Mikiyo Aoki Leads Field After Day 1a of Grand Falls MSPT Main Event Day 1a
After 10 hours of play, Day 1a of the MSPT Grand Falls $1,110 Main Event has come to a close and surviving players have bagged chips for Sunday's Day 2 restart. Mikiyo Aoki bagged the most with an impressive 684,000 chips.
A total of 231 players fired today's flight. Play was ended before the scheduled fifteen levels when 12% of the field was reached, meaning 27 players will have tomorrow off before returning for Day 2 on Sunday.
Aoki played steady throughout the day, playing with a healthy stack for much of the day. The last few levels, though, were where she really built momentum that led to her chip lead. She made a big call on the river with a pair of sixes, picked off another bluff with a weak ace, and even managed to win when she got it in behind.
Day 1a Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mikiyo Aoki | 684,000 | 171 |
| 2 | Blake Bohn | 553,000 | 138 |
| 3 | Dave Sanderson | 426,000 | 107 |
| 4 | Ben Wiora | 389,000 | 97 |
| 5 | Chad Himmelspach | 381,000 | 95 |
| 6 | Luke Blindert | 318,000 | 80 |
| 7 | Mike Estes | 269,000 | 67 |
| 8 | Phil Mader | 264,000 | 66 |
| 9 | Justin Kruger | 257,000 | 64 |
| 10 | Loren Burbach | 215,000 | 54 |
Just behind Aoki was Blake Bohn with 553,000. Bohn made a big flush near the end of the day to solidify his spot near the top of the leaderboard.
Another player who made a late push was Dave Sanderson. He made a set early in the day to build a nice stack, made a nice move in the middle of the day, and closed out strong to bag 426,000.
Players will return on Sunday at 11:00 a.m. and join the players from tomorrow's flight.
That does it for today's coverage. PokerNews will be on hand the rest of the weekend to follow this one to what is sure to be an exciting conclusion.
and all three players checked the street. 
turn, Blindert led from the small blind for 18,000. The original raiser folded, but Hanner made the call on the button. 
and Blindert bet 25,000 fairly quickly. Hanner thought for a few minutes before the clock was called. Before the floorman could get into the count, Hanner made the call. 
for the best hand as Hanner mucked.
. Burke checked to Bohn who continued for 10,000. After some thought, Burke slid his whole stack of 131,000 into the middle. 
, though it added some counterfeit outs. The river was the 
, though, giving Bohn the flush and the winner to vault him to the top of the leaderboard.
and about 28,000 was in the pot. 
and Sanderson quickly bet 17,000. Wilshire seemed sure he was beat, but made the call, even placing the chips in front of his opponent. Sanderson rolled over 
. 
was good for the pot.
for the set and the winner to eliminate his opponent and jump to near the top of the leaderboard.
kept him ahead and gave him the win.
. The main pot was nearly 100,000 with a small side pot in play. 
but that was no good as Johnson had top-two pair with 
fell on the river and his opponent was heading out the door.