Event #22, the final tournament on PokerStars' Spring Championship of Online Poker schedule, certainly drew a crowd -- 18,747 players to be exact. Those thousands created a bountiful prize pool of $1,874,700 with a first-place prize of $187,470.01.

Day 1 play on Easter Sunday ended after 44 levels and 18,721 eliminations, leaving 26 players to duke it out for the crown on Monday. Play moved very fast in the beginning, so fast, in fact, that the final table was set just as the first-hour break began.

Players came back from that break to find the following seat arrangements for the final nine:

Seat 1 -- moohaha123 9,946,435
Seat 2 -- dhutt24 -- 10,303,075
Seat 3 -- xxRogexx 9,707,703
Seat 4 -- dreamer_ss 8,164,803
Seat 5 -- Naxer 31,830,692
Seat 6 -- Sador1983 40,931,246
Seat 7 -- Tiktok23 43,892,219
Seat 8 -- JannotLapin 29,110,203
Seat 9 -- 75champ75 3,583,624

xxRogexx was the first to go, and on the first hand of the final table. This player shoved for 9.6 million and was called in the big blind by JannotLapin. xxRogexx's [9s] [td] was no match for pocket rockets. Although xxRogexx was alive on the flop when he hit a ten, an ace on the turn ended his day with $11,248.21 for ninth place.

dreamer_ss next had the unenviable position of calling for his tournament life for 4.9 million with [2s] [2d] after JannotLapin bet enough to put dreamer_ss all in from the big blind. Unfortunately for dreamer_ss, JannotLapin showed [6c] [6s] and the board ran out [9d] [ts] [ad] [as] [jd]. dreamer_ss won $16,872.31 for the eight-place position.

Action continued to be brisk. dhutt24 was next to be sent to the rail. dhutt24 pushed all-in for 12.2 million with [7s] [Ah], but ran into the pocket jacks held by Naxer. The flop gave dhutt24 four more outs when it came [5d] [6s] [9d], but the turn [7d] and river [6c] brought no help. dhutt24 earned $26,339.54 for seventh.

With 500K/1 million blinds and a 125K ante, the stakes were reaching high levels. moohaha123 found himself with less than three big blinds remaining when he shoved in from the small blind for 2.92 million and Naxer called in the big blind. The hands:

moohaha123 [ac] [9c]
Naxer [kh] [6c]

The flop came [kc] [5h] [8c] to give Naxer the lead, but moohaha the flush and ace draw. The turn [jd] and river [8d] brought no help and moohaha123 received $37,494.01 for the sixth-place finish.

The other severe short stack was next out the door. Tiktok23 raised to 3 million and 75champ75 moved all-in with [9s] [9d] for his last 3.5 million chips. Naxer also called and he and Tiktok23 checked the hand down. The board came [ts] [5c] [qd] [ah] [td] and Tiktok23 bet 4 million on the river and showed the winning [as] [7d] after Naxer folded. The nines did not hold for 75champ75, so he got 56 instead -- $56,241.01 that is.

At this point the remaining four players decided to discuss a deal, which was quickly agreed upon. The chop by chip count produced this result:

JannotLapin - $131,203.71
Tiktok23 - $120,397.63
Sador1983 - $113,338.23
Naxer - $110,562.42

The players were still playing for $20,000 set aside for the winner, as well as a SCOOP Champion's watch.

Only a few hands later Naxer was shown the door:

RSS readers click through to see replay

Naxer took home $110,562.42 for fourth after the deal, or about $35,000 more than he would have earned prior to negotiations.

Getting aces cracked happens all the time, but when it happens at the final table of such a big tournament it can be devastating to a player. Tiktok23 raised to 3 million with his aces and JannotLapin called to see a flop of [9d] [qh] [6d]. Tiktok23 checked and called a 4.5 million bet by JannotLapin. After the [7d] came on the turn, Tiktok23 check-raised all-in for 34.6 million after a 9 million bet by JannotLapin. That player wasted not time calling with [qc] [6s], having flopped two pair. The river paired the board with the [6h], giving JannotLapin sixes full of queens and ending Tiktok23's two days in third, which was worth $120,397.63.

This set up a heads-up battle between JannotLapin and Sador1983 that would last about 20 minutes. It was fairly even initially, but things soon turned JannotLapin's way.

In a key hand the players each put about 7.5 million chips in the pot preflop and the first three community cards came [jd] [9s] [4s] and Sador1983 checked. JannotLapin bet 9.5 million and Sador1983 check-raised to 29.5 million. JannotLapin called. After the turn brought the [2c] Sador1983 checked again and JannotLapin moved all in for 71.2 million. Sador1983 couldn't stand the heat and folded.

