APT Macau Day 1b: Heavy Turnout Swells Field to 257
One hundred and fifty-four players joined the field for Day 1b of Asian Poker Tour Macau play, bringing the total number of entrants to 257 for the event at the Galaxy StarWorld Hotel and Casino. Among the entrants were John Juanda, J.J. Liu, Mike "timex" McDonald, Huck Seed and Tony Dunst, who made a late charge up the leader board to finish the day near the chip lead.
Mel Judah was the most recognizable face in a crowd of Australian players who ventured to Macau for the event. Joining Judah in the Aussie contingent were Celina Lin, Grant Levy, Julian Powell and Michael Pedley.
Terrence "Not Johnny" Chan was one of the early bustouts, heading to the rail early after running into the bulldozer that was Julian Powell. Powell was running good early on Day 1b, and he and Chan got all the chips in the middle on a board of 4♣6♣A♦9♦5♣. Chan tabled 10♣9♣ for the flush, but Powell's Q♣J♣ gave him a higher flush and sent him to the rail. Other early eliminations included Huck Seed, Celina Lin and John Juanda.
While Julian Powell dominated the field in the early going, after the dinner break it was all Grant Levy's show. In quick succession, Levy took down one small pot with a flopped set, then check-raised Kenny Tran off a pot when his A♦Q♠ hit the flop hard on a board of A♣Q♣5♦. Tran fired at the pot with the A♥ as one of his cards, but folded to Levy's check-raise. Levy took a big hit late in the day, but finished Day 1b near the top ten chip stacks.
Michael Pedley was another late mover, picking up a lot of chips at the expense of Joel "StrongPlay" Dodds. Pedley raised preflop with pocket jacks, and called Dodds' re-raise to see a flop of 3♥9♠10♠. Dodds led out at the flop, and Pedley moved all in. Dodds quickly called with K♥K♠, and Pedley was in trouble. The 4♥ turn helped neither player, but the J♣ river was the two-outer Pedley needed, and Dodds was eliminated.
Tony Dunst took over the title of bulldozer late in the evening, eliminating several players on his way to a top-five finish to the day. After sending several players to the rail after the dinner break, Dunst claimed another scalp when his pocket tens held up against the A♦K♦ of another unfortunate opponent. Other notable players surviving Day 1b included Mel Judah, Julian Powell and J.J. Liu, who moved close to the top of the leader board when she eliminated Mike "timex" McDonald near the end of play. On a flop of 2♣Q♠3♠, Liu called McDonald's all-in with A♣Q♥. McDonald was left looking for help for his A♥K♥. The 9♣ on the turn was irrelevant, and the Q♦ on the river gave Liu trips as McDonald headed to the rail.
46 players survived Day 1b, with preliminary counts having the top ten chip stacks as follows:
Ryan Gentry 86,000
Masaki Ichikawa 75,000
Tony Dunst 63,000
JJ Liu 55,000
Michael Bonzon 53,000
William Te Jr 53,000
Michael Pedley 52,000
Markus Mansour 48,000
Michele Ferrari 48,000
Tyrone Kerrigan 44,000
The final 69 survivors of the Day 1a and 1b starting groups will return tomorrow at noon local time as they make their way to the final table and the APT Macau Championship.
