Demosthenes Kiriopoulos Heads 131 Survivors On Day 1c of Wynn Summer Classic $3,500 NLH Championship
Day 1c of the Wynn Summer Classic $3,500 NLH Championship, the last of three starting flights, came to a close after 15-levels and 12 hours of play. Once the dust settled 131 players from a starting field of 756 were able to find a bag for Day 2. Leading those survivors is Canadian Demosthenes Kiriopoulos, sitting on a stack of 773,000. Kiriopoulos recently finished 10th in the 2021 WSOP Main Event for a career high $585,000 and will be looking to build on that success. Second in chips is Thomas Eychenne with 677,000. WSOP gold bracelet winner Barry Hutter rounds out the top three, sitting just behind Eychenne on 675,000.
Several notables were among those players able to secure a seat on Day 2. They include Japan's all time live earnings leader Tsugunari Toma (653,000), four time bracelet winner David Peters (394,000) and BetMGM sponsored pro Darren Elias (263,000).
Other big names fired a bullet or two in this, the last opportunity to take a shot in the tournament, but with no success. They include 2005 WSOP Main Event champion Joe Hachem, three time bracelet winner Chance Kornuth and high roller regular and accused cheat Jake Schindler.
Top Ten Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Country | Chips |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Demosthenes Kiriopoulos | Canada | 773,000 |
| 2 | Thomas Eychenne | France | 677,000 |
| 3 | Barry Hutter | United States | 675,000 |
| 4 | Tsugunari Toma | Japan | 653,000 |
| 5 | Quang Vu | United States | 555,000 |
| 6 | Adam Todd | United States | 521,000 |
| 7 | Marko Grujic | Serbia | 500,000 |
| 8 | Mihai Niste | Romania | 481,000 |
| 9 | Pedro Neves | Portugal | 462,000 |
| 10 | Timothy Chung | Hong Kong | 456,000 |
With all starting flights complete, the total number of entrants has been confirmed at 1,428, generating a prize pool of $4,605,300 and smashing the guarantee of $3,500,000. That prize pool will be divided amongst the top 152 finishers with the eventual winner receiving $696,011. Since 233 players will return for Day 2, the various Day 1 survivors are not yet guaranteed a minimum cash worth $8,013.
The remaining players will combine into one field tomorrow, Monday, June 27th at 12 p.m. PDT at which point they will play out ten 60-minute levels before the survivors bag for Day 3. Be sure to stay tuned to PokerNews as its live reporting team continues to provide comprehensive coverage of the Wynn Summer Classic.