The World Poker Tour has returned to partypoker with the WPT500 festival with 25 numbered events from March 7-25.
Two of the events boast tasty $1 million guarantees for a buy-in of $530 including the WPT #01: WPT 500 on March 7-16 and the WPT #13: WPT500 Knockout on March 15-23.
Manuel Ruivo unseeded Day 1g chip leader Gediminas Uselis to snag the overally chip lead in the WPT #01: WPT 500 after virtually bagging a huge stack of 13,383,142 (191 big blinds) during last night's Day 1h.
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Manuel Ruivo Leads the partypoker WPT500
The WPT500 has already eclipsed its lofty $1 million guarantee with 2,140 entrants coming into action during the first eight opening flights to generate a $1,070,000 prize pool.
The prize pool will continue to grow with a Turbo Day 1 taking place on Monday, March 15 at 5:05 p.m. GMT or three hours just before the start of Day 2 at 8:05 p.m. GMT. The Turbo flight will feature six-minute blind levels instead of the usual 12-minute levels featured on all of the other opening flights. Otherwise, it features the same structure as the other Day 1s with 15 percent of the field advancing to Day 2.
A total of 322 entrants and counting have advanced to Day 2 where the structure will feature longer 16-minute blind levels starting with blinds at 35,000/70,000/8,750a. The day will conclude when the field is whittled down to just a nine-player final table with that set to play out the following day on Tuesday, March 16 at 8:05 p.m. GMT.
Yesterday's Day 1h was the biggest opening thus far in the event with 691 entrants getting into the action. Portugal's Manuel Ruivo, playing at partypoker under a Dutch flag, not only led the 104 survivors after ending the day with 13,383,142 in chips but as we already mentioned in the intro also overtook Day 1g chip leader Gediminas Uselis (11,129,628) for the overall chip lead.
Three other players cracked the overall top ten in chip counts from yesterday's Day 1h including Dylan Rowe (9,309,495), Julien Perouse (9,225,340), and Corentin Ropert (8,734,989).
Also near the top of the leaderboard to start Day 2 were Day 1a chip leader Roman Matveichuk (10,131,678), Pedro Jorge (9,508,747), Day 1d chip leader Richard O'Neill (9,307,700), Day 1f chip leader Thomas Clucas (9,256,645), and Gustavo Mastelotto (9,130,880).
WPT500 Top Ten Leaderboard
| Place | Player | Country | Flight Qualified | Chips | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manuel Soares Ruivo | Netherlands | Day 1h | 13,383,142 | 191 |
| 2 | Gediminas Uselis | Lithuania | Day 1g | 11,129,298 | 159 |
| 3 | Roman Matveichuk | Russia | Day 1a | 10,131,678 | 145 |
| 4 | Pedro Jorge | Malta | Day 1a | 9,508,747 | 136 |
| 5 | Dylan Glen Rowe | New Zealand | Day 1h | 9,309,495 | 133 |
| 6 | Richard O'Neill | Ireland | Day 1d | 9,307,700 | 133 |
| 7 | Thomas Clucas | United Kingdom | Day 1f | 9,256,645 | 132 |
| 8 | Julien Perouse | Canada | Day 1h | 9,225,340 | 132 |
| 9 | Gustavo Mastelotto | Brazil | Day 1a | 9,130,880 | 130 |
| 10 | Corentin Ropert | United Kingdom | Day 1h | 8,734,989 | 125 |
Kristen Bicknell Leads the partypoker Ambassadors
The partypoker Ambassadors got into the WPT500 in full force with Kristen Bicknell thus far performing the best after bagging 4,302,313 in chips into today's Day 2.
Three other partypoker Ambassadors will join Bicknell on Day 2 with shorter stacks including Matthew Staples (2,474,898), Dzmitry Urbanovich (2,271,164), and Patrick Leonard (1,592,924).
The rest of the partypoker Ambassadors will still have one final chance to get into Day 2 during today's final turbo opening flight.
| Place | Player | Country | Chips | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 91 | Kristen Bicknell | Canada | 4,302,313 | 61 |
| 185 | Matthew Staples | Canada | 2,474,898 | 35 |
| 192 | Dzmitry Urbanovich | Latvia | 2,271,164 | 32 |
| 247 | Patrick Leonard | United Kingdom | 1,592,924 | 23 |
$1M Gtd WPT500 Knockout Begins Today
While you still have one last chance to get into the WPT500, another $1 million guaranteed event featuring a $530 buy-in is on our doorsteps with the WPT500 Knockout kicking off the first of its eight opening flights at 8:05 p.m. GMT.
Although there is one less opening flight in this event than the ongoing WPT500, the structure is identically the same with the first seven opening flights boasting 12-minute levels and the final opening flighted featuring a faster-paced six-minute blind levels.
A total of 15 percent of each opening flight will advance to Day 2 on Monday, March 22 with the final table scheduled the following day on Tuesday, March 23.
| Date | Time (GMT) | Tournament |
|---|---|---|
| March 15 | 8:05 p.m. | WPT #13 WPT500 Knockout Day 1A: $1M Gtd |
| March 16 | 8:05 p.m. | WPT #13 WPT500 Knockout Day 1B: $1M Gtd |
| March 17 | 8:05 p.m. | WPT #13 WPT500 Knockout Day 1C: $1M Gtd |
| March 18 | 8:05 p.m. | WPT #13 WPT500 Knockout Day 1D: $1M Gtd |
| March 19 | 8:05 p.m. | WPT #13 WPT500 Knockout Day 1E: $1M Gtd |
| March 20 | 8:05 p.m. | WPT #13 WPT500 Knockout Day 1F: $1M Gtd |
| March 21 | 8:05 p.m. | WPT #13 WPT500 Knockout Day 1G: $1M Gtd |
| March 22 | 5:05 p.m. | WPT #13 WPT500 Knockout Day 1H Turbo: $1M Gtd |
| 8:05 p.m. | WPT #13 WPT500 Day 2: $1M Gtd | |
| March 23 | 8:05 p.m. | WPT #13 WPT500 Knockout Final Table |
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