Welcome to the Third and Final Flight of the Mid-States Poker Tour FireKeepers Casino

For the past two days, the Mid-States Poker Tour (MSPT) has been playing out here at FireKeepers Casino in Battle Creek, Michigan. Things got underway on Thursday with the Day 1a field, which attracted 106 runners and saw 18 players advance. Yesterday, 127 entries turned out for the Day 1b flight, or which 24 made it through to Day 2. That means the current field stands at 233 entrants with today's flight — which is expected to be the biggest and best yet — still to go. That means we will no doubt pass the previous MSPT FireKeepers record of 301 entries.

Today we're expecting to see a mix of new and returning players. In the former camp is current MSPT Season 5 Player of the Year leader Kou Vang, who traveled to the property last night. Vang, who made three consecutive final tables earlier this season, is a formidable force in any tournament he enters, and today he has his sights set on FireKeepers.

Likewise, we expect to see World Series of Poker bracelet winners Nick Jivkov and Adam Friedman in the field. Jivkov, who won the 2012 WSOP Event #5 $1,500 Pot-Limit Hold'em, has already fired three bullets in the tournament (one of Day 1a and two on 1b), so only time will tell if the fourth time is the charm. As for Friedman, who also won a Heartland Poker Tour title last year, yesterday marked the first time he'd ever played a MSPT. He enjoyed himself, but ultimately fell when his aces were cracked by the Big Slick of MSPT regular Ken Payne. Friedman will be in action today prepared to fire multiple bullets if necessary.

Who will thrive on Day 1c, and will they be able to come close to the stacks of either Day 1b chip leader Carter Myers (273,000) or Day 1a chip leader Ben Hammnett (212,500)? We'll find out by the end of the night.

Day 1c is set to kick off at Noon local time, which is less than an hour from now. Of course the PokerNews Live Reporting Team will be on hand to bring you all the action and eliminations, so be sure to stay tuned.

For more on the MSPT stop at FireKeepers, visit MSPTpoker.com.