MSPT Grand Falls $1,100 Main Event ($200K GTD) Day 1a | MSPT Grand Falls $1,100 Main Event ($200K GTD)

08-21-2021 02:23 UTC-5

Darlo Vansurksum Leads 26 Survivors From Day 1a of the MSPT Grand Falls Main Event

Anthony Thompson

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.

Tags: Aaron Johnson Alex Wheeler Anthony Scarborough Cy Church James Pupillo Jason Crews Jason Seitz Joe Matheson Nicholas Smith Nicola DiTrapani Todd Melander

08-21-2021 00:38 UTC-5

A Look at the MSPT Hall of Fame

Anthony Thompson

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.

08-20-2021 23:17 UTC-5

Cunniff Spikes Ace on River to Stay Alive

Anthony Thompson

Level 12 : 1,500/2,500, 2,500 ante

Nicholas Smith raised from middle position, the player directly to his left three-bet jammed and Gerald Cunniff came over the top for 67,500 from the cutoff.

Action folded back around Smith who snap-called and all three hands were tabled.

Gerald Cunniff:
Nicholas Smith:
All In Player:

Smith was ahead with his cowboys and nothing changed after the flop hit the felt.

The turn gave the player at risk the nut flush draw but the river came a black , giving Cunniff the massive pot as he held the better kicker.

Player	Chips	Progress
Nicholas Smith	170,000	75,000
Gerald Cunniff	160,000	160,000

Tags: Gerald Cunniff Nicholas Smith

08-20-2021 21:16 UTC-5

Crews Cracks Howard's Kings for Double

Anthony Thompson

Level 9 : 600/1,200, 1,200 ante

The cutoff player opened for 2,700 and was called by Jason Crews from the small blind before Taylor Howard three-bet to 12,000 from the big blind.

The initial raiser folded while Crews called and the dealer dropped a flop on the felt. Crews check-jammed for 35,100 after Howard continued for 15,000 and was snap-called.

Jason Crews:
Taylor Howard:

Both players held made hands with Crews way behind but the turn did make things interesting as it gave him a gutshot straight draw.

Crews needed a jack or ten to stay alive and fortunately for him, the dealer heard his prayer, peeling off the on the river.

Player	Chips	Progress
Jason Crews	106,700	55,500
Taylor Howard	65,000	-39,500

Tags: Jason Crews Taylor Howard

08-20-2021 19:50 UTC-5

Blindert Flops Gold and Gets Paid

Anthony Thompson

Level 7 : 400/800, 800 ante

There were three players that saw a flop after an initial raise and Bob Van Syckle led out from middle position.

John Cap called from late position and action was on Luke Blindert who check-raised to 10,000 from the cutoff. Both Van Syckle and Cap called bringing the turn.

Van Syckle check-called the 12,700 bet from Blindert and the paired the board on the river. Van Syckle checked once again only to call the 21,700 all in bet from Blindert.

Van Syckle showed for trip deuces but it was no good as Blindert flopped the straight with and collected the double.

Player	Chips	Progress
Luke Blindert	79,300	47,200
John Cap	17,800	-22,000
Bob Van Syckle	10,000	-52,300

Tags: Bob Van Syckle John Cap Luke Blindert

08-20-2021 17:37 UTC-5

Ajayi Pays Off Tuenge

Anthony Thompson

Level 4 : 200/400, 400 ante

The player in middle position opened for 900 and found three callers that saw a flop.

Action was checked to Dapo Ajayi who fired out 2,000 from late position and only Brian Tuenge called from the cutoff.

The dealer dropped the on the turn, Ajayi check-called Tuenge's 2,900 bet and the paired the board on the river.

Ajayi checked one last time only to be sent into the tank after Tuenge fired out 9,500. After a few minutes, Ajayi called and quickly folded after Tuenge rolled over for a full boat.

Player	Chips	Progress
Brian Tuenge	115,400	115,400
Dapo Ajayi	14,500	14,500

Tags: Brain Tuengue Dapo Ajayi

08-20-2021 16:55 UTC-5

DiTrapani Sits Down and Doubles

Anthony Thompson

Level 3 : 200/200, 300 ante

There was heads-up action between Nicola DiTrapani from early position and the player sitting directly to his left, with a flop showing.

DiTrapani check-called the 1,200 bet from his opponent bringing the turn. DiTrapani check-raised to 8,000 after his opponent continued for 2,500 and then snap-called their all in.

Nicola DiTrapani:
Opponent:

DiTrapani was ahead after turning a set and the secured him the double.

Player	Chips	Progress
Nicola DiTrapani	50,000	50,000

Tags: Nicola DiTrapani

08-20-2021 13:38 UTC-5

Welcome to Day 1a of the MSPT Grand Falls Main Event!

Anthony Thompson

Chad Bjorkman January 2021 MSPT Grand Falls Main Event Champion

The 2021 Mid-States Poker Tour (MSPT) continues this weekend with another stop in the great state of Iowa for the $1,100 buy-in, $200,000 GTD Main Event at Grand Falls Casino, just outside Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Grand Falls has long been a staple on the MSPT schedule since its first stop there in 2012, and has recently seen record-setting turnouts of 488 and 518 during its last two stops in January 2021 and August 2020, the latter of which awarded a top prize of $107,709 to Mark Collins for his victory.

Today marks the first of two starting flights and play is set to get underway at 3 p.m. local time. Plenty of MSPT regulars are expected to make their way to Grand Falls from throughout the country, including Season 12 point leader Cy Church, Kyna England, Michael Berk, Daniel Sepiol, and Aaron Johnson.

The standard MSPT structure is in play, with 25,000 starting stacks and blinds beginning at 100/100/100. Levels will increase every 40 minutes throughout the entirety of the tournament.

Fifteen levels are scheduled for Day 1a play, unless 12% of the field is reached prior, with breaks occurring after the completion of every three levels, or two hours of play. Late registration is open until the beginning of Level 13 at approximately 11:40 p.m. local time with one re-entry available per flight should players wish to use it.

The PokerNews live reporting team will be on the floor all day long bringing you updates on all the action, so be sure to stick around.

MSPT Grand Falls Remaining Schedule

Date	Time (CDT)	Tournament	Chips	Location
Friday, August 20	10 a.m.	$260 Satellite - 1/5 advance to $200K GTD Main Event	15,000	Event Center
Friday, August 20	3 p.m.	$1,100 Main Event Day 1A (2-Day Trophy Event)	25,000	Event Center
Saturday, August 21	9 a.m.	$260 Satellite - 1/5 advance to $200K GTD Main Event	15,000	Event Center
Saturday, August 21	3 p.m.	$1,100 Main Event Day 1B (2-Day Trophy Event)	25,000	Event Center
Sunday, August 22	11 a.m.	$1,100 Main Event Day 2 Restart (2-Day Trophy Event)	-	Event Center
Sunday, August 22	12 p.m.	$250 Last Chance Showdown NLHE	12,000	Event Center

_{*Visit msptpoker.com for a complete listing of rake and staff fees.}