Miguel Zarzar Leads at the End of Day 1a of the PokerStars Festival Chile Main Event!

The opening day of the PokerStars Festival Chile $500,000 guaranteed Main Event has come to an end, and Miguel Zarzar leads the way with 228,000 chips. Sergio Dabio Tello is close behind in second (200,200), with Juan Parra (159,400) rounding out the top three stacks.

Zarzar quietly chipped up throughout the day, and eventually found himself at the top of the counts. His infectious laugh was noticed by everyone in the room, and will be a welcomed personality as play gets deeper on Day 2. Tello was responsible for eliminating Alex Vega midway through the day, cracking his pocket kings with eight-three off suit after turning two pair. He held on to his massive stack and managed to finish second in chips. Parra found a double up after flopping a set in a hand with Norberto Korn and never really looked back, finishing with a top three stack and earning himself a well-deserved day off tomorrow.

A total of 139 entries were counted after eight levels of play, and just 43 were left at the end of the night. These remaining players will move on to Day 2 on Thursday at noon. It is also important to note that any players who advanced will not be able to play again on Day 1b tomorrow.

The prizepool is guaranteed at $500,000, and there is most certainly a chance for that number to increase by the end of registration tomorrow.

Team PokerStars Pro, and PokerStars Festival Chile High Roller champion, Leo Fernandez, won a title in four hands of heads up play and hopped right in to the Main Event. He chipped up for the better part of the day but then lost some flips and found himself on the rail.

Some of the notable players who have moved on to Day 2 include LAPT champion Alex Manzano (145,200), PokerStars online qualifier Robert Heidorn (108,300), high roller Tadeo Palomares (79,000), LAPT champion Richard Dubini (72,200), high roller Norberto Korn (71,900), PokerStars Festival Chile High Roller runner up, Rodrigo Borquez (52,100), LAPT champion Andres Jeckeln (51,600), and Argentinian pro Fernando Gordo (35,200).

The tournament opened with about 40 entries, but this number quickly grew by more than three times. While there was plenty of play between the deep stacks and hour-long blind levels, that did not stop players from getting in on the action early in the day. Several notable players who did not make it through but were in the field today included LAPT high rollers, Oscar Alache, and Amos Ben, as well as Joaquin Earcena, Alan Manuel Mehamed, and Javier Swett.

Day 1b is set to get started at noon tomorrow, and the structure will remain the same as today. At the end of eight levels, registration will close completely and the tournament staff will calculate the prizepool. A full table draw and payouts will be posted on PokerNews, so keep following along as we bring you all of the live updates on the way to crowning the next PokerStars Festival champion in beautiful Vina del Mar, Chile!

Player	Chips	Progress
Miguel Zarzar	228,000 18,000	18,000
Sergio Dabio Tello	200,200 -4,800	-4,800
Juan Parra	159,400 93,400	93,400
Teofilo Tristan	157,800 35,800	35,800
Leonel Otazo	155,800 155,800	155,800
Alex Manzano	145,200 30,200	30,200

Mac Hudson Hilaire	133,800 133,800	133,800
Martin Pineiro	129,700 4,700	4,700
Jamir Muller	125,900 125,900	125,900
Daniel Oscar Foti	120,800 10,800	10,800
Tomas Carvallo	120,200 84,200	84,200
Jonathan Vilares	118,800 118,800	118,800
Nicolas Mzlandre	108,400 108,400	108,400
Robert Heidorn	108,300 -18,700	-18,700
Diego Zamorbide	80,000 80,000	80,000
Tadeo Palomares	79,000 23,000	23,000
Cristian Sandoval	78,600 78,600	78,600
Rodrigo Delgado	78,500 78,500	78,500
Gabriel Gomez Melloda	77,500 77,500	77,500
Richard Dubini	72,200 35,200	35,200
Norberto Korn	71,900 -68,100	-68,100
Mikael Anderson	68,000 68,000	68,000
Milton De La Fuente	62,300 37,300	37,300
Williams Espinoza	62,100 62,100	62,100
Christian Velasquez	57,400 57,400	57,400
Walter Hahn	56,800 29,800	29,800
Rodrigo Borquez	52,100 -27,900	-27,900
Andres Jeckeln	51,600 6,600	6,600
Francisco Salazar	48,800 48,800	48,800
Lucas Baruc	48,600 1,600	1,600
Horacio Ale	47,400 47,400	47,400
Daniel De Mola	45,500 45,500	45,500
Camilo Florez	45,100 45,100	45,100
Diego Lizana	44,600 44,600	44,600
Pedro Sepulueda	36,300 36,300	36,300
Fernando Gordo	35,200 -6,800	-6,800
Ricardo Chauriye	33,300 19,300	19,300
Felipe Morales	30,800 -17,200	-17,200
Patricio Rojas Parra	26,600 26,600	26,600
Alberto Alarion	25,200 25,200	25,200
Christopher Franco	23,800 23,800	23,800
Leon Behar	23,300 23,300	23,300