Roy Kim Runs Over His Table During Lengthy Bubble to Take Overall Chip Lead on Day 1c of the RGPS Grand Prix Maryland Main Event
Seventeen weary but elated players managed to survive 18 levels and a grueling two-hour bubble to make it through Day 1c of the RunGood Poker Series Grand Prix Maryland Main Event.
Roy Kim dominated his table during bubble play to such an extent that the rest of the players erupted in celebration when he finally folded a hand. He ended up bagging 925,000, good enough to make him the overall chip leader going into Day 2. The Washington, DC local has career earnings of $312,000 and is a regular here at MGM National Harbor, and he felt right at home today.
Day 1c Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Roy Kim | United States | 925,000 | 154 |
| 2 | Kai Nicholls | Australia | 543,000 | 91 |
| 3 | Kade Venkatesan | United States | 454,000 | 76 |
| 4 | Christopher Chatman | United States | 413,000 | 69 |
| 5 | Alexander Wiggins | United States | 365,000 | 61 |
| 6 | Tyler Shields | United States | 358,000 | 60 |
| 7 | Kieran Davey | Ireland | 336,000 | 56 |
| 8 | Aaron Pinson | United States | 330,000 | 55 |
| 9 | Lee Sommers | United States | 323,000 | 54 |
| 10 | Arash Asadabadi | United States | 306,000 | 51 |
*- Day 2 begins with blinds of 3,000/6,000
Kai Nicholls ended up in second place with 543,000, but not before he was at risk of being the bubble boy. Nicholls was involved in a three-way all in two spots off the money, where he and Yaser Al-Keliddar got their chips in on the flop against Alexander Wiggins. Nicholls was ahead with two queens, but Wiggins spiked two pair on the turn and was poised to secure the double knockout and burst the bubble until Nicholls improved to a better two pair on the river to scoop the pot.
That left 18 players going hand-for-hand, and it took nearly two hours before Kyle Dishongh shoved with ace-queen, but Kieran Davey woke up with ace-king in the big blind to score the knockout and bring the long night to a close.
Kade Venkatesan (454,000), WSOP bracelet winner Christopher Chatman (413,000), and Wiggins (365,000) round out the top five. Wiggins already has an RGPS ring this week, taking down the $400 DeepStack event a few days ago. Tyler Shields busted a few spots off the money in the WSOP Main Event this summer, but this time he survived the bubble with 358,000. Davey bagged up 336,000, while Aaron Pinson, whose career earnings of $2.3 million include the WSOP Circuit Main Event title in Baltimore a few weeks ago and a runner-up finish in the WPT Prime Championship in 2023, also advanced with 330,000.
The 130 entries recorded today were more than the first two starting flights combined. It brought the total field up to 251, with 33 players returning for Day 2 tomorrow at 12:15 p.m. local time to play down to a champion. Blinds will be rolled back to Level 15 at 3,000/6,000 with a 6,000 big blind ante. The official prize pool should be announced shortly before the start of play.
PokerNews will be back tomorrow providing live updates here at the MGM National Harbor as the RGPS Main Event ring awaits one lucky player