$1,200 Main Event
Day 1a Completed
2024 RGPS Destination RunGood Jacksonville
$1,200 Main Event
Day: 1a
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 1a
2024 RGPS Destination RunGood Jacksonville
Buy-in
$1,200
Prize Pool
$540,800
Entries
520
Level
28
Blinds
50,000 / 100,000
Ante
100,000
Entries
59
Players Left
8
Brian Winter Crushes Again to Lead 8 Players from Day 1a into Day 2 of the RGPS Jacksonville Main Event
Level 14
: Blinds 2,000/4,000, 4,000 ante
After just over 13 levels of play, RunGood Poker Series Player of the Year leader Brian Winter is the chip leader in the opening flight of the $1,200 Destination RunGood: Jacksonville Main Event at bestbet Jacksonville.
The opening flight drew 59 players, from which eight will return on Sunday for the Day 2 finale. They’re all fighting for a piece of the $300,000 guarantee, a bestbet trophy, and a coveted RGPS ring.
Winter is followed by Dimas Martinez Jr. in second and John Connors in third, the only other players over 300,000. Tyler Phillips and Raminder Singh round out the top five.
Destination RunGood: Jacksonville Day 1a Leaderboard
| Rank | Player | Hometown | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brian Winter | Geneva, IL | 382,000 |
| 2 | Dimas Martinez Jr. | Abbeville, SC | 338,000 |
| 3 | John Connors | Saint Johns, FL | 300,000 |
| 4 | Tyler Phillips | Charlotte, NC | 261,000 |
| 5 | Raminder Singh | Del Ray Beach, FL | 214,000 |
| 6 | Bradley Beetz | Jacksonville, FL | 175,000 |
| 7 | Sean Conklin | Jacksonville, FL | 84,000 |
| 8 | Matthew Wright | Perry, FL | 17,000 |
Day 1a Highlights
The day kicked off with 21 players in their seats and among them were Day 2 qualifiers Matthew Wright, Martinez Jr. and Phillips. Reigning RGPS Jacksonville champion Antwan Prince also stopped by, but he failed to make it to Day 2.
Wayne Murphy was one of the early chip leaders after he cracked a pair of pocket kings with ace-seven, but his run came to an end in Level 9 when his own kings ran into Winter’s aces. Local favorite Edward Mroczkowski jumped in, as well, but he did not make it to Day 2 from the opening flight.
Winter took his seat in Level 4 and he chipped up steadily prior to his hand with Murphy, but he didn’t stop there. Pablo Valdivieso, winner of the opening tournament in the series, held the lead at different points in early stages of the day. Eventually, Valdivieso got it in with ace-queen against Winter in a hand where the former jammed after the opening round of betting but before he saw the flop. Winter called quickly with pocket aces and held on to cross the 400K mark for the day.
For a while, Winter’s closest competitor was Singh, but a late hand against Martinez allowed Winter to hang on for the overall chip lead. Singh picked up a set on the river, but the same card gave Martinez a straight and Singh fell back to the middle of the pack.
Connors was also a late mover with a few pots that put him near the top of the leaderboard, most notably the bubble hand. James Ollis got the last of it in with nine players left and pocket tens, but Connors called with a suited ace-four and a third four on the river sealed the fate of Ollis.
Day 1a wrapped up with 25 minutes left in Level 13. The tournament will offer two more opening flights on Friday and Saturday, both at 12 p.m. local time. All surviving players will return on Sunday at 12 p.m. to play down to a winner in the Day 2 finale.
Be sure to keep it with the PokerNews team for live updates from the floor of the RunGood Poker Series Main Event at bestbet Jacksonville.
End of Day 1a Chip Counts
Level 14
: Blinds 2,000/4,000, 4,000 ante
Stay tuned for a full recap from the PokerNews team.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
382,000
14,000
|
14,000 |
|
||
|
338,000
98,000
|
98,000 |
|
300,000
-8,000
|
-8,000 |
|
261,000
73,000
|
73,000 |
|
214,000
-186,000
|
-186,000 |
|
175,000
-10,000
|
-10,000 |
|
84,000
29,000
|
29,000 |
|
17,000
-38,000
|
-38,000 |
Connors Busts Ollis to End Day 1a
Level 14
: Blinds 2,000/4,000, 4,000 ante
James Ollis got his last 12,000 in from the small blind and John Connors looked him up from the big blind.
James Ollis: 10♦10♥ 
John Connors: A♠4♠
The board ran out 6♠4♦3♦Q♦4♥ and Connors caught a third four on the river to bust Ollis and end the evening.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
308,000
23,000
|
23,000 |
|
|
Busted |
Wright Doubles, Leaves Ollis on Fumes
Level 14
: Blinds 2,000/4,000, 4,000 ante
Matthew Wright was all in for 24,000 and James Ollis put him at risk with just a bit more.
Matthew Wright: K♣K♥
James Ollis: J♥J♣
The board ran out 9♠A♥10♣8♦4♥ and the kings held to give Wright a double.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
55,000
29,000
|
29,000 |
|
|
20,000
-40,000
|
-40,000 |
Level: 14
Blinds: 2,000/4,000
Ante: 4,000
The Final 9
Level 13
: Blinds 2,000/3,000, 3,000 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
400,000
41,000
|
41,000 |
|
|
368,000
-23,500
|
-23,500 |
|
|
||
|
|
285,000
18,000
|
18,000 |
|
|
240,000
95,000
|
95,000 |
|
|
188,000
188,000
|
188,000 |
|
|
185,000
92,000
|
92,000 |
|
|
60,000
-51,500
|
-51,500 |
|
|
55,000
26,000
|
26,000 |
|
|
26,000
-66,000
|
-66,000 |
Martinez Dodges a Flush
Level 13
: Blinds 2,000/3,000, 3,000 ante
James Leonard was all in for the last of his shrinking stack and Dimas Martinez Jr. was the one to put him at risk.
James Leonard: K♦10♦
Dimas Martinez Jr.: 9♠9♣
The board ran out J♠5♦3♦4♣3♣ and the nines held for Martinez to eliminate Leonard from Day 1a.
Moments later, Caleb Larsen was also seen leaving the tournament area.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
145,000
43,000
|
43,000 |
|
Busted | |
|
Busted |
Level: 13
Blinds: 2,000/3,000
Ante: 3,000
Time for a Break
Level 13
: Blinds 2,000/3,000, 3,000 ante
The final 12 players have stepped out for another 15-minute break.