The highlight of the 2018 Western New York Poker Challenge (WNYPC) kicks off this morning with Day 1a of the $200,000 guaranteed Event #7: $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em Main Event getting underway at 11 AM inside the Seneca Niagara Poker Room.
Players will have two chances to qualify with Day 1b beginning at the same time on Saturday. Starting stacks will consist of 30,000 in tournament chips and both days will play 40-minute blind levels before changing to 60-minute levels on Day 2 and then 90 minutes during the final table.
Registration will remain open for the first 10 levels of each Day 1 with unlimited re-entry permitted during that time. Players also have the option of playing both Day 1s even if they book a seat on their first try. Only their largest stack will be put in play on Sunday's Day 2.
In 2017, Guy Klass claimed the Main Event title besting a field of 267 entries to collect a top prize of $47,016. Klass joined Rick Block, Buck Ramsay, and Nicholas Walker as former champions of the prestigious event.
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With 16,000 in the pot and a completed board reading , Erik Lemarquand fired a bet worth 11,000 and after a brief moment in the tank, his heads-up opponent made the call.
Lemarquand tabled the making a straight on the river and his opponent mucked.
With about 17,000 already in the pot and a board reading , a player in early position and Eric Principino, one seat over, checked to the preflop aggressor on the button. The player on the button bet 6,000 getting a call from the player in early position. Principino then shoved having both opponents covered and the player on the button called to put himself at risk.
Eric Principino:
Button:
Principino had flopped twp pair and they held through the turn and river — — to score the elimination.
The player in the button opened to 4,500 getting calls from Scott Hosbach in the small blind and Chris Meyers in the big blind. A flop fanned out and both Meyers and Hosbach checked. The player in the big blind continued with a bet of 6,400 only to see Hosbach check-raise to 20,000.
After some time in the tank, the player on the button moved all in for 47,000 total and Hosbach snap-called.
Scott Hosbach:
Button:
The board ran out and Hosbach sent another player to the rail, increasing his lead over the rest of the field.
Day 1a of the 2018 Western New York Poker Challenge is in the books with 20 of 116 entries moving on to Day 2. Jason Eisele bagged the top stack after 15 40-minute levels ending the night with 423,300.
Eisele took the chip lead just before dinner and continued to add to his stack as the night grew on. Eisele is fresh off a WPTDeepstacks Maryland Main Event win just a few weeks back where he banked $108,921.
Joining Eisele at the top of the counts are Dave Grana (353,000), Budwey Salhab (322,000), Chris Meyers (294,200), and Illan Kandiah (279,000).
Some of the players requiring another bullet to keep their Main Event run alive include 2017 WNYPC Main Event champion, Guy Klass, and runner-up, Peter Beshay, along with John Brock, Mark Roberts, Chris Babula, Michelle Caldwell, and David Battaglia.
Players will have another shot to qualify for Day 2 on Saturday morning when Day 1b action kicks off at 11 AM. Late registration will remain open until the end of the dinner break following Level 10.
![[user270022]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
, Erik Lemarquand fired a bet worth 11,000 and after a brief moment in the tank, his heads-up opponent made the call. 
making a straight on the river and his opponent mucked.
, a player in early position and Eric Principino, one seat over, checked to the preflop aggressor on the button. The player on the button bet 6,000 getting a call from the player in early position. Principino then shoved having both opponents covered and the player on the button called to put himself at risk.
— to score the elimination.
flop fanned out and both Meyers and Hosbach checked. The player in the big blind continued with a bet of 6,400 only to see Hosbach check-raise to 20,000.
and Hosbach sent another player to the rail, increasing his lead over the rest of the field.
