WPT Jacksonville bestbet Open Day 1b: Manuel Rafanan Takes Huge Lead Into Day 2
The 2014 World Poker Tour Jacksonville bestbet Open continued on Saturday with 147 players competing on the second Day 1 flight, bringing the total number of entrants to 248. After 10 levels of action, Manuel Rafanan bagged a massive stack of 272,100, taking the overall lead from Day 1a chip leader Lazaro Hernandez. Ratanan will lead the 101 players returning on Day 2, all of whom will be competing for the $206,041 top prize and a spot on the the WPT Champions Cup Trophy.
WPT Jacksonville bestbet Open Day 1b Leaders
| Rank | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manuel Rafanan | 272,100 |
| 2 | Ali Alawadhi | 182,400 |
| 3 | Bryan Irish-Jones | 182,400 |
| 4 | Raymond Morgan | 160,700 |
| 5 | William Oneal | 157,400 |
| 6 | Kevin Choe | 145,200 |
| 7 | Jared Jaffee | 134,400 |
| 8 | Stan Sinclair | 120,900 |
| 9 | Amanda Musumeci | 115,200 |
| 10 | Millard Hale | 113,900 |
Rafanan had a comfortable lead at the end of the night, but Ali Alawadhi made up some ground after winning a big pot against WPT Champions Club member Mohsin Charania. According to the WPT Live Updates, a player raised to 2,200 from early position and three players called, including Alawadhi (middle position) and Charania (button). All four players checked the 9♣5♠4♠ flop, bringing the 7♦ on the turn. The player in the small blind led out for 5,400, forcing a fold from the original raiser, and Alawadhi called. Charania then fired a raise worth 19,000, and only Alawadhi called. The river was the A♠ and Charania bet 25,000. Alawadhi called instantly and tabled 10♠8♠ for a flush, and Charania mucked. That boosted Alawadhi to 157,000, and he finished the day with 182,400. Charania also advanced to Day 2 with 49,800.
Former WPT Ones To Watch member Amanda Musumeci was at risk of elimination during Level 8, but she was able to double up before finishing the day as one of the leaders. A player raised to 4,000 from middle position and Musumeci three-bet to 11,000 from the big blind. Her opponent called and the dealer rolled out a K♣5♦2♦ flop. Both players checked and watched the Q♠ fall on the turn. Musumeci placed out a small bet, which was met with a raise to 10,000 from her opponent. She then moved all in for a small amount more, and the other player called.
Musumeci: K♠K♥
Opponent: A♣Q♥
Musumeci had her opponent drawing dead before the 4♥ hit the river, and she doubled up to 56,200. She ended the day with 115,000 after engaging in some battles with Scotty Nguyen late in the night. You can find a recap of those hands on Musumeci's Twitter page.
Other notables advancing to Day 2 were Micah Raskin (93,100), Mukul Pahuja (71,600), and Byron Kaverman, (50,300), as well as Champions Club members Mike Linster (99,300), Jordan Cristos (84,400), and the aforementioned Nguyen (52,900).
Several well-known pros weren't as fortunate. Among those eliminated on Day 1b were Harrison Gimbel, Justin Zaki, Scott Montgomery, Lily Kiletto and Matt Waxman.
Day 2 kicks off at noon EST on Sunday. Be sure to check back to PokerNews after play is completed for a recap of the day's highlights.
Photo and data courtesy of the WPT Live Blog
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