Bring on Day 2 of the MPC22 Red Dragon
The fourth and final Day 1 flight of the MPC22 Red Dragon is all over!
Right now all the players are bagging up chips and heading out of PokerStars LIVE Macau ready to get some rest before returning for Day 2 from 5:00pm local time tomorrow.
It’s still a tight race for the chip lead with Flo Campomanes, Juicy Li and Akira Ohyama the main threats. Find out who ends up in front, along with all the end-of-day chip counts, recap of Day 1d and the all-important Day 2 seating right here at the PokerStarsBlog.
2:50am: Final five hands
The remaining players have been told that there will be five more hands at each table before Day 1d of the MPC22 Red Dragon is all over! Right now it looks like it’s a race between Flo Campomanes, Juicy Li and Akira Ohyama for the chip lead
2:40am: Queens hurt Hotdog
Asian hip hop sensation MC Hotdog was having a great day at the felt until the last few minutes when he looked down at Q♦ Q♥ and got his chips all in against a player’s A♦ K♥ and couldn’t win the flip. Fortunately for Hotdog, the player with big slick had a shorter stack and so Hotdog was left with some chips to try and scrape through to Day 2.
2:30am: Late double for Winfred
Winfred Yu has just found a late double up.
He was all in preflop for 4,600 holding J♠6♠and had to come up against 6♥ 6♦ .
Yu needed plenty of help and that’s exactly what he found on the 7♥ J♣ Q♦ 5â™ 3♣ board.
2:20am: Level 11 begins, blinds 800/1,600 (200)
This the final level of the night!
Approximately 170 players of the 444 starters are currently alive.
2:10am: Hits won’t bring Flo down
We recently watched Flo Campomanes lose two sizable pots in a row and he still had 170,000 in chips – the most in the room and already more than any of the end-of-day chip leaders from the first three Day 1 flights.
The first hand saw Campomanes and open it up to 2,600 from the cut off. The player on the button flat-called, along with the small blind and big blind and with that, the dealer turned over a 9♠K♠5♦ flop. It was checked to Campomanes here and bet 6,600. The player on the button then raised it up to 18,100 and it was folded back around to Campomanes. He tanked and eventually folded.
Just moments later and a player with just over 15,000 got his chips in preflop holding 6â™ 6♣ against Campomanes’ Aâ™ K♥ . The board ran out 4♣ 5â™ 6♥ Q♦ 3♦ , with the at-risk player finding a set to double up.
Despite losing these pots, Campomanes is still looking like the main threat to finish Day 1d as the overall chip leader.
1:50am: Cash, cash, cash
The prize pool has been announced!
The total field of 987 players created a prize pool of HK$10,339,812 (~US$1,330,000) and it’s the top 117 players who will share in a piece of that cash. Making the money will guarantee HK$24,600 (~US$3,100), while a spot at the final table is worth HK$174,000 (~US23,200).
The eventual champion will pocket a massive HK$2,199,000 (~US$293,000).
MPC22 – Final Table Payouts (HKD)
1st – $2,199,000 (~US$ 293,200)
2nd – $1,295,000 (~US$ 172,666)
3rd – $783,000 (~US$ 104,400)
4th – $563,000 (~US$ 75,066)
5th – $384,000 (~US$ 51,200)
6th – $281,612 (~US$ 37,548)
7th – $235,000 (~US$ 31,333)
8th – $204,500 (~US$ 27,266)
9th – $174,000 (~US$ 23,200)
Click here for complete prize pool information
1:40am: Final two levels begin
The players are back from their break and the final two levels of the night have begun.
1:30am: Final break of Day 1d
Approximately 195 players have been sent on their final break of the day.
They will return in 10-minutes time to play two more levels.
1:25am: Juicy cruising over six-figures
We recently watched Juicy Li lose quite a sizable pot against one opponent on a 3♣ 6♣ A♦ 10♠9♣ board. Li led for 5,500 on the river and was faced with a raise to 12,500. Li went deep into the tank, taking several minutes before deciding to let her cards go.
Despite losing this pot, Li amazingly still has over six figures in chips, making her one of the chip leaders.
1:10am: Entrants confirmed
The total entrants for Day 1d of the MPC22 Red Dragon has been confirmed at 444.
That means the total field over the four flights is 987 – eight short of equalling the record of 995 set last January.
We will post the prize pool information as soon as it is made available.
1:00am: Champion Chen among the leaders
Hao Chen has emerged as one of the chip leader during the later stages of Day 1d of the MPC22 Red Dragon. He’s up to 95,000 and looking dangerous.
Not only does Chen have lots of chips, he also has plenty of experience in tournaments with big fields. In fact, Chen won the Macau Millions in 2014 – the largest tournament ever held in Asia. Chen overcame a field of 1,804 entrants in that event.
