There are many countries and continents represented today in the TonyBet OFC Championship Main Event. Representing Denmark is Claus Carlsen, who is just short of $73,000 in career online poker cashes according to The Hendon Mob.
Carlsen's biggest cash to date came in May 2014 when he took third place in the Danish Championships Main Event for DKr 200,000 ($36,450).
Germany's Jens Lakemeier played yesterday's High Roller and is part of today's field. He has been caught today practicing on an OFC app on his telephone while playing in the Main Event.
Although Lakemeier was unable to get things going yesterday in the High Roller, he has had a pretty decent year to help push his career tournament cash total near $420,000 according to The Hendon Mob.
His biggest cash came in July 2015, when he took second place in Casino Austria's €15,000 buy-in No Limit Hold'em High Roller Tournament for €74,400. He had another big cash a month later at the EPT Barcelona when he won Event #30, the €5,000+300 buy-in Pot Limit Omaha - 5 Card Hi/Lo event for €56,070.
The field appears to have a great chance of breaking last year's Main Event figure of 135 entrants. We are now at 81 entrants with late registration open for almost another 4 1/2 hours.
We have confirmed that late registration will be close for new entries and re-entries before the start of level 10. After level 9 is a one hour dinner break, which should end at around 9:30 pm CET when we will know the final field size. Shortly following this, the tournament director should announce the payout structure as well.
Jennifer Shahade is among the now 78 entrants and growing in the field. Shahade has over $250,000 in live tournament cashes, however, she took the world by storm last year when she became the first ever TonyBet Poker OFC High Roller champion to bank €100,000.
Earlier in 2014, Shahade signed up to represent PokerStars as a MindSports Ambassador. In addition to poker, Shahade also is a two-time American women's chess champion and has the FIDE title of Woman Grandmaster.
We have just begun our first 15 minute break of the day. The field has grown to 78 entrants with late registration ending before the start of level 10.
Mikal Blomlie has quietly made his way into the field.
Blomlie made history last year when he became the first TonyBet World Championship Main Event champion after outlasting a field of 135 entrants to collect €35,000. This just tells part of the story about Blomlie, as the Norwegian poker player has almost $500,000 in career earnings according to The Hendon Mob.
His biggest cash to date came in the 2013 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) Main Event when he finished in 10th place to bank $120,000.
Additionally, Blomlie has had plenty of success in online poker, winning three different World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) with his latest coming in Sept. 2014 when he won almost $110,000 in WCOOP Event $19: $109 No-Limit Hold'em.
