Davidson Matthew Leads Mirage Poker Showdown After Day 1

Toronto’s Davidson Matthew leads the field after the first day of the World Poker Tour’s Mirage Poker Showdown, one of seven players with over 100,000 chips. 

Only 309 players entered the $10,000 buy-in tournament, a small field for WPT standards.  Trouble surrounding internet poker (and thus, the numbers of players able to qualify through online satellites or win enough money for the buy-in) has been one theory batted around to explain this, but the start of the World Series of Poker next week could be another reason.  Many online players may be saving their bankrolls and vacation time for the grand daddy of poker festivals and all the extracurriculars that go along with it. 

No matter the reason, the smallish field has essentially concentrated the star power on the felt.  There are no weak tables to be seen. 

Notable bust-outs include Jim “KrazyKanuck” Worth, Patrick Antonius, Daniel Negreanu, Chau Giang, Jeff Madsen, Jennifer Harman, John Phan, Scott Fischman, James Van Alstyne, and David Singer. 

144 players remain going into Day 2.

Day 1 Chip Leaders

1. Davidson Matthew -- $156,625

2. Daniel Alaei -- $141,125

3. Darrell Dicken -- $123,100

4. Shannon Shorr -- $121,200

5. Geoffrey Sanford -- $112,075

6. Jeff Blenkarn -- $103,925

7. Anthony Newman -- $100,600

8. Paul Wang -- $98,475

9. Randy Holland -- $89.275

10. Chul Kim -- $87,550

Payout Schedule (Place/Prize) 

1. $1,066,295

2. $561,369

3. $259,369

4. $172,912

5. $129,684

6. $100,865

7. $72,047

8. $57,637

9. $46,110

10-12. $34,582

13-15. $28,818

16-18. $23,056

19-27. $17,292