Can he navigate another massive field here in the MPC22 Red Dragon?
12:50am: Level 9 begins, blinds 500/1,000 (100)
12:40am: Clutch sends two home
Akira ‘Clutch Hero’ Ohyama has continued his great run at the felt today by dealing a double knock out. The hand started with Ohyama leading out for 1,700 from early position before another player moved all in for 12,800. The player on the button was down to just two antes and quickly got those chips in as the rest of the table was out of the way.
Ohyama had 7♠7♦ against A♦ Q♠and A♦ 8♦ and managed to improve his hand to a set on the 3♠7♣ J♥ flop. The turn was a 3♦ and the river a 6♠and with that, Ohyama had sent two home and improved his stack to over 50,000.
12:25am: Zhou getting short
Former ACOP Main Event champion Xing Zhou is starting to get short stacked after recently sending a double up to an opponent. The player in question had shoved for 9,000 from early position and Zhou flat-called from the button. When the cards were turned over it was revealed that Zhou had 9♠9♦ against the at-risk K♦ Q♣ .
When the dealer spread out a 7♣ A♥ Q♥ J♥ 3♣ board, one player had doubled up while Zhou was left with just 5,000 behind.
12:10am: Level 8 begins, blinds 400/800 (100)
12:00am: Vivian no more
It’s all over for the lone Team PokerStars Pro in today’s field, Vivian Im.
The final hand of Im’s tournament saw her three-bet all in for around 10 big blinds holding pocket sixes. Unfortunately for her, a player woke up pocket kings and with that no help on the board, Im was sent to the rail.
A total of five Team PokerStars Pros played this event over the four Day 1 flights and only Japan’s Kosei Ichinose made it through to Day 2.
11:50pm: Lots of Chips for Percy
Percy Yung is looking like one of the chip leader with a stack of around 70,000.
We recently watched Yung scoop a large portion of those chips in a hand against two opponents on a 3♦ K♦ K♠J♥ A♠board. We arrived on the turn with two checks sending the action to Yung on the button. She bet 10,500 and both her opponents called as the pot started to swell.
On the river, It was checked to Yung and she moved all in for around 10,000. One player folded, the other called and with that Yung tabled K♥ 10♣ for trip kings. Her opponent, meanwhile, mucked A♦ J♦ .
11:35pm: Xi Yun eliminates one
Xi Yun Zhang is building a stack after recently eliminating a player.
Zhang held Q♥ Q♦ in an all in preflop situation and eliminated a player with pocket sixes when the board ran out with three kings to give Zhang the full house.
Zhang is up to around 50,000 which is more than double the current average stack.
11:25pm: Back with registration closed
The players are back from their break and the cards are back in the air.
Registration is now closed!
It’s been a massive day with a huge amount of entrants seeing the total field move well past 950 unique entrants over the four Day 1 flights. We will have full confirmation of Day 1d numbers, and maybe even the prize pool info, as soon as possible.
11:15pm: Second break & rego closed
The players have been sent on their second break of the day.
This means a 10-minute break for the players and it also means registration has closed.
11:05pm: Chidwick loses some, still strong
We recently watched Stephen Chidwick take to the river of a 9♥ 2♦ Q♣ 8♦ A♦ board against two opponents. Chidwick was last to act and was faced with a bet of a 2,000 from one player after the other involved had folded. Chidwick tanked for quite a while and eventually made the call.
At showdown, Chidwick’s opponent turned over 9â™ 2♣ – enough to send Chidwick’s cards into the muck.
Despite losing this hand, Chidwick is still travelling along nicely with just under 30,000 in chips form a starting stack of 15,000.
10:50pm: Clutch kings
Japanese pro Akira ‘Clutch Hero’ Ohyama is up to around 45,000 in chips after recently sending a player to the rail. The hand started when the player in question opened it up to 1,200 from under the gun. Ohyama then three-bet to 2,500 from late position and when it was back on the player who opened, he moved all in for 9,000. Ohyama made a quick call and tabled K♣ K♥ which was dominating J♥ J♦ . The board ran out 6♥ 10♦ A♣ 8♦ A♥ and one player was on the rai, while plenty of chips were going to Ohyama.
10:35pm: Stevey at the felt, O’Dwyer not
More and more late entrant alternates have been taking their seats during the last couple of levels and one of those players was none other than international superstars Stephen Chidwick. The British pro is one of the most prominent players in the tournament, rivalled perhaps only by Steve O’Dwyer.
Chidwick has had a good start to Day 1d, already up to around 30,000 in chips.
O’Dwyer, meanwhile, can no longer be found in the field so it’s safe to say it wasn’t his lucky day.
