Main Event
Day 1a Completed
2017 PokerStars Championship Panama
Main Event
Day: 1a
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
2017 PokerStars Championship Panama
Buy-in
$5,300
Prize Pool
$1,775,100
Entries
366
Level
29
Blinds
50,000 / 100,000
Ante
10,000
Tito Ortiz Headlines Day 1a of the PokerStars Championship Panama Main Event
Level 8
: 400/800, 100 ante
Day 1a of the 2017 PokerStars Championship Panama $5,000 Main Event brought in a total of 103 unique players and ended with 43 players moving on to Day 2. Leading the way is Igor Yaroshevskyy, bagging the most chips with 219,600 after eight, 75-minute levels of play.
The star of the show today was Tito Ortiz and continues to be as Day 2 approaches. The former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) fighter is known for his 31 second knockout back in the day and was the ninth inductee into the UFC Hall of Fame. He managed to bag a very healthy 182,000, good for second in chips, and looks to snag himself a title outside the ring and on the felt.
Ortiz managed to bag a very healthy 182,000, good for second in chips
Team PokerStars Pro Igor Kurganov registered late in the day and it looked like he was going to move on to Day 2 until he ran into aces to bust in the last hand of the night. Kurganov was playing in his first-ever PokerStars Championship Main Event as part of the team. His better half, Liv Boeree, was unable to advance and didn't seem to be able to build a stack at all today.
Notable players making it to Day 2 include Jason Koon (175,500), Steve O'Dwyer (117,000), David Peters (116,100), Ryan Riess (77,300), Byron Kaverman (72,000), Daniel Dvoress (59,800), Sergio Aido (54,200), Team PokerStars Pro Leo Fernandez (41,400), Anthony Zinno (16,800) and Davidi Kitai (10,500).
2017 WSOP November Niner Kenny Hallaert, was in the field today and found himself all in on the turn with a seven-high flush against a nine-high flush. He had two outs to make a straight flush and hit one on the river to stay alive. Unfortunately, his luck ran out eventually and he hit the rail late in the day.
With the $25,000 Single-Day High Roller firing up tomorrow, some of the players who will likely be in that field and took a shot today but didn't advance, include Timothy Adams, Adrian Mateos, Dan Colman, Sam Greenwood, Mike Watson, Justin Bonomo, Stephen Chidwick and Isaac Haxton.
Day 1b kicks off at 11 a.m. local time on Wednesday and will be the last chance for players to get in on this Main Event. There will be eight, 75-minute levels of play and late registration will close before cards are in the air on Day 2 on Thursday at Noon. Keep following along as PokerNews brings you all of the live updates until a winner is crowned!
End-of-Day 1a Chip Counts (full)
Level 8
: 400/800, 100 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
219,600 | 39,600 |
|
|
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|
182,000 | -8,000 |
|
175,500 | 25,500 |
|
146,800 | 146,800 |
|
|
||
|
140,300 | 50,300 |
|
|
||
|
138,000 | 8,000 |
|
|
||
|
127,600 | 127,600 |
|
|
||
|
117,000 | -12,000 |
 |
||
|
116,100 | 44,100 |
 |
||
|
108,900 | 27,900 |
|
|
||
|
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102,300 | 102,300 |
|
|
||
|
90,300 | 10,300 |
|
|
||
|
81,200 | 81,200 |
|
|
||
|
77,300 | -2,800 |
   |
||
|
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75,800 | 25,800 |
|
|
||
|
75,800 | 75,800 |
|
|
||
|
74,900 | 74,900 |
|
|
||
|
74,000 | 50,800 |
|
|
||
|
73,800 | -6,200 |
|
|
||
|
72,200 | 72,200 |
|
|
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|
72,000 | 7,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
62,000 | 62,000 |
|
|
||
|
61,200 | 9,200 |
|
|
||
|
59,800 | -1,700 |
|
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|
55,200 | 55,200 |
|
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Friend
Ambassador
Igor Kurganov Eliminated
Level 8
: 400/800, 100 ante
He made a small comeback, but in the end, it wasn't meant to be. He got it in with 
suited up against the aces of Francis Cruz. No help on the board for Kurganov and he exited in the last hand of the day.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
Busted | |
Tollerene Eliminated at Buzzer
Level 8
: 400/800, 100 ante
Ben Tollerene's seat was empty when we got to his table. As Anthony Zinno told it, Tollerene raise-called it off with eights and found himself ahead but racing against 
. The flop kept him in front but a king on the turn doomed him.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
Busted | |
|
|
||
Kurganov Triples
Level 8
: 400/800, 100 ante
Down to just a few big blinds, Kurganov pushed all in and got called in two spots. He eventually tripled up against two players who both had 
. Kurganov had and hit the flop of 
to stay alive. Just two more hands for Kurganov, let's see if he can make Day 2.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
10,600 | 8,000 |
Kurganov With Crumbs
Level 8
: 400/800, 100 ante
Igor Kurganov just played a massive pot and has crumbs remaining after getting 46,400 in, almost all of his stack, on the river. The board had come 
and Kurganov held 
for the nut straight. However, Vicente Delgado had 
for the nut flush and Kurganov was left with just 600. He doubled up first hand but still faces long odds of making Day 2.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
130,000 | 96,500 |
|
|
||
|
|
2,600 | -57,400 |
Six More Hands
Level 8
: 400/800, 100 ante
And the day is done. We'll be back shortly with end of day chip counts and an extensive recap of today's action.
Dvoress Busts Newey
Level 8
: 400/800, 100 ante
Daniel Dvoress opened the hijack with a raise to 2,000 and his neighbor Paul Newey shoved for about 17,500 from the cutoff. The button and both blinds released before Dvoress snap called.
Daniel Dvoress: 
Paul Newey: 
The board ran out 
and Newey hit the rail with just a few minutes to go for the day.
One table over, Ryan Riess doubled with queens all in against eights. He got his 39,300-stack back times two.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
80,100 | 40,800 |
|
|
||
|
|
61,500 | 16,500 |
|
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|
Busted | |
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Ortiz Drags Another; Korenev Out
Level 8
: 400/800, 100 ante
Tito Ortiz opened for a min-raise and got a call from Ben Tollerene. The big blind made it 5,800 to go after another player called, and both Ortiz and Tollerene called to see a 
flop. Action checked to Ortiz, who bet 2,000. Tollerene called and the big blind came out raising with 8,000. Ortiz called and Tollerene folded. Check-check on the 
and again on the , and Ortiz opened for top pair on the end. His opponent sighed and mucked.
At a neighboring table, Roman Korenev got it in against Osvaldo Lewis' aces again with an unknown hand and was eliminated.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
190,000 | 15,000 |
|
|
80,000 | 47,800 |
|
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|
|
20,700 | -4,300 |
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|
Busted | |
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