Carlos Chadha Rises to the Top on Day 1a
The first of three starting flights is in the books in the $1,300 Main Event here at the RunGood Poker Series Passport Season Maryland hosted by MGM National Harbor Hotel & Casino. Of the 44 entries tallied in Day 1a, only six players will return for Day 2 on Sunday, all of whom have locked up a min-cash.
Carlos Chadha (566,000) finished atop the counts in the opening flight, after an active last few levels of play. He began his rise once the final table was reached, where he eliminated Derrick Thomas with top pair to bring the field down to eight. From there, he continued to apply pressure and chip up to build his stack.
Jeffrey Proctor (538,000) was the only other player to reach the half-million chip mark and ended the day in second. Joshua Staples finished in third with 459,000.
Day 1a Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Carlos Chadha | United States | 566,000 |
| 2 | Jeffrey Proctor | United States | 538,000 |
| 3 | Joshua Staples | United States | 459,000 |
| 4 | Marlon Posadas | United States | 329,000 |
| 5 | Mariya Persanova | United States | 222,000 |
| 6 | Chris Grove | United States | 87,000 |
Notable Eliminations
Defending champ Justin Arnwine was in the mix, but couldn't find any momentum on Day 1a. Local tournament regular Joshua Mischel ran queens into kings early on, and had no luck securing a bag when he fired a second bullet.
World Series of Poker bracelet winner Yaser Al-Keliddar was holding steady for most of the afternoon, but ultimately exited later in the day. RunGood Ambassador Ashley Frank was involved in a big three-way all in just before the final table, but wasn't able to improve with Big Slick.
Day 1b will begin Friday, April 17 at 11:15 a.m. and Day 1c will get underway on Saturday. Play for Day 1 flights will conclude once 12.5% of the field (rounded up) remains and those who bag will be in the money. Day 2 will then start at the earliest blind level of the three flights on Sunday, April 19, where the event will play down to a winner.
Be sure to follow PokerNews throughout the entirety of the $1,300 Main Event here at the 2026 RGPS Passport Season Maryland.