taisyo Runs the Hottest on Day 1a of the 2025 RGPS Mission RunGood Japan JPY Colossus
It was a busy day at the tables of La Belle Salle in Shinjuku as the first of four starting flights for 2025 RunGood Poker Series Mission Japan special event was just one of many tournaments taking place at the same day during the Japan Open Poker Tour (JOPT) Grand Final in Tokyo. For the first ever RunGood-branded event outside of the US, many local poker enthusiasts entered the fray and contributed the entry fee of ¥25,000 as Event #22 NLH Colossus attracted a total of 550 entries.
Upon completion of 15 levels of 35 minutes each, the number of survivors was culled down to nearly ten percent of the total entries and only 60 players bagged up the chips. Mid-way through the day, taisyo appeared as one of the larger stacks and notched up several knockouts - many of which came as a result of premium pocket pairs and dominating aces - and he ended the night with 793,000 in chips. The only one relatively close was Yoshihiro with 672,000 while another three players crossed half a million in chips.
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | taisyo | Japan | 793,000 | 132 |
| 2 | Yoshihiro | Japan | 672,000 | 112 |
| 3 | Aki0330 | Japan | 570,000 | 95 |
| 4 | REN | Japan | 540,000 | 90 |
| 5 | KNT | Japan | 510,000 | 85 |
| 6 | yokoha | Japan | 489,000 | 82 |
| 7 | choo | Japan | 437,000 | 73 |
| 8 | Kento | Japan | 415,000 | 69 |
| 9 | kaoru2 | Japan | 408,000 | 68 |
| 10 | Ryo | Japan | 388,000 | 65 |
The vast majority of today's participants in the opening flight were hailing from Japan with a few exceptions, the most notable one being accomplished poker commentator Joe "Stapes" Stapleton, who bemoaned playing very poorly during the first few levels. He then went on a roller coaster ride, suffering many setbacks such as pocket kings getting cracked by six-five suited - and Stapleton hit the rail prior to the final level of the night.
Many other regulars of this live tournament series geared towards the low and mid stakes in an increasingly popular yet very strictly regulated Japanese poker market came and left without anything to show for, but they have another three flights to try and run up a stack. According to Japanese gambling regulations, the prizes which are available as Web Coin or player contracts for other international tournaments, are already known with 175 spots paid and a value of $26,052.79 reserved for the eventual champion.
The second starting day which kicked off at 5 p.m. local time had already gathered momentum and was nearing 200 entries with the late registration still ongoing. Numerous other tournaments were happening at the same time with several of the stylish JOPT Grand Final trophies up for grabs, with the JOPT ambassadors Shiina Okamoto and Nana Nakamura competing for one of them during the late evening hours.
All chip counts of the Day 1b survivors will be published in the morning once the information has been provided by the JOPT. Another two starting days remain for players to join the action with Day 1c kicking off at 11 a.m. local time. The turbo heat 1c with a reduced level duration of 20 minutes each then follows as of 5 p.m. and the late registration closes just about when 1c will conclude.
Stay tuned for more of the live poker action and plenty of pictures throughout the next two days when Mission RunGood Japan will determine the first-ever RGPS ring event outside of the United States.