WSOP Main Event Up and Running

WSOP Main Event Up and Running

Monday, 6 July 2015

It's finally here. After months of anticipation and build up, the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event got underway on Sunday and by the time the opening field had settled into their games the total number of entrants hit 741.

By Day 1A standards that's pretty good and means this year's Big Dance could reach the 7,000-mark when the registration desks finally close later this week.

Getting the action underway with the immortal words "Shuffle Up and Deal" was Irish poker legend Donnacha O'Dea and, for Barny Boatman at least, that was the signal to get busy. Buoyed by his recent success at the WSOP, Boatman found himself contesting a major pot within the first 30-minutes of the day.

Despite the stacks being deep and the road to the finale a long and winding one, Boatman decided to get busy with a pair of queens in Level 1. Meeting some resistance from Mohammed Ayyash who was holding pocket aces, Boatman and his opponent swapped bets for two streets before all the money went in with the board showing: 8c 6s 4h Qc.

With Ayyash making the big move, Boatman was there with an instant call and, after the Kh fell on the river, his set of queens was enough to scoop the pot and enough to make Ayyash the first player out of the 2015 WSOP Main Event.

After the elimination floodgates were opened unexpectedly early, the flow of departures then continued throughout the day and by the time the clock was stopped just 480 hopefuls remained.

Currently leading the way is William Kakon from Miami, Florida, but when he returns for Day 2 he'll be faced with tough field that contains the likes of Jorryt van Hoof, Jonathan Duhamel and Fabian Quoss.

Day 1B is set to start later today and, if previous years are anything to go by, then even more players will ante-up $10,000 for a shot at WSOP glory.



Tags: WSOP 2015, WSOP Main Event, World Series of Poker