Sycuan Casino Resort

Carlos Saucedo Bags Overall Chip Lead After 14 Players Survive Day 1C

Day 1c of theMSPT Season 17 inaugural Golden State Poker Championship at Sycuan Casino & Resort is in the books after drawing 125 entries, the biggest field of all three starting flights, bringing the overall field up to 265.

At the end of the third and final flight, just 14 players bagged and tagged, with Carlos Saucedo sitting atop the counts with a whopping 770,000 stack, good enough for the overall chip lead.

Following behind Saucedo was Mary Anne Madruga, who put 511,000 in her bag to end the night, while Josh Mok (492,000), Michael Starek (428,000), Matt Salsberg (294,000) rounded out the top five stacks of the flight.

They were joined by John Terrill (275,000), Nan Chen (231,000), Fausto Valdez (169,000), Bret Eberhart (165,000), and Mark Bloomberg (73,000).

Among those to try and fall on Day 1c included MSPT champ Brian Landon, Amy Devaudreuil, Astivan Batoo, Aviram Parsha, and Mo Pourmandi, just to name a few.

The surviving players from all three flights – 30 in total (6 from Day 1a, 10 from 1b, and 14 from 1c) – will return at 11:00 a.m. local time on Sunday, January 18^th, to play down to a winner.

The MSPT live reporting crew will be on the floor throughout the remainder of the tournament to provide updates, so keep it here to catch the action!

MSPT Season 17 Golden State Poker Championship Remaining Schedule

End Day 1C Chip Counts

Player Name	Chip Count	Previous	Progress
Carlos Saucedo	770,000	465,000
Mary Anne Madruga	511,000	461,000
Josh Mok	492,000	320,000
Michael Starek	428,000	418,000
Matt Salsberg	294,000	185,000
John Terrill	275,000	285,000
Nan Chen	231,000	183,000
Fausto Valdez	169,000	290,000
Bret Eberhart	165,000	135,000
Michael Bailund	106,000	100,000
Samuel Weisman	101,000	140,000
Cody Blades	88,000	60,000
Mark Bloomberg	73,000	47,000
Antonio Torpoco	54,000	30,000

Tai Purpero Bubbles Day 1C

Photo: Tai Purpero

Tai Purpero raised all in for 66,000 from late position, and Nan Chen called from the button.

Tai Purpero:
Nan Chen:

Purpero rolled over a dominated hand, and didn’t like the flop that gave Chen a heart flush draw.

The turn left Purpero needing a non-heart four to stay alive, but the river completed Chen’s flush to eliminate Purpero on the bubble, ending play for the night.

Nan Chen - 230,000
Tai Purpero - Eliminated

Hand-for-Hand Begins

With 15 players remaining, the hand-for-hand process has started, as only 14 of them will be making Day 2.

Day 2 Line Up

So far, 17 players have punched their ticket into Day 2, and the final group of 14 hopefuls will look to add their names to that list tonight.

All who make it through until the end of play will return tomorrow, Sunday, January 18^th, at 11:00 a.m. for Day 2, where the remaining players from all starting flights will combine and play until a winner is declared.

MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT!

MARK YOUR CALENDARS FOR THE MSPT 2026 CANADIAN POKER CHAMPIONSHIP AT Playground Poker Club

: October 1-12, 2026

: $1,000,000 GTD Main Event

MSPT MAJOR (1.5X POY)

Chip Collectors & Givers

Player Name	Chip Count	Previous	Progress
Mary Anne Madruga	461,000	325,000
Michael Starek	418,000	91,000
Josh Mok	320,000	225,000
Fausto Valdez	290,000	215,000
Nan Chen	183,000	61,000
Cody Blades	160,000	203,000
Samuel Weisman	140,000	92,000
Bret Eberhart	135,000	76,000
Matt Salsberg	85,000	200,000
Mark Bloomberg	47,000	90,000
DJ Buckley	0	30,000
Jonathan Larkin	0	165,000
Julie Peavey	0	213,000
Mo Pourmandi	0	110,000
Bradley Miller	0	67,000
Ryan Stiner	0	140,000
Chris Takata	0	110,000
Leonid Vaisburg	0	108,000

Stiner Cooled Off by Saucedo

Photo: Ryan Stiner

A series of preflop raises saw Ryan Stiner three-bet jam 198,000 from the big blind, and Carlos Saucedo went over the top from the hijack, giving him isolation.

Ryan Stiner:
Carlos Saucedo:

It was a cooler situation for Stiner, as he rolled over an inferior premium made hand, and he wasn’t able to find a lucky lady on the runout, ending his tournament.

Carlos Saucedo - 465,000
Ryan Stiner - Eliminated

Episode 11 of the MSPT Poker Podcast is Out!

WSOP bracelet winner Chad Holloway & MSPT Season 12 Player of the Year Kyna England discuss all the action from the New Years Poker Open, the Sycuan winners, their predictions for 2026, and so much more

Watch here

Salsberg Dominates a Double

Photo: Matt Salsberg

There was all-in action preflop between Matt Salsberg from the big blind and his opponent from the button, with Salsberg holding 86,000 effective.

Matt Salsberg:
Opponnet:

Salsberg rolled over a dominating hand and faded the sweaty runout secured his double-up.

Matt Salsberg - 180,000