button in Safaritoshiya1017 and Daniel Shearer Earn the Top Spots on Day 1b of 2026 RGPS Passport Japan
The second starting day of 2026 RGPS Passport Japan was less busy than the gargantuan opening flight at Belle Salle Takadanobaba perhaps also due to the rainy Monday in Japan's capital. However, it brought the tournament well on the way to reach an attendance of four-figures during the 2026 Japan Poker Open Tour (JOPT) Grand Final in Tokyo. Across the first two flights, the tournament officially dubbed NLH Colossus Sponsored by RunGood Passport with a ¥15,000 (~$95) buy-in has now attracted 675 entries and there are another four starting days to follow, one of which is currently ongoing.
Out of a field of 127 entries on Day 1b, only 20 players made it through the 13 levels of 30 minutes each and the final two hands of the night brought two eliminations which eventually changed the top of the leaderboard. toshiya1017 surpassed long-time chip leader Daniel Shearer to end the flight with the most chips and bagged up 402,000 to his name. Shearer was atop the leaderboard very early on and never really lost momentum to finish Day 1b with 322,000, followed by Tatsuro (273,000).
Fourth-placed Yasu3 went on a wild ride with numerous double-ups during the final two levels of the flight to end on a high-note with 271,000 while many other contenders follow close behind in a rather close-knit affair.
Day 1b Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | toshiya1017 | Japan | 402,000 | 67 |
| 2 | Daniel Shearer | United States | 322,000 | 54 |
| 3 | Tatsuro | Japan | 273,000 | 46 |
| 4 | Yasu3 | Japan | 271,000 | 45 |
| 5 | Doi t | Japan | 250,000 | 42 |
| 6 | b-boy | Japan | 248,000 | 41 |
| 7 | No2 | Japan | 247,000 | 41 |
| 8 | zakiooo | Japan | 234,000 | 39 |
| 9 | yokkoo | Japan | 217,000 | 36 |
| 10 | Yuya | Japan | 171,000 | 29 |
Shearer came out swinging in the early stages when there were only three tables running and quickly knocked out two opponents to become the early chip leader, a spot he didn't really give up for several hours along the way. Many others had heavy swings to their name and went from larger stacks to the rail within a matter of one level only including Panchan, jerOOvv, Kageyama, yagamiraito and tanaka0129 to name but a few of them.
Down to the final three tables, toshiya1017 emerged with a big stack and asked the live reporting team in which spot he was, which by then was second place behind Shearer. However, in the penultimate hand of the night, toshiya1017 held with ace-queen versus the five-seven of a short stack and earned the chip leader merits for this flight.
Day 1c is currently ongoing with 75 players out of 96 entries remaining near the end of level six and the late registration will close at the end of level nine. All chip counts of the Day 1c survivors will be published later during the night or in the early morning hours prior to the start of the next flight.
On Tuesday, April 28, 2026, another two flights are scheduled and follow the same schedule as today. Day 1d commences at 11 a.m. local time followed by the afternoon heat 1e as of 4 p.m. local time. There is another turbo flight 1f at 10 a.m. on the following day, which all survivors get to bag their chips for a few minutes only before joining the action of the final day as of 1.30 p.m. local time. Across the opening two flights, 102 players have advanced so far.
The PokerNews live reporting team will be on the floor for the final two tournament days to provide as many key hands as possible en route to crowning a winner, who is set to take home the largest slice of the fixed $89,159.06 prize pool and custom made RunGood Passport Champion Ring.