Pyzara and Urbanovich Bag Big on Day 1 of the Tag Team Event
A total of 2,746 players opted in to Event #65: $1,000 Tag Team No-Limit Hold'em at Horseshoe and Paris, Las Vegas,. Those players made up 1,373 teams of two, all with their eyes on two coveted World Series of Poker bracelets, one for each teammate. That’s not all, however, as a staggering $184,780 will be heading in the winning duo’s direction. This amount is only the top score from a $1,208,240 prize pool. At day’s end, there are only 276 teams in with a shot of taking down the six-figure score, and of those, only 206 will cash as the bubble is set to burst shortly into Day 2.
There are some strict rules and regulations that players have had to follow over the course of the day to ensure no foul play occurs. Inactive players must be outside of the rail, in the spectator’s area, and are not allowed to offer any help to their teammates.
Furthermore, a swap can only take place between hands, not during, and each player was obliged to have played at least one orbit before the end of late registration. A one-round penalty will be instantly handed out if a player is caught showing a card to their partner or telling them what they have.
Day 1 Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Team | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Louis Seguin - Hugo Blacher | France | 436,000 | 174 |
| 2 | Mimi Roeder - Karim Tannous | United States | 336,000 | 134 |
| 3 | Behnam Ghane - Mohammad Pourmandi | United States | 322,000 | 128 |
| 4 | Alexander Farahi - Alexander Massman | United States | 300,500 | 120 |
| 5 | Henry Liang - Benny Chen | United States | 292,500 | 117 |
| 6 | Carson Richards - Matthew Richards | United States | 285,500 | 114 |
| 7 | John Ciccarelli - Hunter Cole | United States | 281,500 | 112 |
| 8 | Kacper Pyzara - Dzmitry Urbanovich | Poland | 279,000 | 111 |
| 9 | Richard Curren - Cathy Schenone | United States | 275,500 | 110 |
| 10 | Benjamin Jacobs - Darin Utley | United States | 261,000 | 104 |
Louis Seguin and Hugo Blacher find themselves atop the leaderboard at the end of the first day, as they racked up a monumental 480,000 chips, good for 240 big blinds, and will be looking to exert big-stack pressure on their return to the cardroom. Mimi Roeder and Karim Tannous come in not too far behind (436,000), with Benham Ghane and Mohammad Pourmandi rounding out the podium (336,000).
The talented duo of Kacper Pyzara - Dzmitry Urbanovich finished with a 279,000 stack, good for 111 big blinds at the start of Day 2. This Polish team has around $8.5 million in combined live poker tournament earnings, yet neither has yet won a bracelet.
Some big names have made it through, also, with Jared Jaffee and father Milton Jaffee (78,500) on the run of a lifetime, Christine Brewer and Orson Young (24,000) as well as Cody Daniels and high-stakes cash player Alan Keating (178,000) bagging up at the end of the night. Also, the only three-player team in the tournament, led by Marle Spragg and Gary Cordeiro has also proceeded (113,000).
That being said, plenty of formidable teams headed home extremely early on, with three Main Event winners sent packing on Day 1. 1983 Champion Tom McEvoy, along with teammate Keith Burt were gone by Level 3, and a team comprised of two victors, Jonathan Tamayo and Ryan Riess, didn’t last much longer, as they bowed out in Level 4. Tiktok star Bryce Hall and teammate Sam Soverel weren’t able to progress either.
Teams will certainly be adapting their strategies coming into the second day, as they are tasked with deciding who plays when, and how to best deal with being overworked, as the tournament has no set breaks in the schedule. Day 2 is when the connection between players really starts to get tested, and only the strongest bonds, as well as the sun runners, will pass.
Players will return in just under 12 hours, at 11:00 a.m. local time, to the Horseshoe Events Center Bronze and Gold sections. Blinds will begin at 1,000/2,500 with a 2,500 big blind ante, with the day starting at Level 12.
Stay tuned as PokerNews offers all of the action and more throughout the entirety of Day 2, beginning with the shuffle up, and not ending until play does so.