Day 1B is now in the books as 169 players move on to Day 2 of the Main Event here as a global flavour, the return of past champions and the arrival of no less than the big boss himself highlights the day’s headlines here in the World Poker Tour (WPT) Sanya.
Adam Pliska, WPT’s President and CEO joined Tournament Director Justin Hammer and Ourgame Chairman Eric Yang in ushering in the action with 459 participants joining the fray.
Solid day for Daniel Weinman and Sam Panzica
In an event that has drawn mostly online qualifiers from China, two American WPT titlists dove into the fray and brandished their brand of poker for all of Sanya to see.
Daniel Weinman and Sam Panzica are making their first appearances in the WPT Asian scene and have inched their way closer to the finish line as they withstood the onslaught from the predominantly Chinese field.
Weiman, the reigning WPT Tournament of Champions title holder, side stepped a few land mines and an immigration issue in Hong Kong to arrive just as the hostilities got underway. He is presently clinging on to one of the short stacks heading into Day 2.
Panzica managed to match the firepower of his would be opponents en route to a decent stack and may have enough artillery left in his arsenal to wreak havoc tomorrow.
More: Daniel Weinman and Sam Panzica: their WPT Asian journey
No luck for the French connection
French duo Benjamin Gonzva (the winner of the inaugural WPT Cambodia) and Vincent Chauve (second place in WPT Thailand) were early casualties as the pair now based in Thailand were overpowered and outmanoeuvred by the rest of their foes.
Half success for Team J88Poker
Korean grinder Justin Shin of Team J88 Poker (a fixture in the Manila and Macau tourney circuit) did his best to compete but was eventually waylaid and now have to move on to the next adventure. But all was not lost for J88 Poker as Chinese stunner Jin Tian lived to fight another day and will continue to chronicle her struggle in her personal blog that has turned out to be a raders’ choice among the gentlemen here.
Former Champion Eddy Liang and reigning champion Chen Hao finish strong
But reigning champion Chen Hao and 2014 king Eddy Liang also made it through and will have huge targets on their backs heading into Day 2. They’ve been on top before an in the case of Liang, he will battle to be the first champion to defend his crown.
However, the chip lead belongs to Li Dao Fen with 236,500 followed by Hong Kong shark Vincent Li who brings a massive 232,500 into Day 2 as a 169 total of runners are still in contention for this year’s championship.
Day 2 commences tomorrow (November 18th) still at 12:00NN at Level 11 (blinds will be at 600/1200/200).
This is somuchpoker’s continuing coverage of the WPT Sanya as we will follow the action until the coronation of the winner on Tuesday (November 21st).
Everything you should know about the second day competion in video
More: WPT Sanya Day 1B – Live Updates
Good night from Hainan, China!
Article by Noel Zarate
Louis Hartwell
Graduated in Media Communication at the University of Lausanne, Louis Hartman is a co-founder of somuchpoker.com. He began his career in Cambodia as freelance journalist. In same time he was making his living by playing poker every night at that time. Intense learner, he read dozens of poker strategy books to improve his skills during many years. With a strong interest about poker "behind the scene" in Asia and his communication skills, Louis launched Somuchpoker in 2014.
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