Mikiyo Aoki Leads Field After Day 1a of Grand Falls MSPT Main Event Day 1a
After 10 hours of play, Day 1a of the MSPT Grand Falls $1,110 Main Event has come to a close and surviving players have bagged chips for Sunday's Day 2 restart. Mikiyo Aoki bagged the most with an impressive 684,000 chips.
A total of 231 players fired today's flight. Play was ended before the scheduled fifteen levels when 12% of the field was reached, meaning 27 players will have tomorrow off before returning for Day 2 on Sunday.
Aoki played steady throughout the day, playing with a healthy stack for much of the day. The last few levels, though, were where she really built momentum that led to her chip lead. She made a big call on the river with a pair of sixes, picked off another bluff with a weak ace, and even managed to win when she got it in behind.
Day 1a Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mikiyo Aoki | 684,000 | 171 |
| 2 | Blake Bohn | 553,000 | 138 |
| 3 | Dave Sanderson | 426,000 | 107 |
| 4 | Ben Wiora | 389,000 | 97 |
| 5 | Chad Himmelspach | 381,000 | 95 |
| 6 | Luke Blindert | 318,000 | 80 |
| 7 | Mike Estes | 269,000 | 67 |
| 8 | Phil Mader | 264,000 | 66 |
| 9 | Justin Kruger | 257,000 | 64 |
| 10 | Loren Burbach | 215,000 | 54 |
Just behind Aoki was Blake Bohn with 553,000. Bohn made a big flush near the end of the day to solidify his spot near the top of the leaderboard.
Another player who made a late push was Dave Sanderson. He made a set early in the day to build a nice stack, made a nice move in the middle of the day, and closed out strong to bag 426,000.
Players will return on Sunday at 11:00 a.m. and join the players from tomorrow's flight.
That does it for today's coverage. PokerNews will be on hand the rest of the weekend to follow this one to what is sure to be an exciting conclusion.