It's been an exciting 2014 World Series of Poker Asia-Pacific thus far. Seven of the 10 bracelet events are complete, and during that time we saw a Malaysian win a bracelet for the very first time; witnessed a back-and-forth Player of the Year race (which is still on going); and Phil Hellmuth make his 51st WSOP final table on his quest for bracelet No. 14 in Event #7: AU$2,200 Six-Handed — which ultimate came up short in fourth place.
Today, all those stories culminate with the cornerstone event of the WSOP APAC — the AU$10,000 Main Event. Last year this very event attracted 405 runners and saw noted poker pro Daniel Negreanu walk away with the AU$1,038.925 first-place prize on his way to capturing the 2013 WSOP POY title. Negreanu is back in the land down under and will attempt to defend his title.
Others here in Melbourne that will be playing in the Main Event — be it today or in tomorrow's Day 1b — are 2012 Main Event champ and POY Greg Merson; the two players currently jockeying for this year's WSOP POY, George Danzer and Brandon Shack-Harris; Australian Poker Hall of Famers Gary Benson, Mel Judah and Jason Grey; six-time bracelet winner Jeff Lisandro; 2005 WSOP Main Event champ Joe Hachem; Brazilian November Niner Bruno Politano; and 2013 WSOP Main Event champ Ryan Riess, who is clearly excited for this event.
Players will start with 30,000 in tournament chips, and the plan for the day is to play six 90-minute levels. There will be a 15-minute break after each level, and a 75-minute dinner break after Level 4. Late registration will be open for eight levels, meaning players can register up to 4:00 p.m. local time on Tuesday, Oct. 14.
Cards will be in the air here on Day 1a in about an hour, so stay tuned as the PokerNews Live Reporting Team brings you all the latest and greatest from the 2014 WSOP APAC Main Event.