$3,250 High Roller Day 1 | 2020 World Series of Poker Circuit Thunder Valley

01-17-2020 02:24 UTC-7

Dapo Ajayi Leads the Day 1a Field in the WSOP Circuit Thunder Valley $3,250 High Roller

GeoffFisk

Level 12 : 800/1,600, 1,600 ante

The first day is a wrap in the WSOP Circuit Thunder Valley $3,250 High Roller, and at the end of Day 1 it was Dapo Ajayi (197,000) bagging the chip lead.

Others near the top of the chip leader board include Qi Hu (174,000), Frank Azavedo (154,000), and Joshua Shaw (138,500).

A total of 43 entries registered for Day 1, with 20 players bagging at the end of play. Late registration and re-entry will still be available up until the beginning of Day 2, with the restart commencing Friday at noon. Play will resume at Level 13, with the blinds at 1000/2000/2000.

The field played through 12 40-minute levels on Day 1, and that structure will continue through the rest of the tournament. This event will play down to a champion Friday, with the winner being crowned and the WSOP Circuit ring, along with the first-place prize money, being awarded.

Other players bagging on Day 1 included Noel Rodriguez (120,000) and JC Tran (117,500).

Some of the players sent to the rail on the first day included Tony Dunst, Glenn Miller, Andrew Ostapchenko, Tim McDermott and Josh Prager. Dunst re-entered late in the day, and finished the night at 106,500 chips.

Follow along with the PokerNews live reporting team as the tournament resumes, and a champion is determined Friday.

Tags: Andrew Ostapchenko Glenn Miller Josh Prager Tony Dunst JC Tran Dapo Ajayi Joshua Shaw Noel Rodriguez Tim McDermott

01-16-2020 23:40 UTC-7

Steinman KOs Ostapchenko

GeoffFisk

Level 9 : 400/800, 800 ante

Andrew Ostapchenko, from under the gun, and Ian Steinman, in the small blind, got all of the chips in preflop, with Steinman having Ostapchenko covered.

Andrew Ostapchenko:
Ian Steinman:

Board:

No help came for Ostapchenko on the runout, and Steinman collected his opponent's 8,000 stack.

Player	Chips	Progress
Ian Steinman	34,000	9,000
Andrew Ostapchenko	Busted

01-16-2020 22:51 UTC-7

Kuether Makes Correct Call

GeoffFisk

Level 8 : 300/600, 600 ante

Ben Underwood opened to 1,300 from the cutoff, and all three players behind called.

Action checked to Underwood on the flop, Underwood bet 1,300, and Joe Kuether called on the button. Bryan Piccioli and Evan Price folded from the blinds.

Underwood and Kuether went heads up to the turn, with Underwood betting 6,000 and getting the call.

The river came , Underwood bet 15,000, and Kuether went deep into the tank. Kuether shot a few looks to Underwood's direction, and after several minutes made the call.

That call was the right one. as Kuether's was the winner, with his top pair besting Underwood's bluff attempt with .

Player	Chips	Progress
Joe Kuether	83,000	20,000
Ben Underwood	40,000	-2,000

Tags: Ben Underwood Bryan Piccioli Evan Price Joe Kuether

01-16-2020 21:16 UTC-7

Ante Up World Champion Josh Prager Ships First Circuit Ring at Thunder Valley

Chad Holloway

Level 6 : 200/400, 400 ante

PokerNews is in town to live report both the $3,250 High Roller and $1,700 Main Event here at the World Series of Poker Circuit Thunder Valley, but that is just one of the gold ring events that will have played out by the end of the series.

In Event #6: $400 NLH 6-Handed (One Day), 129 runners created a $42,570 prize pool that was paid out to the top 20 players. Among those to cash were Survivor alum Shirin Oskooi (19th - $595), Adam Dunkle (15th - $698), David Valdez (13th - $698), Jimmy Wester (7th - $1,351), and Alan Mulleady (3rd - $4,819).

In the end, Thunder Valley regular Josh Prager, a 46-year-old poker pro from Oakland, beat Eyyal Altar in heads-up play to win a $11,440 top prize and his first gold ring.

