Friday, 29th March 2024 14:30
Home / Uncategorized / ANZPT Sydney: Mason Mauls All to Lead Day 1b

The dealers have packed up shop, the floor staff have collected all the chip bags from the tables and the players are starting to make their way out of The Star as the second and final day 1 flight of ANZPT Sydney has come to a close.

At the beginning of the day it was unclear just how many players would take to the felt on Day 1b of the ANZPT Sydney Main Event. The only thing that was certain was that it was going to be more than yesterday’s 206-player field. Before play, ANZPT head honcho Danny McDonagh ventured a guess at how many players would partake in Day 1b and ended up setting the line at 222 players.

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The tables were jam packed on Day 1b of ANZPT Sydney

By the time all the players were accounted for, exactly 254 participants on Day 1b meant that a 460 player field had created a $920,000 prize pool. That field size was unfortunately oh-so-close to glory, with 460 players being just shy of last year’s 461 players. However, that’s still a great result for the team at ANZPT. By the time Sunday comes to a close, $226,320 will be awarded to the eventual champion, while it is the top 54 who will be taking home some cash for their time. Be sure to click here for all the prize pool and payout information.

Considering there was such a large field for Day 1b of the ANZPT Sydney Main Event, it is no surprise that dozens of the most recognisable faces from around the region were at the tables of The Star. Included in the field at the beginning of the day were three players who represented the red spade with pride, but unfortunately Team PokerStars Pros Bryan Huang and Angel Guillen, along with PokerStars Team Online Roy Bhasin all found the rail throughout the day.

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Roy Bhasin was not god-like on Day 1b

One of the interesting aspects of the day was the invasion of international players from all around Europe. Guys like Germany’s Dominik Nitsche, Scotland’s David Vamplew and the UK’s Stephen Chidwick aren’t the usual players we see on the ANZPT, but they were a welcomed addition to an eclectic Day 1b field. Unfortunately for Vamplew he hit the rail during the day, while Nitsche and Chidwick managed to make it through to Day 2.

Towards the end of the night the poker room was getting rowdy as dozens of patrons
arrived to enjoy the Rugby that was being shown on the big screen above the poker tables. At this point it was looking likely that Sydney’s own Brendon Rubie was going to finish up as the chip leader, but it was another one of the UK imports who would assert his authority on the Aussie felt as Ashley Mason would accumulate a monster 253,800-chip stack.

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Ashley Mason needed help filling his bag with chips

With his chip bag full to the brim, Mason will start Day 2 as the overall chip leader, with Day 1a’s Gary Benson trailing by quite a margin. Following Benson, and the next best to come out of Day 1b, was none other than Dale Marsland. It seems Marsland can do no wrong of late, with his most recent exploits at the table being his 3rd-place finish at this season’s ANZPT Perth. Marsland will start Day 2 with 172,200 in chips. Be sure to check out the live reporting blog for a full list of the end-of-day 1b chip counts and the Day 2 seating draw.

From us here at the PokerStarsBlog we say goodnight! Be sure to return tomorrow from 12.30pm as Day 2 action begins and we continue making our way towards crowning an ANZPT Sydney champion! Don’t forget to check out our friend Mateusz Pater in the ‘Nightly Notables’ with Lynn Gilmartin below.


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