2017 Western New York Poker Challenge

Main Event
Day: 1b
1a1b23
Event Info
2017 Western New York Poker Challenge
Final Results
Winner
Prize
$47,016
Event Info
Buy-in
$1,000
Prize Pool
$235,681
Total Entries
267
Level Info
Level
26
Blinds
20,000 / 40,000
Ante
4,000
Players Left 1 / 267
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Main Event

Day 1b Completed

Spears Falters Slightly, Brunskole Grabs the Lead on Day 1b of the 2017 WNYPC Main Event

Level 15 : 1,500/3,000, 400 ante
Andy Spears
Andy Spears

The second and final first-day flight for the 2017 Western New York Poker Challenge Main Event went off at the Seneca Niagara Resort & Casino Saturday and it was a big one.

After a snow day Friday limited first flight entries to just 84, they drew a whopping 183 entries Saturday. That made it a grand total of 267 entries, outdoing last year's 244 and creating a massive guarantee-smashing $235,681 prizepool.

They'll pay a total of 27 players and first place is a juicy $57,738.

By the time 15 levels of play were through Saturday, just 38 players remained in the thick of it. They will be joined by the 17 survivors from Friday as a total of 55 go through to Sunday's playdown to a final table.

Flight 1b was a seesaw affair that saw the chip lead change hands dozens of time throughout the day. In the end, legendary local rounder Andy Spears faltered a bit and Niagara Falls, Canada's Matt Brunskole grabbed the lead in the last level of the night.

Play will resume at 11 a.m. local time Sunday with the money bubble in sight plans to play down to the final nine and possibly beyond.

PokerNews' coverage of the 2017 WNYPC will continue at that time.

Tags: Andy SpearsMatt Brunskole

End of Day 1b Chip Counts (full)

Level 15 : 1,500/3,000, 400 ante
Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Matt Brunskole
Matt Brunskole
401,500
Profile photo of Jeremy Halaska us
Jeremy Halaska
346,000
Profile photo of Chris Meyers us
Chris Meyers
314,500
14,500
14,500
Profile photo of Michael O'Brien gb
Michael O'Brien
295,000
Profile photo of Hayden Glassman us
Hayden Glassman
287,000
222,000
222,000
Profile photo of Mark Bowersock us
Mark Bowersock
276,000
24,000
24,000
Profile photo of Brian Patterson us
Brian Patterson
270,500
15,500
15,500
Profile photo of Anne Jones us
Anne Jones
255,000
5,000
5,000
Profile photo of Andy Spears us
Andy Spears
242,000
38,000
38,000
Profile photo of Frank Tatar
Frank Tatar
200,000
Profile photo of Nick Walker us
Nick Walker
168,500
18,500
18,500
Profile photo of Erik Christensen us
Erik Christensen
164,000
Profile photo of Hassan Jamil
Hassan Jamil
159,000
Profile photo of DJ MacKinnon us
DJ MacKinnon
151,500
26,500
26,500
Profile photo of Guy Klass us
Guy Klass
147,000
Profile photo of Jack DePasquale
Jack DePasquale
139,000
Profile photo of Joseph Elia us
Joseph Elia
135,500
35,500
35,500
Profile photo of Louis Pfaff
Louis Pfaff
123,500
Profile photo of James DiPasquale
James DiPasquale
117,000
3,000
3,000
Profile photo of John Stempien
John Stempien
116,000
Profile photo of James Goertz
James Goertz
114,000
Profile photo of Gaetano DiMaria ca
Gaetano DiMaria
104,000
38,000
38,000
Profile photo of [Removed:339]
[Removed:339]
98,500
Profile photo of Aaron Olshan us
Aaron Olshan
91,000
Profile photo of Cameron Bartolotta
Cameron Bartolotta
84,500
31,100
31,100

Read full

Three More Hands!

Level 15 : 1,500/3,000, 400 ante

With ten minutes left in this final level the clock was stopped and a draw was conducted to determine the number of hands left to play in this flight.

They drew a three. Like they always should. Three more hands and they will bag up for the night.

A full recap will follow, so stay tuned to see who grabbed the lead in a race to the finish that's too close to call right now.

Level: 15

Blinds: 1,500/3,000

Ante: 400

Andy-On-Andy Crime

Level 14 : 1,200/2,400, 300 ante
Andy Spears
Andy Spears

Andy Spears just became the runaway chip leader after a massive hand with Andy Ranaletti that left Ranaletti ready to jump off the balcony.

It all started with a Ranaletti open that Spears flatted. The flop came {A-}{a-}{a-} and after Ranaletti checked, Spears bet 20,000. Ranaletti flatted and the turn came the {10-}. Ranaletti led for 50,000 and Spears smooth called. Finally, Ranaletti checked the {6-} river and Spears ripped in for 200,000.

Ranaletti was left with a decision for his tournament life and he called, showing the {10-}{10-} boat. Spears had the {a-}{k-} for quads and is now a huge favorite to bag the overnight lead.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Andy Spears us
Andy Spears
365,000
170,000
170,000
Profile photo of Andy Ranaletti us
Andy Ranaletti
Busted

Tags: Andy RanalettiAndy Spears

Level: 14

Blinds: 1,200/2,400

Ante: 300

XXX Leads!

Level 13 : 1,000/2,000, 300 ante
Brian Patterson
Brian Patterson

A huge pot has suddenly vaulted Pittsburgh, PA's Brian "XXX" Patterson into the top spot on the leader board heading into the flight's final break.

He picked up the {9-Clubs}{9-Spades} and flopped a set when the {q-Spades}{8-Spades}{9-Diamonds} was revealed. Patterson's opponent had top-pair top-kicker and they traded raises before getting it all in for over 200,000.

Patterson turned quads and when the dust settled, he was standing on top of a mountain of chips good enough for the lead.

Below you can see how the rest of the leaders stack up:

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Brian Patterson us
Brian Patterson
255,000
255,000
255,000
Profile photo of Matt Brunskole
Matt Brunskole
220,000
220,000
220,000
Profile photo of Andy Spears us
Andy Spears
195,000
20,000
20,000
Profile photo of Mark Bowersock us
Mark Bowersock
190,000
55,000
55,000
Profile photo of Mike Bailine
Mike Bailine
175,000
45,000
45,000
Profile photo of Nick Walker us
Nick Walker
150,000
60,000
60,000
Profile photo of Gaetano DiMaria ca
Gaetano DiMaria
142,000
13,000
13,000
Profile photo of Dan Wagner us
Dan Wagner
140,000
20,000
20,000
Profile photo of Jim Goertz ca
Jim Goertz
135,000
30,000
30,000
Profile photo of DJ MacKinnon us
DJ MacKinnon
125,000
25,000
25,000
Profile photo of Alan Findlay gb
Alan Findlay
115,000
80,000
80,000
Profile photo of Andy Ranaletti us
Andy Ranaletti
112,000
2,000
2,000
Profile photo of Lue Huang us
Lue Huang
77,000
58,000
58,000
Profile photo of Alex Rivera us
Alex Rivera
71,000
9,000
9,000

The Money Matters

Level 13 : 1,000/2,000, 300 ante

The official numbers are in and with 267 entries, the 2017 WNYPC Main Event prizepool reached $235,681.

They will pay the top 27 finishers with the minimum cash worth $1,791.

The top six will all book five-figure scores and alongside the title, trophy and Western New York Poker Challenge glory, the winner will earn a healthy $57,738 in prize money.

Check out the Payouts Tab above for all the juicy details.

Level: 13

Blinds: 1,000/2,000

Ante: 300