MSPT Iowa State Poker Championship Main Event Day 1a: The Record-Setting Dan Bekavac Show
The first flight of the 2022 MSPT Iowa State Poker Championship $1,110 Main Event officially been completed, and it was a day to be remembered.
A total of 140 entrants took their shot at the first flight. Instead of playing the full 15 levels that were scheduled, the players made it down to 12 percent of the field first, which means 16 players found bags at the end of the day. That early exit was thanks in large part to one man: Dan Bekavac.
The action of the day was highlighted by the record-setting sun run of Bekavac. In the history of the Mid-States Poker Tour (MSPT), no one has ever bagged more than the 1,183,000 of Bekavac on any Day 1. To make it all the more impressive, he did so on a Thursday flight, historically the smallest of the three flights planned.
Day 1a Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dan Bekavac | 1,183,000 | 295 |
| 2 | Tyler Yates | 347,000 | 86 |
| 3 | "Vegas Victor" Gayheart | 273,000 | 68 |
| 4 | Aaron Johnson | 249,000 | 62 |
| 5 | Ben Rasmussen | 171,000 | 42 |
| 6 | Brandon Reyes | 156,000 | 39 |
| 7 | Ross Ferger | 156,000 | 39 |
| 8 | Michael Anderson | 146,000 | 36 |
| 9 | Jesse Bowman | 140,000 | 35 |
| 10 | Paul Cogliano | 132,000 | 33 |
Bekavac's day didn't start so well, as Tyler Yates called him down to leave his first bullet a blank, After that, though, he couldn't be stopped.
Bekavac pushed through airball bluffs with ease, ran down sets with backdoor straights, won nearly every flip, and found the right side of monster coolers. Even when he didn't win, he ran well by finding unlikely chops.
Play ended with 5:07 left in level 14. Two more flights will be played over the next two day before these 16 players will join with those fields and return on Sunday at 11 a.m. local time.
Bekavac has already set one record in this event, will he also set another record by winning a fifth MSPT Main Event title? Stay tuned to PokerNews all weekend to see if Bekavac can ride his chips all the way to the top spot.