button in SafariNan Chen Sets the Bar High on Day 1c of $600 Main Event
The largest starting flight of the $600 Main Event at the 2026 Jamul Poker Open produced a whopping 117 entries today. That was more than enough to blow the $100,000 guaranteed prizepool out of the water with one more flight currently running.
Only 14 players advanced to Day 2 on Sunday and it was Nan Chen who went on a late-night heater to claim the overall chip lead. Chen bagged a massive 612,000, good enough for more than 20 starting stacks. He will be joined by three other players who also bagged healthy stacks to sit at the top of the leaderboard heading into Sunday.
Chen has one tournament victory under his belt from earlier this year at an MSPT stop also held in the San Diego area. However, his largest and only six-figure score came at the 2025 WSOP where he finished in third place in his hunt for a WSOP bracelet. Chen will be looking to ride his recent wave of momentum to another victory in 2026 and another hefty payout.
The other big stacks moving on from Day 1c include Rip Fritzer (541,000), Scott Downey (494,000), and Tyler Hatchel (488,000). Fritzer picked up two big pots back-to-back late in the day, including the elimination of former chip leader Alec Jahed. Meanwhile, the most impressive story might belong to Downey who was down to just one big blind shortly after late registration closed.
Day 1c Chip Leaders
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nan Chen | United States | 612,000 | 61 |
| 2 | Rip Fritzer | United States | 541,000 | 54 |
| 3 | Scott Downey | United States | 494,000 | 49 |
| 4 | Tyler Hatchel | United States | 488,000 | 49 |
| 5 | Michael Lee | United States | 277,000 | 28 |
| 6 | Zhehao Jin | United States | 239,000 | 24 |
| 7 | Tom Woodard | United States | 201,000 | 20 |
| 8 | Armando Mesina | United States | 158,000 | 16 |
| 9 | Keith Morgan | United States | 137,000 | 14 |
| 10 | Jeremy Conrad | United States | 115,000 | 12 |
Right from the start of Day 1c, it was poised to be the largest of the four starting flights with many players taking their seats before the action even began. It didn't take long to reach the $100,000 guaranteed prizepool and it was only a question of how big it could actually get. After three flights, a total of 273 entries have been recorded, nearly topping the previous year's total already with one flight still to go.
Some big stacks started to emerge early and often with plenty more chips in play. After eight hours on the felt, the field was playing hand-for-hand and lo and behold, it was Grant Foster who was on a short stack for the second day in a row. And as history repeats itself, he got his last chips in the middle with pocket kings once again. And again, he ran into ace-king with an ace on the flop. Foster was devastated to be the bubble boy for the second time in dramatic fashion.
The remaining 14 players bagged up their chips and will join the other 20 survivors from Day 1ab to return for the final day. That action will get underway at 12 p.m. PST downstairs in the poker room, with rumors swirling about a possible live stream table throughout the day.
The blinds will be rolled back to 4,000/8,000 for the start of play and the levels will be increased to 40 minutes in length. Each player will be guaranteed at least a portion of the prizepool with the final numbers being tallied overnight. A winner will be crowned late in the night and a big five-figure payday awaits the eventual champion.
That wraps up the coverage for today and the results for Day 1d will be posted later. The PokerNews live reporting team will be back on the tournament floor to bring you all of the updates on Day 2 until a winner is declared.