“I don’t know how I won, honestly. At one point I had 15,000 chips and ended up with 1.9 million. I am not really sure what my opponents were doing, I was not playing that well”, said Prager. “The times you have success you don’t deserve it, and the times fail you don’t deserve that either. Over a decade you got what you deserve, but I am happy I won today.”

You might recall that Prager had quite a bit of success last year. First, he won the LAPC One Million for $227,775 in February and then in late July came to Thunder Valley and took down the $1,650 Ante Up World Championship Main Event for $116,434.

As a result, he was a featured guest on the LFG Podcast, which you can listen to here.

Final Table Results

Place	Player	Hometown	Prize
1	Josh Prager	Yuba City, California	$11,440
2	Eyyal Altar	Sherman Oaks, California	$7,069
3	Alan Mulleady	Meridian, Idaho	$4,819
4	Rafael Gonzalez	Modesto, California	$3,370
5	Jerome Williams	Lodi, California	$2,419
6	James Thompson	Parker, Colorado	$1,783
7	Jimmy Wester	Fairfield, California	$1,351
8	Bryan Sharp	Tucson, Arizona	$1,351
9	David Mann	Fresno, California	$1,053

Tags: Josh Prager

01-16-2020 21:02 UTC-7

McDermott Shoves on Hu

Chad Holloway

Level 6 : 200/400, 400 ante

Qi Hu raised to 800 under the gun and Ray Villaman called from the button. Tim McDermott then three-bet to 4,000 from the big blind and Hu responded with a four-bet to 10,000. Villaman thought for about a minute before folding and McDermott called.

The flop saw both players check and the dealer burned and turned the .

McDermott paused for a few beats before moving all in for 24,700 and Hu ditched his hand.

Player	Chips	Progress
Qi Hu	60,000	-11,000
Tim McDermott	45,000	10,000

Tags: Qi Hu Tim McDermott

01-16-2020 20:21 UTC-7

Jimmy Wester Victorious in Event #4: $400 NLH Double Stack

Chad Holloway

Level 5 : 200/300, 300 ante

PokerNews is in town to live report both the $3,250 High Roller and $1,700 Main Event here at the World Series of Poker Circuit Thunder Valley, but that is just one of the gold ring events that will have played out by the end of the series.

For instance, Event #4: $400 NLH Double Stack was a one-day tournament featuring 20-minute levels. It attracted 125 runners, which offered up a $41,250 prize pool, and the top 19 got paid including Gerald Watts (16th - $610), Ryan Awwad (13th - $684), Jason Tang (8th - $1,156), Sam Cosby (5th - $2,520), and Marcus Laffen (3rd - $4,832).

In the end, Jimmy Wester bested Bruce Powell in heads-up play to win the title for $11,241 and his first gold ring.

“It feels great to get the win, I am happy it is over,” said Webster, who played three hours at the final table and ten overall. “There were a lot of good players at the final table, so I am happy to be able to win. I also came in fairly short and was one of the short stacks for a long time, but won a few pots here and there, grinding it out and managed to pull it off.”

Final Table Results

Place	Player	Hometown	Prize
1	Jimmy Wester	Fairfield, California	$11,241
2	Bruce Powell	Tracy, California	$6,945
3	Marcus Laffen	Cupertino, California	$4,832
4	Cory Cook	Bay Point, California	$3,445
5	Sam Cosby	Portland, Oregon	$2,520
6	Anthony Bloesch	Walnut Creek, California	$1,892
7	Salas Alam	Hayward, California	$1,459
8	Jason Tang	El Cajon, California	$1,156
9	Benjamin Heinrichs	Chico, California	$943

Tags: Jimmy Wester

01-16-2020 20:06 UTC-7

Stamm's Queens Take Down Miller's Jacks

GeoffFisk

Level 4 : 100/200, 200 ante

Glenn Miller opened to 500 from hijack, David Stamm three-bet to 1,500 from the cutoff, and Miller called.

Miller check-called bets for 1,600 on the flop, and 6,000 on the turn.

Both players checked the river, and Stamm showed to the best of Miller's .

Player	Chips	Progress
David Stamm	48,000	8,000
Glenn Miller	11,000

01-16-2020 19:38 UTC-7

Hu Hauls in a Big One

GeoffFisk

Level 4 : 100/200, 200 ante

Details leading up to the river are unknown, Qi Hu just took down one of the bigger pots of Day 1 in a hand against Joshua Shaw.

