Throughout the entire SunBet Poker Tour stop at GrandWest Casino in Cape Town, all attendance figures of key tournaments had increase by more than 30% and the marquee ZAR 15,000 Main Event was no different. After two already busy flights prior, the penultimate Day 1c recorded a strong turnout to sail past the ZAR 4 Million guarantee before the turbo heat 1d then eclipsed ZAR 6 Million at the Sun International property near the international airport.
When the dust had settled after midnight, the prize pool had soared to ZAR 6,350,400 ($351,395) and eclipsed the guarantee by more than 50 percent. The cherry on top was a new record attendance of 504 entries, which has become the largest Main Event field since the inception of the SunBet Poker Tour to bring a fitting end to the fifth and final stop of the year for Africa's richest Poker Tour on the southern tip of the country.
It was once again an early finish mid-way through level 14 that concluded the action for Day 1c as 149 entries were whittled down to 22 survivors, all of which retained their chances of claiming a piece of the record-breaking prize pool. Matthew Mulhall topped the leaderboard for the third flight with 501,000 followed by the SPT regulars Huawei Sun (480,000) and Nic Ioannoy (436,000).
Top 10 Chip Counts After Day 1c
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | BB Day 1c |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Matthew Mulhall | South Africa | 501,000 | 100 |
| 2 | Huawei Sun | Botswana | 480,000 | 96 |
| 3 | Nic Ioannoy | South Africa | 436,000 | 87 |
| 4 | Muzamil Gothey | Tanzania | 390,000 | 78 |
| 5 | Adam Gamsy | South Africa | 386,000 | 77 |
| 6 | Reza de Bruyns | South Africa | 384,000 | 77 |
| 7 | Edgar Antezana | South Africa | 362,000 | 72 |
| 8 | Ronit Chamani | South Africa | 350,000 | 70 |
| 9 | Howard Lipman | Israel | 313,000 | 63 |
| 10 | Rudalf Frick | South Africa | 298,000 | 60 |
Among the notables to finish with large stacks were Adam Gamsy (386,000), Edgar Antezana (362,000), Ronit Chamani (350,000) and Howard Lipman (313,000). Gamsy was on the cusp of becoming the new overall chip leader after winning a big pot against SM, but suffered a few late setbacks to finish inside of the top ten.
The two big stacks Mulhall and Ioannoy were responsible for the final two eliminations of the night, sending Gavin Sardini and Craig Samuel to the rail on the outer tables. Imran Bhojani, one of this year's SPT Main Event winners, crashed out from the live stream table with a bad beat story to tell when his pocket aces were cracked by the pocket jacks of Time Square February runner-up SM.
Another champion of the current year to advance to Day 2 was Harold Brooks, who won the second edition at Time Square in Pretoria and will aim to add another title to his resume. After a topsy-turvy day, he made it through with a stack of 229,000. The ZAR 50,000 third-place finisher Mario Fata also bagged up chips tonight (146,000), while fellow finalists Troy McTeer, Ciro Koncke, and Cliton Taliwanth were among the many notable casualties.
Across the first three flights, a total of 61 players bagged up chips after reaching the top 15% of each respective field. They will be joined by the survivors of the turbo heat that is currently ongoing and return at noon local time when the race towards the money bubble headlines the opening stages.
Only the top 63 finishers will get paid and the level duration as of Day 2 increases to 60 minutes each to retain the deep structure of the marquee tournament. Recommencing blinds will be based on the average finish time of each starting day.
Day 2 will likely play a total of ten full levels and bring the field one step closer to the grand finale on Sunday, December 1, 2024. The remainder of the tournament will also be live-streamed on the Monster Jam Poker YouTube channel with cards-up coverage and commentary available on a 30-minute delay.
Stay tuned and check back regularly right here on PokerNews to find out who will be crowned the champion in the largest SunBet Poker Tour Main Event in history.
