button in SafariPablo Costorda Leads as Page Turns to Day 1c of San Diego Poker Classic
The 2026 San Diego Poker Classic $600 Main Event has hosted half of its scheduled starting flights thus far at Jamul Casino Resort. Day 1a attracted a total of 91 entries, which allowed 11 to advance, while Day 1b hosted 105 entries, permitting 13 to continue on their journey for an SDPC title and the largest piece of the $100,000 guarantee.
Pablo Costorda (699,000) led all comers on Day 1b, followed by Matthew Gawel (219,000) and Ricky Barraza (151,000) to round out the podium of top finishers from the second flight of the main event.
Costorda has the biggest stack of any player thus far through two flights of play. It will remain to be seen with two flights to go if anyone will top his count as they head into Day 2.
Gawel has won three titles at Jamul Casino Resort, but he has yet to win a San Diego Poker Classic trophy. A deep run in the main event could lead to a milestone for Gawel as it would have him cross the six-figure mark on his total live career earnings, according to his The Hendon Mob page.
Barraza is still searching for his first title at Jamul Casino Resort. Barraza has several cashes dating back to 2016, according to The Hendon Mob, that have led to him amassing nearly $85,000 in live career earnings.
Day 1c is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. local time, with Day 1d taking place at 6 p.m. local time. The top 12.5% of each field, rounded down, will move on to the final day from each starting flight. The Day 2 blind level will begin at the lowest level of play during the Day 1 flights.
SDPC Main Event Schedule
| Flight | Date | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1c | Sat. Aug. 8 | 11 a.m. |
| Day 1d | Sat. Aug. 8 | 6 p.m. |
| Day 2 | Sun. Aug. 9 | 12 p.m. |
Registration is slated to close at the beginning of Level 9. Players can re-enter an unlimited number of times per flight. Should a player qualify for Day 2 more than once, they will advance with the higher chip stack and forfeit the lower stack(s) and receive the lowest Day 2 payout for each stack they remove.
Players begin each buy-in with a starting stack of 30,000. Blind levels are scheduled for 30 minutes on Day 1 and 40 minutes on Day 2. A 15-minute break is scheduled every four levels on Day 1, with a 10-minute break after Level 14. 15-minute breaks are scheduled after every three levels on Day 2.
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Stay tuned here at Pokernews for continued coverage of the SDPC Main Event here at Jamul Casino Resort.