Sycuan Casino Resort

Rudy Cervantes Holds the Top Spot After 7 Players Advance from Day 1B

A long day of 16 levels wrapped up during the MSPT Season 17 100 GRAND STACK Series $1,110 Main Event at Sycuan Casino & Resort, as Day 1b drew another 61 entries, bringing the two-day total to 107 thus far.

Of those 61 entries, only seven players remained when chips went into bags with 17:25 remaining in the level, with Rudy Cervantes going on a late-night heater to bag the top stack.

Cervantes spun up a whopping 1,765,000 stack after securing a double elimination to end the night, edging out MSPT Champ Peter Brown (1,085,000) and Leo Vaisburg (1,000,000), who were the only other to clip the milly mark this flight.

The MSPT’s top casher DJ Buckley, earned himself his 95^th career Main Event cash after he tripped up Luke Nguyen on the bubble, as he was able to bag a healthy 950,000, while Rip Fritzer (595,000), David Leese (430,000), and Gary Bousquet (265,000) are just a few more of the players to add their names to the Day 2 roster along with the six others who have already advanced from Day 1a.

Among those to try and fall on Day 1b were WSOP Circuit ring leader Maurice Hawkins, Gabriel Habbaba, January’s runner-up finisher Robert Fortuno, and Tim Acker, just to name a few.

The final starting flight will get underway tomorrow at noon local time, and it will be the last chance for players to punch their ticket into Sunday's Day 2.

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.

Late registration and re-entries will remain open through Level 12 (approximately 10:40 p.m.)

MSPT Season 17 Sycuan 100 GRAND STACK Series Remaining Schedule

Tune in tomorrow to see who makes it through to Day 2.

End Day 1B Chip Counts

Player Name	Chip Count	Previous	Progress
Rudy Cervantes	1,765,000	1,715,000
Peter Brown	1,085,000	1,080,000
Leonid Vaisburg	1,000,000	818,000
DJ Buckley	950,000	740,000
Rip Fritzer	595,000	231,000
David Leese	430,000	350,000
Gary Bousquet	265,000	400,000

Luke Nguyen Bubbles Day 1B

There was all-in action preflop between Luke Nguyen from the cutoff and DJ Buckley from the button, with Nguyen at risk on the bubble.

Luke Nguyen:
DJ Buckley:

Nguyen was at risk holding a dominated hand, and the flop left him needing running help to stay alive.

The dealer then gave Nguyen some hope for a chop after they turned the , but it was taken away after the completed the board on the river, ending his night on the bubble.

DJ Buckely - 950,000
Luke Nguyen - 0

Lopez Flushed Out by Leese

Photo: David Leese

Adrian Lopez raised all-in for 90,000 under the gun, and David Leese three-bet jammed over the top for 125,000, next to act.

Five quick folds brought action to DJ Buuckly, who looked down at his cards from the big blind, and decided to make the call to try and burst the bubble.

Adrian Lopez:
David Leese:
DJ Buckley:

Each player held a live hand, and the flop kept things interesting, as it gave Buckley the lead with a pair of fours, but it also gave Leese flush and straight draws.

The dealer then gave Leese more outs when they turned the , and luckily for him, they followed with the on the river, securing the pot and eliminating Lopez, leaving the remaining eight players on the bubble.

DJ Buckley - 745,000
David Leese - 430,000
Adrian Lopez - 0

Ladies Are Running Hot

Photo: Rudy Cervantes

There was three-way all-in action preflop between Rudy Cervantes from the hijack, the cutoff, and the big blind, with Cervantes putting both players at risk.

Cutoff:
Big Blind:
Rudy Cervantes: [qsqd[

Cervantes was ahead with a pair of queens and hit the flop, which gave him a set.

Both the turn and river were great cards for Cervantes, as they secured him the double elimination, taking action down to one table with nine players remaining,

Rudy Cervantes - 1,715,000

Lynch Set Up by Brown's Ladies

Photo: Justin Lynch

There was all-in action preflop between MSPT Champ’s Justin Lynch and Peter Brown, with Lynch holding the effective stack.

Justin Lynch:
Peter Brown:

Lynch rolled over the inferior made hand, and things got worse after the flop fell, giving Brown a set of ladies.

The dealer then gave Lynch some life after they turned the , as it gave him a flush draw, but the river was a brick, ending his night.

Peter Brown - 1,080,000
Justin Lynch - 0

Day 1A Chip Counts

Yesterday’s starting flight saw Giovanni Bucciero bag the top stack with 1,200,000 leading the six players who advanced from a 46-entry field, and the seven players who made it through today will join that group on Sunday, October 4^th, at 11:00 a.m. for Day 2.

Day 1A Chip Counts

Late Night Counts & Bust Outs

Player Name	Chip Count	Previous	Progress
Rudy Cervantes	1,015,000	1,001,000
DJ Buckley	940,000	590,000
Peter Brown	875,000	235,000
Leonid Vaisburg	818,000	440,000
Adrian Lopez	350,000	845,000
Luke Nguyen (CA)	245,000	400,000
David Leese	156,000	205,000
Justin Lynch	140,000	380,000
Maurice Hawkins	0	525,000

Vaisburg Doubles with a Pair of Aces

Photo: Leonid Vaisburg

There was three-way action after a flop between Leo Vaisburg from the hijack, Luke Nguyen from the cutoff, and Adrian Lopez from the button.

Vaisburg check-raised all-in after Nguyen fired out a bet, and only Lopez looked him up.

Leo Vaisburg:
Adrian Lopez:

Vaisburg was ahead holding a pair of aces, and the turn followed by river secured his double-up.

Leonid Vaisburg - 818,000
Adrian Lopez - 350,000

Season 17 Race for Player of the Year

Mike Wilklow soars to the top of the Player of the Year Leaderboard after picking up 2,113 points at Potawatomi Hotel & Casino from 3 deep runs

1,600 pts = 3rd place $1,110 Main Event for $118,057

333 pts = 8th place $400 Mini Main for $6,631

180 pts = 1st place $250 Monster Stack for $8,500

The 2026 Season 17 POY will earn a $10,000 Main Event seat

Player of the Year Leaderboard: