Jorge Postigo Leads at the End of Day 1 of the PokerStars Festival Chile High Roller!
The opening day of the $3,300 PokerStars Festival Chile High Roller has come to an end, and just eight players remain going in to Day 2. Jorge Postigo leads the way with 149,900 chips, with Alan Manuel Mehamed (91,700) more than a full starting stack behind him in second and Alex Manzano rounding out the top three stacks.
Since registration is open until the start of play on Day 2 tomorrow, a table draw will be done manually just before play begins. A full draw will be posted tomorrow once it becomes available.
Day 1 of this event grew to a total of 11 entries, and the first player was not eliminated until the end of level 6, a good six hours of play into the day. Even with the fact that re-entries were unlimited, all 11 entries were unique. Registration will remain open until the start of play tomorrow, so it is possible that the prizepool will grow overnight.
Argentinian PokerStars pro, Leo Fernandez, jumped in during the first level and got off to a good start, but remained quiet for the remainder of the day. He eventually lost a flip with ace-king of diamonds to Postigo's pocket jacks and was eliminated in the last level of the night. Fernandez was arguably one of the most decorated players in the event, with over two million dollars in live recorded cashes, including a 2012 LAPT Main Event win in Panama City, as well as a 2012 LAPT High Roller win in Sao Paolo, Brazil.
Chip leader, Postigo, hails from Peru and has yet to record a live tournament win. His total earnings sit at $174,404 with his biggest cash being just shy of $50,000. Postigo came close to winning a World Series of Poker circuit ring in 2015 in Hammond after finishing in second place in the six-max event, so look for him to be extra focused this week in search of his first-ever tournament win.
The competition was most certainly stiff across the board, with two-time LAPT Main Event winner, Oscar Alache, and two-time LAPT High Roller winner, Amos Ben, both in the field. Ben was the first to hit the rail after getting short and losing a flip, and Alache started the day as one of the chip leaders but lost a few pots here and there to eventually drop down to just a few big blinds. He managed to spin up his short stack and bag 26,700 chips for a shot at taking down another title in his home country.
Super high roller and European Poker Tour winner, Richard Dubini, was the last of the three players to be eliminated today. He lost a flip holding pocket sixes with just a few hands to go at the end of the night, and couldn't hold against Postigo's ace-ten. Dubini registered towards the end of level 4, so it was a short day for the Argentinian pro.
Other notable players in the field who moved on to Day 2 included high roller, LAPT, EPT, and WSOP circuit ring winner, Alex Manzano (88,200), and two-time WPT National champion and high roller, Norberto Korn (80,300).
Day 2 starts up at 12:00 p.m. local time tomorrow, and will players will go through another eight levels. Registration is still open until cards are in the air, so there is still plenty of time to get in on the action!
Keep following along as PokerNews reports all of the action on the way to crowning a champion!
Here is a look at how the remaining players stack up heading into Day 2:
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
149,900 | |
|
91,700 | 1,800 |
|
88,200 | 50,700 |
|
80,300 | -4,700 |
|
62,400 | 2,400 |
|
|
27,800 | -6,200 |
|
26,700 | 15,700 |
|
23,000 | -6,000 |