Another Strong Turnout Expected for Final Chance to Advance in Arizona State Poker Championship
The final opportunity for players to find a bag takes place at 10:15 a.m. this morning for Day 1d of the Arizona State Poker Championship here at the Talking Stick Resort.
Over the past three days, a total of 2,881 hopefuls have tried their luck, with just 346 being able to advance to Day 2. Another busy day is expected with a field of 4,000 looking well within reach.
It is still Gregory Brown to hold the overall chip lead with 1,354,000, while nine total players have reached one million chips.
Cumulative Day 1abc Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gregory Brown | United States | 1,354,000 | 169 |
| 2 | Andrew Crookston | United States | 1,278,000 | 160 |
| 3 | Jacob McDonald | United States | 1,150,000 | 144 |
| 4 | Nicholas Julia | United States | 1,138,000 | 142 |
| 5 | Hunter Campbell | United States | 1,116,000 | 140 |
| 6 | Peter Fox | United States | 1,106,000 | 138 |
| 7 | Vinny Tran | United States | 1,050,000 | 131 |
| 8 | Pedro Salomao | United States | 1,041,000 | 130 |
| 9 | Deepa Shah | Canada | 1,041,000 | 130 |
| 10 | Sahib Purewal | United States | 993,000 | 124 |
For the $1,130 buyin, players will begin the tournament with 40,000 chips at starting blinds of 100/100, with a 100 big blind ante. Levels are 40 minutes in length in each starting flight, with a 15-minute break every three levels. Play will continue until roughly 12% of the field remains, at which point the players will bag up their chips for Monday's restart, having already secured the minimum cash.
This tournament offers unlimited reentry until the start of Level 10 around 5 p.m. local time, at which point a late registration stack is worth 27 big blinds.
Day 1d Structure
| Level | Blinds | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 100/100 | 40 |
| 2 | 100/200 | 40 |
| 3 | 100/300 | 40 |
| Break | 15 | |
| 4 | 200/400 | 40 |
| 5 | 300/500 | 40 |
| 6 | 300/600 | 40 |
| Break | 15 | |
| 7 | 400/800 | 40 |
| 8 | 500/1,000 | 40 |
| 9 | 600/1,200 | 40 |
| Break | End of Registration | 15 |
| 10 | 1,000/1,500 | 40 |
| 11 | 1,000/2,000 | 40 |
| 12 | 1,500/2,500 | 40 |
| Break | 15 | |
| 13 | 2,000/4,000 | 40 |
| 14 | 3,000/5,000 | 40 |
| 15 | 3,000/6,000 | 40 |
| Break | 15 | |
| 16 | 4,000/8,000 | 40 |
| 17 | 5,000/10,000 | 40 |
| 18 | 6,000/12,000 | 40 |
The earliest finish so far was in Day 1b with 5:40 remaining in Level 16 with blinds of 4,000/8,000.
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Stay tuned to PokerNews for updates from the floor in the final starting flight of the 2026 Arizona State Poker Championship.