Shaan Siddiqui raised to 25,000 from under the gun and Thomas Cemm moved all-in for 71,000 from the cutoff. Team partypoker Pro Kristen Bicknell was in the small blind and moved all-in for 320,000 and Siddiqui snap-called.
Thomas Cemm:
Kristen Bicknell:
Shaan Siddiqui:
Cemm was the first player at risk, with Bicknell next. Siddiqui had both players covered by a lot and held the best of it.
The board ran out and Cemm hit an ace on the river to stay alive, but Bicknell was unable to improve and headed to the rail.
Douglas Watson raised to 20,000 from the cutoff and Sam Chartier moved all-in for 111,000 from the small blind. Watson called.
Sam Chartier:
Douglas Watson:
The board ran out and Watson paired his seven on the river to send Chartier to the rail. With a pained look on his face, Chartier wished everyone luck and headed to the rail.
Douglas Watson opened to 16,000 from middle position and Thomas Lefort moved all-in for 129,000 from the hijack. Eric Aucoin was in the big blind and called for slightly less and Watson mucked
Eric Aucoin:
Lefort:
The flop came and Lefort paired his king. Aucoin needed to hit an ace, but the turn was the and the river was the , sending him to the rail.
Parker Talbot raised to 16,000 from the cutoff and Shaan Siddiqui defended his big blind.
The flop came and Siddiqui checked. Talbot paused for a moment and opted to check back. The turn was the and Siddiqui checked again. Talbot bet 27,000 and Siddiqui promptly check-raised to 65,000. Talbot called.
The river was the and both players checked. Siddiqui tabled for top set and Talbot mucked.
In the first hand after the two-table redraw, Jeff Cormier moved all-in for 72,000 from middle position and Kristen Bicknell moved in over the top from the cutoff.
Jeff Cormier:
Kristen Bicknell:
"Nice hand" said Cormier as he started to gather his things. The flop came and Bicknell flopped top set but Cormier still had outs with a gut-shot straight draw. The turn was the and the river was the , which was enough to send Cormier to the rail.
Pablo Mariz opened to 13,500 from the cutoff and called a three-bet jam of 99,000 from Francois Billard on the button.
Billard:
Mariz:
Mariz flopped huge as the dealer fanned out . Billard needed a jack and that's just what he got, improving to a full house when the landed on the turn.
The river was the and Billard raked in the pot, doubling to over 200,000.
David Ormsby moved all-in for 91,500 from under the gun and it was Eric Aucoin on the button that made the call.
Ormsby was at risk with live cards holding . Aucoin tabled and immediately made a pair of jacks as the dealer fanned a flop reading . The turn was the and Ormsby was left drawing dead to the on the river.
"I feel like a professional player" laughed Aucoin as he raked in the pot.
Jiachen Gong had lost most of his stack early in the day and was down to 10,500. He moved all-in from late position and Sam Chartier was in the big blind and said, "I would like to call" and tossed in some chips.
Gong was at risk with , well ahead of Chartier's . "I was very patience with my last two big blinds" he laughed.
Unfortunately for him, the flop came and Chartier paired his jack. "That's bad. It always comes when you say that" said Gong as he gathered his things. The turn was the and the river was the sending him to the rail.
Thomas Cemm will return for Day 2 as the chipleader of World Cup of Cards Event #19: $5k 8-max at Playground Poker Club. Cemm leads a field of 18 Day 1 survivors, most likely joined by some late arrivals early on Day 2.
Registration remains open until the start of Day 2 though anyone brave enough to fire a bullet at this stage will begin with just 20 big blinds in a field boasting the brightest local poker minds.
Cemm starts the day with 436,500. Holding a slight lead over popular Twitch streamer Parker 'Tonkaaaap' Talbot (424,000).
partypoker ambassador Kristen Bicknell (294,000), Jean Christophe Ferreira (285,000), and Gary Lucci (278,000) close out the top five stacks but talent such as Shaan Siddiqui (269,000), Thomas Lefort (261,000), Sam Chartier (239,500), David Ormsby (163,000), Pascal Lefrancois (125,000), and Francois Billard (86,500) linger in the background.
Day 2 will begin at Level 11 with a 2,500 small blind, 5,000 big blind, and an ante of 500. Play will continue until the latest WCC champion is crowned.
PokerNews will be here throughout the festival, bringing you all the news and updates. Follow @pokernews on Twitter for live updates and more. Also, follow PokerNews on Facebook and Instagram.
and Cemm hit an ace on the river to stay alive, but Bicknell was unable to improve and headed to the rail.
and Watson paired his seven on the river to send Chartier to the rail. With a pained look on his face, Chartier wished everyone luck and headed to the rail.
and the river was the 
and Siddiqui checked. Talbot paused for a moment and opted to check back. The turn was the 
and Siddiqui checked again. Talbot bet 27,000 and Siddiqui promptly check-raised to 65,000. Talbot called.
and both players checked. Siddiqui tabled 
for top set and Talbot mucked.
, which was enough to send Cormier to the rail.
landed on the turn.
and Ormsby was left drawing dead to the 
but found himself dominated by Ferreira's 
, well ahead of Chartier's 
and Chartier paired his jack. "That's bad. It always comes when you say that" said Gong as he gathered his things. The turn was the 
sending him to the rail.
