Created (2/5/2026 12:07:37 AM by Anthony Thompson)
Day 1a of the MSPT Season 17 $1,600 Poker Bowl X at the Venetian Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada, is officially in the books with 132 total entries tallied, and the talented field that entered came to play as action at the tables proved to be eventful from start to finish.
A long day of action was needed to reach 11% of the field as the hard stop of 15 players was reached with 6:30 remaining in Level 17 (4,000/8,000/8,000), with MSPT Champ Zilong Zhang holding on to the top spot with an impressive 834,000.
Zhong put on a clinic throughout the first starting flight, as he sat atop with chip counts all day long, securing a major gap between him and Matthew McEwan, who bagged second in chips with 688,000.
Bagging closely behind McEwen were two-time WSOP bracelet winner John Riordan (675,000) and Jessica Vierling (522,000), while Andrew Rose (371,000) secured the final eliminations of the night to round out the top five stacks of the night.
Eric Smidinger
Others who found a Day 2 berth included Jeremy Becker (329,000), Eric Smidinger (302,000), Scott Downey (273,000), Ben Palmer (205,000), and Tristan Wade (168,000).
Of course, not everyone was fortunate enough to make it through the night.
WSOP Bracelet Winner Mitchell Halverson
Among those to fire and fall in Wednesday’s starting flight included WSOP bracelet winner Mitchell Halverson, Qing Liu, bracelet winner Nick Seward, Jamie Kerstetter, along with fellow bracelet winner Darren Rabinowitz, and MSPT Season 15 Poker Bowl Champ Terry Fleischer were just a few who took their shot at a bag on Day 1a, only to come up short.
MSPT Season 15 Poker Bowl Champ Terry Fleischer
All who have yet to advance will have two more starting flights to jump back in the action.
Day 1b will get underway at 11:10 a.m. on Thursday, February 5th, and Friday, February 6th.
Late registration and re-entries will remain open through Level 9 (approximately 5:55 p.m.) for both flights.
All surviving players from the three starting flights will reconvene on Saturday, February 7th, at 11:00 a.m. and play until a winner is determined.
Join us tomorrow as we continue to bring you all the action and eliminations straight from the tournament floor!
MSPT Venetian Season 17 Poker Bowl Remaining Schedule
| Date |
Time |
Tournament |
Chips |
Blind Levels |
Gold Card Event |
| 5-Feb |
11:10 AM |
$1,600 Poker Bowl X 1B (2-Day Trophy Event) |
40,000 |
40 Minutes |
* |
| 5-Feb |
4:10 PM |
$200 NLH Milestone Satellite into $1,600 |
20,000 |
20 Minutes |
|
| 6-Feb |
10:10 AM |
$200 NLH Turbo Milestone Satellite into $1,600 |
20,000 |
15 Minutes |
|
| 6-Feb |
11:10 AM |
$1,600 Poker Bowl X 1C (2-Day Trophy Event) |
40,000 |
40 Minutes |
* |
| 7-Feb |
11:00 AM |
$1,600 Main Event Day 2 (2-Day Trophy Event) |
- |
40 Minutes |
* |
Stay tuned here on MSPTPoker.com and follow along with all updates as we crown the new Poker Bowl X Champion at The Venetian Resort in Las Vegas!