10:25pm: Level 6 begins, blinds 200/400 (50)
10:20pm: Big stack gets a little bigger
Naoki Fukuoka’a big stack recently grew even larger when he won a four-handed pot on a A♦ K♣ 7♥ 2♣ Q♥ board. Former Asia Player of the Year Shaq Lin was the preflop aggressor, opening it up to 600 which Fukuoka flat-called on his direct left. The two players came along for the ride and then all four players checked it down.
At showdown, Lin tabled K♥ J♥ for a pair of kings and for a moment it looked like that would be the winner. Then Fukuoka showed his Aâ™ 10♥ and with all his opponent’s cards in the muck, he added chips to his stack.
10:15pm: Short double for Team Pro Im
Korean Team PokerStars Pro Vivian Im fell below 2,500 in chips recently, but luckily managed to find a double to sit with a healthier stack.
Im’s double hand began when Zhihao Gao opened it up to 700 from early position. The player in the cut off made the call before Im moved all in for 2,450 from the small blind. Gao was next to act and he moved all in for around 8,000. The cut-off player was squeezed out and so Im and Gao turned the cards over.
It was Im at risk with 4♣ 4â™ against Gao’s A♣ J♦ .
The 8♦ 7♥ 4♦ flop was great for Im as she flopped a set and while the J♣ turn gave Gao a pair, the 6♣ river meant that Im had scooped up the double.
10:05pm: Couple of the big stacks
I’ve had a wander around the giant tournament area looking for some big stacks and came across Japan’s Naoki Fukuoka with 80,000. That seems to be the largest stack so far and considering how early into the day we are, that’s certainly a lot of chips. Prominent pro Steve Yea is also on our radar with a stack of just under 60,000.
9:55pm: Level 5 begins, blinds 150/300 (25)
9:45pm: Double for Hsu
Leon Hsu has just managed a double up courtesy of Shengwei Liang.
Hsu was all in preflop holding 7♣ 7â™ and was up against Liang’s K♣ J♦ .
The 9♠8♣ A♥ 6♠4♥ board was good for Hsu and so he raked in the double up!
9:40pm: Numbers rising
More and more players continue to register for Day 1d of the HK$12,000 buy-in MPC22 Red Dragon Main Event. The latest number we have been told is 430 with 390 of those having been seated so far. When added with the numbers from the first three Day 1 flights, we already up over 960 total entrants and looking to try and get as close as possible to the record of 995 which was set in the Red Dragon last January.
9:30pm: Matsukawa travelling strongly
Japanese model and PokerStars brand ambassador Yuiko Matsukawa is travelling along nicely so far on Day 1d of the MPC22 Red Dragon. She’s up over 20,000 and looking strong.
Matsukawa recently scooped a pot against Ming Cui.
It started with Matsukawa opening to 600 from early position. Cui was the lone caller, from the big blind, and with that the dealer flipped over a K♦ 6♦ 2♣ flop. Both players checked here and a J♣ hit the turn. Two more checks and an 8♦ would complete the board.
This time Cui led out for 1,250 and Matsukawa thought for a long time before eventually making the call. As soon as Matsukawa had called, Cui simply mucked. Matsukawa quietly slid her cards into the muck and scooped the pot.
9:15pm: Back for fourth level
The players are back from their break and ready to play level 4 of the MPC22 Red Dragon. Antes have now kicked in at 25 with blinds still 100/200.
Registration is open until the next break, with dozens of alternates still waiting to find a seat.
9:05pm: First break of Day 1d
The players have been sent on their first 10-minute break of Day 1d of the MPC22 Red Dragon. Check back soon as this massive day continues.
9:00pm: Winfred loses some
Winfred Yu is in today’s giant field and unfortunately for him it hasn’t been a great start.
Yu recently lost a relatively large pot against one opponent on a 2♦ 5♣ 6♦ 3♦ 2♠board. Yu was the preflop aggressor and was up against the player in the big blind. Yu called bets of 600 on the flop and 1,100 on the turn and then tanked on the river when his opponent bet 2,100. Eventually Yu opted to let his hand go.
8:55pm: Two Juicy Losses
We recently watched Juicy Li lose two pots in close proximity to each other.
The first saw Li and one player go to the river of a 5♦ 4♥ 2♥ 8♣ 3♦ board. There was around 4,000 in the middle by the river and both players checked here with Li’s J♦ 5♣ going into the muck against 2♣ 2♦ for a set of deuces.
The next hand that Li lost saw the action fold to her in the small blind. She raised it up to 625 and Junde Ye made the call from the big blind. Li put out a continuation bet on the 4♣ 7♣ J♥ and Ye called to see a 10♣ hit the turn. This time both players checked and a 4♦ completed the board on the river. Li opted to check and Ye bet 2,000. Li called and Ye turned over 4♥ 3♣ for trip fours. Li, meanwhile, flashed A-J as the pot went to Ye.
