button in SafariWilliam McDowell Bags Day 1c Chip Lead
The third flight of the RunGood Poker Series Golden Expedition Lodge Card Club San Antonio $600 Main Event attracted 37 entries. This meant that four players advanced to Day 2 as their quest for the biggest piece of the $200,000 guarantee prize pool continued after making the cut on Day 1c.
William McDowell (544,000) finished atop the leaderboards on Day 1c. Thanh Le (494,000) finished second in chips. Patricia Davis (328,000) finished third in chips from the flight, and Timothy Taylor (114,000) was the final player to make it out of the flight.
McDowell enjoyed a late surge to bag the chip lead. McDowell appeared to be the odd man out as he was fifth in chips with five left, but a double through Davis gave Davis a new lease on life in the tournament when he spiked a jack to stay in contention. McDowell chipped away at his opponents as the Day 1c bubble lingered. McDowell has over $30,000 in live career earnings, according to his The Hendon Mob, but this is his first RunGood cash of his career as he will look to make that first cash a big splash on Sunday.
Le was a force to be reckoned with most of Day 1c. Le began to build a stack during the early stages of the flight, but his ascension began to hit new heights when he stacked Jake White with a flopped flush, cementing his status as a top stack in the room. Le would go on to score more knockouts later, including a knockout against Rudy Herrera. This pot nearly pulled Le to a half-million chip stack, but that was where he plateaued as he ended the day at about that high mark. This is Le’s first cash at a RunGood event, and he will be chasing his first title when he returns for the final day of play.
Davis was all but down and out after she lost an all-in to McDowell late on Day 1c with five left. She dropped to about 29,000 when she doubled up shortly after to gain a smidge of life. Davis doubled again to get some more breathing room before she clashed with Taylor in a big hand that saw Davis double up and overtake Taylor in the chip standings. Davis will look to continue that perseverance when she returns for Day 2. Davis has plenty of experience in the tournament scene with just over $87,000 in live career cashes, per her The Hendon Mob profile.
Taylor started his day with a bang when he scored a sensational double knockout with quads, when he cracked both pocket aces and kings with his queens. Taylor used that boon early on to launch a strong performance on Day 1c, only dampened when Davis doubled through him as his stack took a hit in the late stages of the flight.
RGPS Ambassadors Kris Burchfield, Ray Henson, and Drew “BetOnDrew” Gonzalez took their shot on Day 1c, but failed to find a bag and advance to Day 2. Gonzalez made a deep run, but earned the unfortunate distinction of bubbling Day 1c to finish just shy of advancing to the final day of play.
Day 1d is currently underway, as Saturday is slated to host two starting flights. Day 1e is scheduled for Saturday, November 14, at 11 a.m., followed by Day 1f at 5 p.m. Sunday will be a last chance for players to squeeze into Day 2, with a Day 1g turbo flight scheduled for 9 a.m. on Sun. Nov. 15.
Players start with 40,000 chips and can enter or re-enter through the beginning of Level 9. There are unlimited re-entries. Day 1a through Day 1f are slotted for 30-minute blind levels, with 15-minute breaks after every two hours until registration closes and 10-minute breaks thereafter.
Day 1g will host a modified turbo flight with 10-minute levels. Each flight ends when 12.5% (rounded down) of its field remains. Players who qualify more than once will earn a $1,500 double bag bonus. They will be permitted to take the biggest stack forward and forfeit the smaller stack(s) for the bonus.
Stay tuned for continued coverage of the RunGood Poker Series Golden Expedition Lodge Card Club San Antonio $600 Main Event as more players look to secure their seats for Day 2.