Ameristar Casino St. Charles

Day 1a of the MSPT Season 17 $1,110 Ameristar Poker Open Main Event has come to a close after seeing 67 entrants kick things off.

Almost a full day of action was played to completion, with the hard stop of eight players being reached with 1:45 remaining in Level 14 (3,000/5,000/5,000).

The final levels were full of action, which saw Alexander Scofield accumulate the most chips with 449,000, edging out WSOP bracelet winner Mike Wilklow (433,000) for the top stack.

Sitting third on the leaderboard to end the night was St. Louis native Paul Fehlig, who put 282,000 into his bag, while Brandon Dirnberger (240,000) and John Roberts (230,000) rounded out the top stacks of the first flight.

They were joined by MSPT Champ Anthony Scarborough (154,000), two-time Player of the Year Umut Ozturk (117,000), and Season 16 Player of the Year Jake Long (83,000) as they were the only others to find a Day 2 berth.

Among those to try and fall on Day 1a were H.B. Sablotny, Dylan Crawford, Oslin Rivera, MSPT Champ Chris Audrain, and March’s runner-up finisher Horace Ingram, just to name a few.

Those players, as well as any newcomers, have two more starting flights to jump back into action.

This is a best-stack forward event: If a player qualifies for Day 2 more than once, they may only play the higher chip stack; any lower stack(s) will be removed from play at the start of Day 2 and receive the lowest Day 2 payout.

Player of the Year points will only be awarded for the higher stack. Players will only receive credit for a single MSPT Main Event cash finish.

Day 1b will kick off at 2:00 p.m. local time on Friday, September 4^th, while the third and final flight, Day 1c, will take place at the same time on Saturday, September 5^th.

The surviving players from each flight will then return at 11:00 a.m. on Sunday to play down to a winner.

Join us tomorrow as we continue to bring you all the action and eliminations straight from the tournament floor at Ameristar Casino!

MSPT Season 17 Ameristar Poker Open Remaining Schedule

Make sure to stay tuned here to find out who makes it through to Sunday’s Day 2!

Brandon Dirnberger opened under the gun for 10,000 and then called MSPT Champ Jeff Copeland’s 81,000 three-bet jam from middle position.

Jeff Copeland:
Brandon Dirnberger:

Copeland was at risk holding a dominated hand, and the flop didn’t change a thing.

The then paired the board on the turn, leaving Copeland needing a lucky lady to fall on the river to stay alive, but the completed the board and ended his night on the bubble.

Brandon Dirnberger - 240,000
Jeff Copeland - 0

Photo: Umut Ozturk

Two-time Player of the Year Umut Ozturk was all-in preflop for 55,000 and was called by Brandon Dirnberger.

Umut Ozturk:
Brandon Dirnberger:

Ozturk found aces at the perfect time, as the runout gave him a double on the bubble.

Brandon Dirnberger - 140,000
Umut Ozturk - 123,000

Photo: John Roberts

John Roberts and WSOP bracelet winner went heads-up to a flop, and with 83,000 already in the middle, Roberts check-raised all-in after Wilklow fired out a 20,000 bet, and Wilklow called off his 223,000 stack.

Mike Wilklow:
John Roberts:

Wilklow was ahead holding top pair, and faded the turn and river to take the chip lead from Roberts.

Mike Wilklow - 529,000
John Roberts - 245,000

Photo: Adam Thomas

Adam Thomas tossed out his last 18,000 from the small blind, and MSPT Champ Jeff Copeland looked him up from the big blind.

Adam Thomas:
Jeff Copeland:

Thomas was out in front and improved after the flop fell, giving him two pair.

The turn then sealed the deal for Thomas as he collected a much-needed double after the completed the board on the river, but it was short-lived as he was eliminated a few hands later.

Jeff Copeland - 130,000
Adam Thomas - 0

Level 13 has started, meaning registration for Day 1a of the MSPT Season 17 $1,110 Ameristar Poker Open Main Event St. Charles is officially closed.

The first starting flight tallied 67 runners, and the plan is to play until 11% of the field (rounded up to 8 players) is reached, with the tournament clock showing 12 players remaining.

Playing Day 1a of the MSPT Season 17 $1,110 Ameristar Poker Open Main Event?

Have family or friends in action?

Click here to browse our Photo Gallery tab and see if you can find their photo, courtesy of the event photographer, Jess Beck.