Despite losing these two pots, Li still has a healthy starting stack.
8:45pm: Gupta back down
Australia’s Pyush Gupta started the day very strongly, quickly moving up over 30,000. However, he’s back to around 20,000. We didn’t see how Gupta lost his chips, but he told us he ran aces into A-K and lost a big pot.
8:35pm: Giant field
More and more players continue to take their seats for Day 1d of the MPC22 Red Dragon Main Event. So far 350 players have been seated, with at least 50 more currently waiting in the wings as alternates. That means the field is already around 950 players total! Can we make it to 1,000 unique players?
8:25pm: Level 3 begins, blinds 100/200
8:15pm: Unlucky set for Doyle
Usually when you look down at a pocket pair and hit a set its something to celebrate.
However, that celebration can quickly turn sour when your opponent has a larger set.
That’s what recently happened to Michael Doyle.
We arrived at the action on the turn of a 8♣ 9â™ 10♣ 4â™ A♥ board with Doyle leading out for 2,000. Doyle’s opponent, Chong Wei Lew, raised it up to 10,000 here and Doyle moved all in for a little extra. Lew quickly called and turned over 10â™ 10â™ for top set. Doyle, meanwhile, tabled 8♥ 8â™ for the smaller set.
The river bricked out and Doyle was on the rail!
7:55pm: Nice one for Yingzi
Yingzi Wang recently scooped a nice pot to move her chips well above starting stack.
We picked up the action on the river of a 7♣ A♣ [a]5â™ 10♥ board, with Wang’s lone opponent, Zhiqiang Qian, leading out for 900. Wang then raised it up to 2,700 and Qian went into the tank. Eventually Qian opted to fold and just like that, the chips went to Wang.
7:45pm: Level 2 begins, blinds 50/100
7:35pm: Massive Early pot for Aussie Gupta
Australia’s Piyush Gupta has had a very strong start on Day 1d. He’s already up over 30,000 and while it’s hard to tell with so many players in the room, that looks like an early chip lead to me.
Gupta picked up most of those chips when he was up against one opponent on a 2♥ J♦ K♥ 10♣ 7♠board. We arrived on the river, with Gupta leading out for 3,800. His opponent then raised it an extra 5,000 more before Gupta moved all in for 10,125 total.
The player eventually called, leaving himself with just 200 in chips.
At showdown, Gupta turned over A♣ Q♥ for the Broadway straight and scooped up the big pot.
7:20pm: Faces, faces, everywhere
There are hundreds of players across dozens of tables in a packed PokerStars LIVE Macau poker room. The beauty of poker in this region is that a huge proportion of those players are ones we have never seen before, perhaps even brand new to the game.
In saying that, however, there are of course plenty of familiar faces in the field.
Just a few of those include April 2013 Red Dragon champion Terry Fan, 2013 APPT Cebu champion Jae Kyung Sim, last year’s Red Dragon third-place finisher Victor Teng, ACOP Super High Roller champ and US-based crusher Steve O’Dwyer, Macau Millions victor Hao Chen, Team PokerStars Pro Vivian Im and Japanese brand ambassador, and professional model, Yuiko Matsukawa.
7:10pm: How the day will work
There will be 11 levels played today, with the eventual surviving players bagging up at around 3:00am local time. Registration is open for the first four hours of play.
Players start with 15,000 in chips and blinds kick off at 25/50. The final level of the night will see blinds at 800/1,600 with a 200 ante.
All the players who make it through Day 1d will return from 5:00pm tomorrow (Wednesday), whereby they will converge with the survivors from the first three Day 1 flights.
Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, however. Instead, let’s go check out some of the familiar faces that are playing Day 1d of the MPC22 Red Dragon.
7:05pm: Cards flying in packed poker room
The cards are in the air on Day 1d of the MPC22 Red Dragon Main Event! We are just a few minutes behind schedule.
There are at least 300 players already seated at the tables, while dozens of others are still lining up at the registration booth trying to get in the event. Due to capacity, there will certainly be an alternate system today whereby players will have to wait until a seat frees up to take part in the tournament.
Prepare for Mayhem on final Day 1 flight of MPC22 Red Dragon
Strap yourselves in, today is going to be crazy.
As these very words are typed out, hundreds of players are at PokerStars LIVE Macau lining up to take part in Day 1D of the MPC22 Red Dragon.
There are already over 350 players registered, bringing the running total to almost 900 players.
Registration is open for the first four hours of play, so there is a chance we could crack 1,000 and for this to become the largest freezeout tournament ever to be held in Asia. The record for the Red Dragon is 995 players which was set in January of 2014.
Stay tuned to this very page to find out just how massive today ends up being. Cards are in the air from 7:00pm local time and the PokerStarsBlog is where you will find full live reporting of the MPC22 Red Dragon.
