button in SafariMSPT Grand Falls $1,100 Main Event ($200K GTD)
Day 1a Completed
MSPT Grand Falls $1,100 Main Event ($200K GTD)
MSPT Grand Falls $1,100 Main Event ($200K GTD)
Day: 1a
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Level 15
: 3,000/5,000, 5,000 ante
Day 1a of the 2021 Mid-States Poker Tour (MSPT) Grand Falls Main Event is officially in the books with a whopping 224 total entries tallied by night's end. Those who entered came to play and the action at the tables proved to be eventful from start to finish.
Almost a full 15 levels were played to their completion but action came to a hard stop with 26 players finding a bag at night's end with 23:36 remaining in the final level.
The final levels of the night saw players dropping fast and it was a race to see who would end up taking the chip lead. Claiming the top stack was Darlo Vansurksum, who gathered enough chips in the final hand to take the number one spot with 420,000. The battle for the chip lead was close, as five other players finished the day north of 300,000: Todd Melander (397,000), Nicholas Smith (395,000), Luke Blindert (391,000), Graham Beynon (376,00), and Jason Crews (349,000) round out the top stacks.
The action hit a new gear on the final two level's of the evening, which saw the remaining players in the field ultimately drop from 39 down to 26. Chips flew across the room and stacks fluctuated accordingly. Others to advance included Joe Matheson (225,000), Nicola DiTrapani (242,000), Anthony Scarborough (189,000), James Pupillo (134,000), and Alex Wheeler (131,000).
Many players were not as fortunate as Season 12 Point Leader Cy Church, MSPT Hall of Famer's Aaron Johnson and Jason Seitz, along with defending champ Chad Bjorkman were just a few who took their shot at a bag on Day 1a only to come up short. All who have yet to advance will have another shot at finding a bag in tomorrow's final starting flight.
PokerNews will be on hand for the rest of the weekend to bring you all of the action, so be sure to come back for Saturday's Day 1b at 3 p.m. local time.
Level 15
: 3,000/5,000, 5,000 ante
Level 15
: 3,000/5,000, 5,000 ante
With 23:36 remaining in the level, the hard stop has been reached with 26 players remaining. End of day chip counts and recap will follow.
Level 15
: 3,000/5,000, 5,000 ante
Graham Buynon raised to 12,000 from under the gun and then called the 48,000 three-bet jam Rob Wazwaz made from the hijack.
Rob Wazwaz: 
Graham Buynon: 
Wazwaz was behind holding two overs but couldn't find either on the 
runout and he was eliminated from the tournament.
Level 15
: 3,000/5,000, 5,000 ante
Since its inception in 2009, the MSPT has done a great job keeping track of player stats. As a result, 11 years on they have one of the best player databases in the industry.
On their "Leaderboards" page, the MSPT tracks such things as Career Earnings, Main Event Cashes, Main Event Final Tables, Main Event Titles, Total Cashes, Most Cashes/Final Tables in a Season, Most Final Tables All-Time, and much more.
Here's a look at the top ten MSPT Main Event final table in a single season:
| Player | Hometown | Season | Final Tables |
|---|---|---|---|
| Patrick Steele | Chelsea, Michigan | 4 | 4 |
| Brett Kuznia | Stephen, Minnesota | 4 | 4 |
| Dan Sun | Cedar Rapids. Iowa | 3 | 3 |
| Christian Pham | St. Paul, Minnesota | 4 | 3 |
| Everett Carlton | St. Paul, Minnesota | 1 | 3 |
| Kou Vang | Maplewood, Minnesota | 5 | 3 |
| Michael Deis | Ann Arbor, Michigan | 5 | 3 |
| Nick Pupillo | Addison, Illinois | 5 | 3 |
| Mark Hodge | Fernandina Beach, Florida | 6 | 3 |
| DJ Buckley | Eden Prairie, Minnesota | 6 | 3 |
Level: 15
Blinds: 3,000/5,000
Ante: 5,000
Level 14
: 2,000/4,000, 4,000 ante
A player from late position raised to 55,000 and only Anthony Scarborough called from the small blind.
After the 
flop appeared, Scarborough check-called his 43,000 stack after his opponent continued for 60,000.
Opponent: 
Anthony Scarborough: 
Scarborough held the better made hand but the 
turn gave him a sweat as it gave his opponent the club flush draw.
Luckily for Scarborough, the river was a brick and secured his double-up.
Level 14
: 2,000/4,000, 4,000 ante
Level 14
: 2,000/4,000, 4,000 ante
The MSPT Hall of Fame, established in 2017, is proud to recognize those individuals who have shown superior skill and achieved specific long-term accomplishments.
The criteria to earn a spot on the MSPT Hall of Fame is as follows:
- Achieve a minimum of 25 MSPT Main Event Cashes and 1 MSPT Win OR 1 MSPT Player of the Year; or
- Achieve a minimum of 10 MSPT Main Event Final Tables and 1 MSPT Win OR 1 MSPT Player of the Year
To see which players are close to achieving HOF status, refer to the comprehensive MSPT Stats page.
As of today, seven players are currently enshrined in the MSPT Hall of Fame.
