Cheong Dominates Day 1B of 2017 Suncity Cup Finale Macau
The second of the of 2017 Suncity Cup Finale Macau starting flights saw 13 players battle it out at the baize and while the format offers unlimited re-entry none of the contenders chose to fire additional bullets.
With 15 percent of the field making it through to Day 2, it took just eleven 40-minute levels to thin the field down to the final two, with Macau’s Sam Cheong powering into a late chip lead after handing Hong Kong’s Justin Chan a brutal beat to seize the lead and cripple Chan, all in one fell swoop.
The decisive hand saw Chan and Cheong get all the chips in pre-flop, and while Chan’s pocket queens were leading Cheong’s king-eight the Macanese player hit a straight when the board ran out 
to crush Chan’s hopes and dreams and give Cheong the chip lead.
It was all over the next hand with Chan getting his last 3.5 big blinds in the middle with both Cheong and Taiwan’s Pete Chen making the call and checking the action all the way to the river. Cheong hit trip twos to send Chan to the rail and guarantee himself a Chen an HK$6,000 payday, in addition to a Day 2 seat each, worth HK$38,000.
Day 1B of 2017 Suncity Cup Finale Macau Survivors and Day 2 Draw
| Position | Name | Country | Chip Count | 2A Table/Seat | 2B Table/Seat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sam Cheong | Macau | 168,800 | 7-6 | - |
| 2 | Pete Chen | Taiwan | 26,200 | - | 6-3 |
Cheong endured a rough start to the day and found himself as the shortest stack when play became nine-handed. However, a setup hand saw the Macanese player wake up with pocket aces when the USA’s [Removed:151] moved all-in pre-flop with pocket kings. That hand catapulted Cheong to the top of the leaderboard, where he remained for the majority of the day before dishing out that brutal beat to Justin Chan.
Chen by comparison, was a late arrival, joining a level before late registration closed. The Taiwanese player is a seasoned tournament hand though and showcased his skills by ducking and diving at the right time to earn several crucial double ups and squeak into the money.
Cheong now finds himself sitting fourth in chips in the current Day 2 standings, though with six more starting flights to play (including two turbo flights) this could well change before Day 2A begins at 1pm on Wednesday, 29 November.
That concludes the PokerNews live coverage for the day with Day 1C getting underway on Saturday 25 November at 1pm local time (GMT+8) so join us then as we see who’s got what it takes to go the distance and earn themselves a berth for Day 2.