With showing on the river, Hu bet 12,000 from middle position, and got a call from Shaw in the hijack. Shaw saw the bad news when Hu turned over , good for the nut flush and the win.

Player	Chips	Progress
Qi Hu	64,000	28,000
Joshua Shaw	26,000	-9,000

Tags: Joshua Shaw Qi Hu

01-16-2020 19:37 UTC-7

David Valdez Claims Second WSOPC Thunder Valley Gold Ring

Chad Holloway

Level 4 : 100/200, 200 ante

PokerNews is in town to live report both the $3,250 High Roller and $1,700 Main Event here at the World Series of Poker Circuit Thunder Valley, but that is just one of the gold ring events that will have played out by the end of the series.

In Event #3: $400 Pot-Limit Omaha, 67 runners created a $22,110 prize pool that was reserved for the top 11 finishers. Among those to go deep but fall shy of making the final table were Alfredo Girabaldi (11th - $432) and Willie Smith (10th - $532). At the final table, Jared Minghini (8th - $703), Anthony Trifiletti (5th - $1,469), and Chet Sickle (3rd - $2,918) all bowed out before the title came down to Brendon Thomson and David Valdez.

Eventually the latter prevailed to claim his second career WSOPC gold ring.

“It is sweet, it always feels good to win something. I kind of sucked out at the end there, but sometimes you need that,” he said after winning the tournament, which was originally scheduled for two days but played out in one. His previous ring came as Thunder Valley last year when he took down the $400 Monster Stack for $40,411.

“The money was a bit more the first time I won, but the feeling is still the same, it is always fun to win,” he added.

Final Table Results

Place	Player	Hometown	Prize
1	David Valdez	Vacaville, California	$7,021
2	Brendon Thomson	Sacramento, California	$4,339
3	Chet Sickle	Manteca, California	$2,918
4	Benjamin Primus	Center Moriches, New York	$2,033
5	Anthony Trifiletti	Livermore, California	$1,469
6	Russell Garrett	Redding, California	$1,104
7	Richard St. Peter	Susonville, California	$862
8	Jared Minghini	N/A	$703
9	Carlos Zapata	Chile	$597

Tags: David Valdez

01-16-2020 18:40 UTC-7

Jesse Lonis Captures Gold Ring with Wife By His Side

Chad Holloway

Level 3 : 100/200, 200 ante

PokerNews is in town to live report both the $3,250 High Roller and $1,700 Main Event here at the World Series of Poker Circuit Thunder Valley, but that is just one of the gold ring events that will have played out by the end of the series.

In Event #2: $400 NLH Knockout One-Day, 195 runners created a $44,850 prize pool that was paid out to the top 30 players. Among those to get a piece of it were Ken Jorgensen (21st - $475), Alon Eldar (20th - $475), Arish Nat (12th - $744), Tyler Koher (8th - $1,134), Rian Mullins (5th - $2,577), and Kelly Giannetti (3rd - $4,805).

In the end, 24-year-old Jesse Lonis of Little Falls, New York beat Patrick Testoni in heads-up play to win the title, $11,062 first-place prize, and his first gold ring.

“I have come close to winning a few times, but this is my first straight up victory, so it was nice to finally get the victory and a ring,” he said after the victory with his wife nearby. “The other players were great, but I started to feel very confident once we got down to four-handed because of my big chip lead that made able to put a lot of pressure on.”

Lonis, who plays poker for a living, added: “I am just doing the tournament grind and it is tough to win, but when you seal them it’s nice.”

Final Table Results

Place	Player	Hometown	Prize
1	Jesse Lonis	Medford, Oregon	$11,062
2	Patrick Testoni	Santa Cruz, California	$6,835
3	Kelly Giannetti	Davis, California	$4,805
4	James Mendoza	Glendale, California	$3,448
5	Rian Mullins	Evanston, Illinois	$2,577
6	Soutong Saeturn	N/A	$1,892
7	Benson Xu	N/A	$1,448
8	Tyler Koher	N/A	$1,134
9	Haixia Zhang	Los Gatos, California	$908

Tags: Jesse Lonis