for $258,407. He managed to final table the same event in 2022 as well to add another $74,727 to his $1,655,914 in live earnings. Now sitting with another shot to deepen his legacy at Battle Creek, he sits in fourth place of the remaining players.
Fortune did not smile on all tonight as players like Kevin Ruscitti, Stephen Wangler, and WPT champion Brek Schutten all took their leave earlier than they hoped. They will have five more chances in the following flights to advance into Sunday.
Day 1b continues on the other side of the room with registration still open. Players who two times will receive a $3,000 bonus for their second bag and $5,000 for every additional bag they secure. Chip counts for the players advancing in that flight will be posted tomorrow morning.
Stay tuned to PokerNews for all of the exciting updates on the ground at the Firekeepers Casino Hotel in Battle Creek, Michigan.
Level 15
: Blinds 3,000/6,000, 6,000 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
572,000
572,000
|
572,000 |
|
||
|
407,000
15,000
|
15,000 |
|
||
|
391,000
97,000
|
97,000 |
|
||
|
315,000
90,000
|
90,000 |
|
179,000
25,000
|
25,000 |
|
168,000
50,000
|
50,000 |
|
139,000
6,000
|
6,000 |
|
115,000
30,000
|
30,000 |
|
98,000
54,000
|
54,000 |
|
69,000
8,000
|
8,000 |
Level 15
: Blinds 3,000/6,000, 6,000 ante
The fifteenth level of play has come and gone as the final nine players have bagged up for the night.
Stay tuned to PokerNews to see a recap and full chip counts later to come.
Level 15
: Blinds 3,000/6,000, 6,000 ante
Justin Chan moved all in for 37,000 on the button and in the big blind, Brian Barnes called.
Justin Chan: A♦2♣
Brian Barnes: 3♥3♠
The board ran out K♣7♣2♦K♦6♠ and the kings and threes were good for Barnes to add to his chip lead while Chan was eliminated.
Chan walked over to Day 1b where he had been multi-tabling for many hours.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
392,000
54,000
|
54,000 |
|
|
||
|
Busted | |
Level 15
: Blinds 3,000/6,000, 6,000 ante
Bnayahu Nisanov raised to 18,000 from under the gun and in the big blind, Christopher Moon called.
Moon check-called a bet of 11,000 from Nisanov on the board of K♦K♣7♦.
Both players checked the turn 3♠ to the river 3♦ where Moon bet 21,000 to see Nisanov call.
At showdown, Moon tabled 7♣6♣ for kings up which was good for the pot as Nisanov tossed his hand into the muck.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
218,000
38,000
|
38,000 |
|
|
204,000
29,000
|
29,000 |
Level: 15
Blinds: 3,000/6,000
Ante: 6,000
Level 14
: Blinds 3,000/5,000, 5,000 ante
Kenneth Khosravani opened to 13,000 from the hijack and in the big blind, Bnayahu Nisanov defended.
The flop rolled out K♣8♥4♠ and Nisanov check-called a bet of 12,000 from Khosravani.
On the turn 3♠, Nisanov moved all in for 48,000 effective and Khosravani called.
Kenneth Khosravani: K♦J♣
Bnayahu Nisanov: 6♥5♠
Nothing changed on the river 9♥ and Khosravani doubled at the expense of Nisanov.
Elsewhere in the tournament, Christopher Moon eliminated Mike Sampson and Brian Barnes eliminated Pat Steele.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
338,000
140,000
|
140,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
256,000
62,000
|
62,000 |
|
|
175,000
69,000
|
69,000 |
|
|
145,000
56,000
|
56,000 |
|
|
Busted | |
|
Busted | |
|
||
Level 14
: Blinds 3,000/5,000, 5,000 ante
In a blind on blind confrontation, Thomas Midena in the big blind found himself all in for 86,000 total up against Brian Barnes in the small blind.
Thomas Midena: A♥Q♥
Brian Barnes: J♠J♦
The board ran out K♥10♣2♥3♠2♠ and the jacks held up for Barnes to eliminate Midena from the tournament.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
198,000
158,000
|
158,000 |
|
|
||
|
Busted | |
Level: 14
Blinds: 3,000/5,000
Ante: 5,000
