The Numbers

According to the big screen, we have 171 entrants for the opening flight of the 2009 PokerNews Cup. With this event being an abbreviated repechage (semichage) event, it's difficult to get a grasp on the significance of the size of this field.

The number is comparable to last year's opening flight which also drew 171 players for an event which drew a field of 410 in total.

With this year's event allowing players who bust today the chance to rebuy back into tomorrow, you may have expected today's flight to be produce a little more than 171 if players were looking to take advantage of the second chance opportunity.

So it should mean that tomorrow's field will be a rather hefty one if we're to exceed last year's numbers.