Day 1B of the World Poker Tour (WPT) Prague Main Event was almost twice as big as Day 1A, but that’s not saying much as far as major international poker tournaments are concerned. Day 1A saw just 40 players take their seats; the 73 that paid to play Monday were quite the step up on a percentage basis. 43 advanced to Day 2, led by Jason Duval with 152,300 chips.
Duval’s live tournament resume is short, but that has a lot to do with his efforts at earning a degree in business. He has achieved some very nice success in a short time, though. This summer, he won one of the $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em events at the World Series of Poker, earning over half a million dollars. He cashed three other times at the 2013 WSOP including one other final table. On the World Poker Tour, Duval has one cash: a third place finish in the PartyPoker WPT Canadian Spring Championship, good for almost $200,000.
After Duval, just two other players – Khazket Nebezhev and Mark Dalimore – have over 100,000 chips. The chip counts decrease gradually throughout the rest of the top nine, down to the 79,400 held by Sylvain Loosli. After Loosli, though, there is a steep drop-off to Tobias Peters, who had 66,200 chips.
Duval’s most important hand of the day occurred just before the dinner break. He bet 1,100 pre-flop only to be raised by Ilan Boujenah to 2,900. Duval called and the two saw a flop of A♥-9♠-7♠. Boujenah bet 2,500 and Duval made the call. Boujenah bet 4,650 on the turn 5♥; Duval again called. The K♥ on the river prompted a 20,750 from Boujenah, which put Duval all in. Duval was all too happy to call, though, turning over 9♥-8♥ for the flush. Boujenah revealed that he had pocket Tens. That hand doubled Duval up to 70,000, essentially the start of his run to the top.
Day 1C is expected to be the largest of the three starting flights. It has a couple things going for it in that regard. The last of any set of Day 1’s is typically the most popular, as players want to minimize the wait between Day 1 and Day 2, should they advance. It is not only often easier mentally (they don’t have sit around and be anxious for a day or two), but it also helps players save money on hotel rooms. Additionally, this is a re-entry event; anyone who busted on either or both of the first two starting flights can put down another buy-in and try again on Day 1C. This will naturally make the field larger than it might have otherwise been.
2013 World Poker Tour Prague Main Event – Day 1B Chip Leaders
1. Jason Duval – 152,300
2. Khazket Nebezhev – 142,300
3. Mark Dalimore – 119,900
4. Stjepan Jokic – 92,900
5. Roger Hairabedian – 92,500
6. Marvin Rettenmaier – 89,600
7. Kevin MacPhee – 83,800
8. Will Failla – 83,400
9. Sylvain Loosli – 79,400
10. Tobias Peters – 66,200
