Day 1 of Event #45: $1,500 Ante Only tournament has come to an end. After 939 entered last year’s inaugural Ante Only tournament, 678 players started the this year, generating a prize pool of $915,300. There would be 72 players to enjoy those riches with each guaranteed $2,581. Only one player could win the top prize and the gold bracelet. That top prize equated to $201,399.
In this very interesting format players were given a starting stack of 4,500 in chips. There were no blinds but only antes. Each player started the day having to ante 25 chips each. By the end of the day they were anteing 400 each. This created a lot of action and many multi-way pots. Some people could not handle or figure out the structure but others handled it as a way to dominate their competition.
One player to have no troubles with this Ante Only format was the chip leader Chris Moorman. He found every opportunity to gain many chips from his opponents. At the end of the day he took his starting stack of 4,500 and turned it into a monster stack of 143,900. His next closet competitor Sam Panzica had 118,000. Other notables who stayed on top of the counts were Aaron Massey (99,200), Gabriel Nassif (89,500), Allen Cunningham (83,400), and David Vamplew (78,000).
Many players had troubles figuring out the ebbs and flows of the ante structure. Those that did not make it to day 2 were Jennifer Tilly, Phil Hellmuth, Rex Clinkscales, Vince Van Patten, Jake Schwartz, Brent Hanks, and defending champion Greg Hobson. Hobson was eliminated early when he got his flush draw in three ways but did not catch.
An interesting scenario occurred in the last ten minutes of play. The staff told the dealers to deal three more hands and then bag up for the night. The tournament only needed to eliminate five players to reach the bubble at that time. Within three hands four players were eliminated and the bubble was upon the event. The staff decided to play through the bubble and went hand for hand. Robert Tepper assumed after losing set over set that he was the bubble boy. But after calculating the chips the tournament discovered Tepper had actually been the 72nd place finisher. That meant he got to receive $2,581.
The other 71 players will come back tomorrow at 1:00 pm PST. All the players have reached the money. They will play 10 levels or until a final table has been reached. Stay tuned to PokerNews to find out which players will make the final table in this second installment of the Ante Only Event.
Bryan "The Icon" Micon is Trying to Avoid Being the Ante-Only Bubble Boy
With the bubble looming, and players forced to ante up on every deal, the shorter stacks in the room have started to sweat.
Byran "The Icon" Micon, on the other hand, just played things cool.
After dwindling down to around 12,000 during the last level, Micon remained patient and waited for his spot. When he woke up with , his last chips went into the middle, and with a full house by the turn "The Icon" secured a desperately needed double.
After calling an opening raise of 600, Allen Cunningham took a flop of against two opponents. One player led out for 1,600, Cunningham flatted in position, and the third player got out of the way.
On the turn, Cunningham's opponent slowed down with a check, and the five-time bracelet winner took the pot down with his own 1,600 wager.
David Williams Did Not Like the Bad River on a Recent Hand
David Williams was seen sending a portion of his stack across the table, and while we missed his hand, it was evident that a bad beat had just occurred.
Williams' opponent had the tabled, with a board of telling the tale. The all-player had risked his last 5,900 at some point in the hand, and when the river spiked his set, he earned a doublet through one of poker's brightest stars.
***Update*** With the assistance of Twitter, we've discovered that Williams was holding the when the rivered set sabotaged his stack. We'll let Williams recap the action though.
On the flop, Clinkscales and four players checked, but a bet of 400 from the fifth player cleared the field. With the action back on him, Clinkscales flatted to take the on the turn.
After tapping the table for a second time, Clinkscales called a bet of 700, and the completed the board on the river.
Clinkscales checked once more, and his opponent continued with a bet of 1,300. After a brief tank, Clinkscales looked the player up, but quickly mucked his hand when he saw the for a rivered two pair.
Phil Hellmuth (Seen Here in an Earlier Event) Will Not Be Notching His Historic 100th Cash Here Today
The ante-only tournament was a short affair for Phil Hellmuth, after he was moved to a table featuring fellow poker pros Humberto Brenes and David Williams.
We overheard Brenes offering his friend a few words of encouragement when he took his seat, but despite the well wishes, Hellmuth was soon sent to the rail.
"Tranquilo, tranquilo," whispered Brenes, using his native tongue to tell Hellmuth to calm down.
The "Poker Brat" wrapped his arms around Brenes in a bear hug, obviously glad to have found a friend among the masses here in the Brasilia Room, but he was unable to heed "The Shark's" warning.
Just a few hands after arriving, Hellmuth saw Brenes open for 325, and he flatted in position. Williams, however, decided to apply the pressure, and he went for the squeeze play with a three-bet to 1,525.
Brenes got out of the way, but Hellmuth quickly heaped his handful of a stack forward, and Williams called just as quickly.
Showdown
Hellmuth:
Williams:
Hellmuth was crushed with his ducks, and Williams' jacks held through the board, sending Hellmuth off in the perpetual search for his historic 100th WSOP cash.
Justin Young and the 'Stache Have Been Stacked Here on Day 1
We saw Justin Young and his incredible mustache move all in with the flop showing , but when he was called down he announced simply "ten-high." Young's was a drawing hand, and he needed help on subsequent streets to survive.
His opponent tabled the , and when the turn () and river () failed to provide Young with a straight, he was showered just before the second break of the day.
Today, Desilva has been weaving his way through the minefield known as Day 1, and just as he did in the "Millionaire Maker," the young tournament grinder has managed to build a big stack early on.
Desilva currently sits on about 22,000 in chips, which is good for five times the starting stack, and judging by his past performance here at the WSOP he will continue to be a dangerous opponent as his stack grows.
![[user217354]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
, his last chips went into the middle, and with a full house by the turn "The Icon" secured a desperately needed double.
flop, and both Levy and the bettor checked the 
on the turn.
completed the board on the river, both players tapped the table once again.
. His top pair proved to be the winner, and Levy moved his stack over the 20,000 mark with the win.
against two opponents. One player led out for 1,600, Cunningham flatted in position, and the third player got out of the way.
turn, Cunningham's opponent slowed down with a check, and the five-time bracelet winner took the pot down with his own 1,600 wager.
tabled, with a board of 
telling the tale. The all-player had risked his last 5,900 at some point in the hand, and when the river spiked his set, he earned a doublet through one of poker's brightest stars.
completed the board on the river.
for a rivered two pair.
was a drawing hand, and he needed help on subsequent streets to survive.
) and river (
