November 03 2012, Josh Cahlik

The first-ever World Series of Poker Circuit stop in Canada is officially underway.

Day 1a of the 2012-13 WSOPC Main Event presented by Southern Comfort 100 Proof came to a close at the River Rock Casino Friday night. A total of 294 players paid $1,675 to participate in the first of three day 1 flights, and at the end of the night only 59 remained. The man sporting the biggest stack at the end of the night was Norman Overdijk with 242,000. He was trailed closely by John Cracic (231,000) and Sean Hwang (207,700).

Hwang managed to build a significant portion of his stack during a confrontation with poker pro Jason Koon shortly before the dinner break. Koon opened to 1,300 only to have Hwang three-bet to 3,100. Koon moved out a four-bet to 7,100 and Hwang called. The flop was and Koon open-shipped all in for his last 24,500. Hwang called with for an open ended straight draw, and Koon was surprised to find that his was actually in the lead on the flop. The on the turn meant nothing, but the on the river sealed Koon’s fate as Hwang was able to make his straight. That hand boosted Hwang up to 100,000, which was the chip lead at the time, but he was overtaken by Overdijk near the end of the day.

While Overdijk is on top, there are many players who will also bring sizable stacks into play on Day 2. Among them are Cary Marshall (204,000), Noah Vaillancourt (172,100), Tyler Lee (167,000), 2012 WSOP bracelet winner Ashkan Razavi (155,400), Scott Stanko (120,000), Paul Nguyen (111,200), Matt Jarvis (94,600), and Braden J. Hall (94,600).

While those players thrived, several notables were unable to advance to Day 2. Huy Nguyen, Scott Clements, Matt Affleck, Doug Lee, Kevin MacPhee, Adam Levy, and Amit Makhija are just a few of the players who were eliminated before play ended. Those players will have the option to re-enter the tournament on Day 1b and, if that doesn’t work out, they will have one final chance on Day 1c.

Here’s a look at the top 10 stacks from Day 1a of the World Series of Poker Circuit River Rock Main Event:

Day 1b will begin at 12:00 PM PDT in the River Rock Theatre. Be sure to follow our coverage here at PokerNews as we track both new entrants and those eliminated from Day 1a that seek redemption on the felt.

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November 03 2012, Chad Holloway

The fifth stop of the 2012/2013 World Series of Poker Circuit presented by Southern Comfort 100 Proof is currently taking place north of the U.S. border for the first time ever. The River Rock Casino Resort located in Richmond, British Columbia – just a short distance from Vancouver – is hosting 12 rings events, culminating this weekend with the $1,675 Main Event.

River Rock’s Main Event features three Day 1s – Nov. 2 through 4 – each day beginning at 12 p.m. local time. Players will be given the opportunity to re-enter twice, allowing one entry per starting day. For example, players eliminated on Day 1a can re-enter on Day 1b and/or Day 1c, and players eliminated on Day 1B can re-enter on Day 1C.

Aside from being the first-ever WSOP Circuit event in Canada, the stop has also made headlines by offering two online ring events in partnership with PlayNow.com. Events 11 ($320 buy-in) and 12 ($530 buy-in) are open to residents of British Columbia and Quebec and will take place Nov. 18 and 25, respectively.

Here’s a look at the WSOP Circuit River Rock events completed thus far: