With the conclusion of Day 1A we have our first nine players to emerge victorious from the fires of the tournament crucible:

1. Haifeng Xue (China) – 262,500
2. Wen Lin Wang (China) – 171,500
3. Brice Renaud (France) – 159,000
4. Chun Jui Lin (Canada) – 110,500
5. Jacky Mok (Hong Kong) – 71,500
6. Jing Yi Zhu (Australia) – 70,500
7. Che Kung Lam (Hong Kong) – 64,500
8. Gerald Wong (Hong Kong) – 64,000
9. Jason Hoang (Canada) – 59,000

Day 1B kicks off at 2:10pm tomorrow so make sure you tune in for more live updates, until then, as Porky Pig would say “That’s all folks!”

After looking down to see A♠ Q♣ David Lo moves all-in from early position prompting folds from all but Wang Wei Lin in the big blind. Lin thinks for all of a second before calling and tabling Pocket Queens.

The 9♣ 7♦ 8♣ leaves Lo drawing to the ultra-slim possibility of a chop should the next two cards fall perfectly for him. Failing that he’ll need one of the deck’s three remaining Aces to keep his hopes of a seat in Day 2 alive. The 3♦ on the turn changes nothing, and Lo waits with baited breath as the dealer burns and turns the river… which is the 10♥.

Pop! The bubble has burst meaning the nine remaining players have now made themselves at least HK$8,000 for their seven hours of hard work. Unfortunately for David Lo, he will not be one of them, and will instead be experiencing the lows of tournament poker as oppose to than the highs.

The bubble continues and Wenlin Wang earns himself a timely double-up courtesy of CJ Lin who raises to 17,000 from the hi-jack. Wang shoves for his last 20,000 from the button and for just 3,000 more Lin is priced in to call.

Wenlin Wang: A♣ 10♦
CJ Lin: A♠ 9♦

It’s all over pretty much as soon as soon as the first three cards hit the felt, the Q♥ J♣ K♠ giving Wang the nut straight, though CJ is still drawing to a chop with one of the three remaining Tens. The 4♣ turn and 7♥ river guarantee Wang will double-though, boosting him back up to around 50,000.

With just 10 players remaining we are now on the bubble folks. Tournament director Danny McDonagh points out that players still have 6 more chances to make it though to Day 2, though none of the remaining players look like they’ll be cutting each other a break.

Andrew Marks

With the elimination of Andrew Marks and Bo Wu in back-to-back hands, the latter running his A♦ 8♠ into the A♣ J♣ of Jackie Mok, who promptly flops the nut flush on the 2♣ 3♣ 6♣ board, players are inching closer and closer to the money spots. Tournament director has called the clock on several players already in attempt to stop people stalling their way into a cash, stating “Players don’t waste time, I will be checking your cards!”

Despite doubling-up after turning a straight holding 5♣ 6♣, Tai Ho Yin bust the very next hand, his Pocket Fours losing a race to the Ace Ten of Haifeng Xue, who has shot into the chip lead with a stack of 160,000.

Jacky Mok

As the money bubble approaches Gerald Wong and Jacky Mok are swapping chips with each other at an alarming pace. After the action is checked around to Mok in the hi-jack he moves all-in only to see Wong snap call from the button for his last 35,000.

Jacky Mok: K♠ J♥
Gerald Wong: A♠ K♦

Wong had Mok dominated, but then he is the one whose tournament life is on the line. The A♥ 7♥ Q♦ flop keeps Wong in front, but the 4♥ turn is a sweaty one for him, giving Mok flush outs heading into the river. Fortunately for Wong the A♣ is the perfect card, bringing his stack up to around 75,000 and leaving Mok with a stack of around 20,000.

This finds it’s way into the middle just a few hands later when Wong looks down to find A♠ 10♥ and raises Mok’s big blind. Mok however, wakes up with Pocket Queens, which hold to bring him a much needed double-up.

The field is beginning to shrink rapidly and we are left with just 15 players vying for the 9 money spots. One player who won’t be returning on Day 2 unless he has better luck later in the week is Yung Sen Lin who has just run his A♥ 3♠ smack bang into the Pocket Queens of Wenlin Wang. No miracle Ace is forthcoming and Lin is sent packing.

Former chip leader Brice Renaud is also doing his bit to shrink the field, his Pocket Fours enough to eliminate another player in a blind on blind battle when the Big Blind calls his shove with Q? J? and misses the board completely.