With 
on the board, Kevin Meyers bet 2,000, Ryan Garcia shoved, and Meyers called.
Ryan Garcia: 
Kevin Meyers: 
The 
hit on the river, and the boxing champion Garcia was ousted on Day 1b.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
94,000
39,000
|
39,000 |
|
Busted |
The MSPT United States Poker Championship hits the home stretch this weekend, with the $1,110 Main Event taking center stage. The series schedule includes 11 events, however, with the bulk of the schedule playing out earlier this week at Sycuan Casino.
Event #6: $250 Turbo SuperStack, played out on Monday, Sept. 20. Dealer Allan Culla, who regularly works on MSPT stops, took down the tournament.
One of the bigger pots of Day 1b developed on Level 8, and William Carlton now sits on 120,000 chips in the aftermath.
The turn action pushed the pot to just under 80,000. With the board reading 
, an early position player bet 17,500, and Carlton called from the cutoff.
The river brought the 
, the early position player shoved, and Carlton called off his remaining 21,600. Carlton's 
was good, sending the six-figure pot his way.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
120,000
120,000
|
120,000 |
Rip Fritzer opened to 3,500 in the hijack, Aaron Knapp three-bet to 13,000 from the small blind, and Fritzer called.
Knapp continued for 6,500 on the 
flop, and Fritzer called.
Knapp bet 26,500 on the 
turn, and Fritzer shoved over the top for 110,000. After some time, Knapp folded.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
177,000
95,000
|
95,000 |
|
52,000
20,000
|
20,000 |
Perhaps the craziest hand of the tournament so far unfolded on Level 12, with Anthony Carlton reaping the benefits.
Carlton and three opponents got all-in preflop, with Carlton holding 
. The board ran out 
, and Carlton managed to get the best of 
, 
, and 
.
The big pot left Carlton with plenty of chips to play with, as he now owns a 133,000 stack.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
133,000
133,000
|
133,000 |
Two starting flights are now complete, with one more still left to play at the MSPT Sycuan Casino Main Event. The $1,110 buy-in tournament continued with Day 1b on Friday, as 153 entries came through the Sycuan Casino Event Center in San Diego, CA.
The pinnacle event of the MSPT United States Poker Championship saw the Day 1b field trimmed from 153 to 19 players by night's end.
At the end of play, Chris Smith (450,000) emerged with the biggest Day 1b stack. Smith already won the $360 Regional NLHE earlier in this series, and looks to follow that up with a deep run in the Main Event.
Other players bagging large after Friday's flight included Aaron Knapp (440,000), Adam Lamphere (313,000), and Huy Nguyen (270,000)
More notable names still in contention for a championship include Shaun Davis (226,000), Mike Rosado (263,000), and Matt Kirby (168,000)
The 19 players that survived Day 1b will join the 12 players that emerged from Day 1a, along with all players making it through Saturday's Day 1c flight. The Day 1 contenders will reconvene as a combined field for Day 2 on Sunday, and play down to a champion.
Some of the players not making it through Day 1b included Andrew Moreno, Johnnie Moreno, Joe Serock, Nick Pupillo, and former MSPT Main Event champion Nicholas Smith. All of those players can enter Day 1c on Saturday, however.
With $300,000 in guaranteed prize money on the line, the eventual winner of the Main Event stands to go home with a sizeable payday.
Saturday's Day 1c flight will likely draw the biggest attendance of any opening-day flight in the Main Event, so stay tuned to the PokerNews live blog. Day 1c begins Saturday at 3 p.m.