It was over a few hands later. See here how it went down:

The flush prevailed for JannotLapin and this player took home $151,203.71 for the tough win in this huge field. Sador1983 had to settle for the nice consolation prize of $113,338.23. Perhaps any of the second through fourth place finishers can alleviate their sorrows with a Corvette...or a house.

Final table finishes and payouts were:

First - JannotLapin ($151,203.71)
Second - Sador1983 - ($113,338.23)
Third - Tiktok23 - ($120,327.63)
Fourth - Naxer ($110,562.42)
Fifth - 75champ75 ($56,241.01)
Sixth - moohaha123 ($37,494.01)
Seventh - dhutt24 ($26,339.54)
Eighth - dreamer_ss ($16,872.31)
Ninth - xxRogexx ($11,248.21)

Day 2 live blog coverage of SCOOP Event #22-Low, $109 NLHE Main Event, is brought to you by Tuscaloosa Johnny Kampis and Dave Behr.

Click refresh to see the latest information as the 26 survivors play for the lion's share of a $1,874,700 prize pool. For a look at previous coverage, see the Event 22-Low Day 1 recap.

6:30pm - It's over! JannotLapin eliminates Sador1983 in 2nd place and wins 2009 SCOOP Event #22-L, $109 NLHE Main Event!

Just like that, the 2009 SCOOP low-stakes Main Event has come to a swift, stunning conclusion. Once again, almost 15 million chips were in the pot preflop after Sador1983 put in the second raise. The rest of the chips quickly went into the middle on a flop of [jh] [2h] [4h]. Sador1983 showed a heads-up monster, top pair and top kicker with [Jd] [Ac], but he was up against the thing most poker players dread more than anything else -- a flush draw. JannotLapin turned over [7s] [Th] for two chances at hitting a nine-outer to win the tournament. The [7h] came on the turn, taking all the suspense out of the hand. The meaningless [9d] river card completed the board and gave the pot, and the SCOOP low-stakes Main Event championship, to JannotLapin.

For 2nd place, Sador1983 takes home $113,338.23. That's a great showing for a $109 tournament. Even better is what JannotLapin gets for first -- $151,203.71. Congratulations to both players for their success!

6:27pm - JannotLapin's pressure bet pays dividends

JannotLapin has taken a three-to-one chip lead on Sador1983. Two preflop raises, the second by Sador1983, but almost 15 million chips in the pot preflop. Sador1983 checked a flop of [jd] [9s] [4s] to JannotLapin, who fired out for 9.5 million. Sador1983 went for a check-raise to 29.5 million but JannotLapin was undeterred and made the call. When the turn fell [2c], Sador1983 checked again. JannotLapin's response was to move all in for 71.2 million, far more than Sador1983 had left. That bet produced a fold.

6:22pm - JannotLapin and Sador1983 even

With the tournament quickly having reached heads-up play, the two remaining combatants are quite deep. They're also almost even in chips. Jannot Lapin has 96.3 million chips, while Sador1983 has 91.1 million. Blinds are 600,000 and 1.2 million. With $20,000 still up for grabs, we could be in for an epic heads-up match.

6:13pm - Tiktok23's clock stopped by JannotLapin

Picking up aces three-handed is a dream -- until they get out-flopped by an opponent. Then there's almost no chance to get away. Tiktok23 opened preflop for 3 million and was called by JannotLapin. On a flop of [9d] [qh] [6d], Tiktok23 check-called 4.5 million. The turn was the [7d]. Again Tiktok23 checked, but this time, after JannotLapin bet 9 million, Tiktok23 check-raised all in for 34.6 million. JannotLapin snap-called with [Qc] [6s], having flopped two pair. Tiktok23's [ad] [ac] was in big trouble. The river paired the board [6h], giving JannotLapin sixes full of queens and giving Tiktok23 a 3rd place finish worth $120,397.63.

6:10pm - Naxer next to exit

Naxer was shown the door on this hand:

RSS readers click through to see replay

Naxer took home $110,562.42 for fourth after the deal, or about $35,000 more than he would have earned prior to negotiations.

6:05pm - Let's make a deal!

Down to four-handed, the remaining players asked the tournament host to pause the deal so that they could discuss a chip-count chop of the remaining prize money. After being reminded that $20,000 must be set aside for the champion, the host informed the players that a chip-count chop would result in the following prizes:

JannotLapin - $131,203.71
Tiktok23 - $120,397.63
Sador1983 - $113,338.23
Naxer - $110,562.42

After confirming that the $20,000 was not included in those numbers, each player quickly agreed to the deal. Congratulations to each of them on a six-figure score!

6:02pm - Tiktok23 cleans 75champ75's clock

It seemed inevitable that 75champ75 would be eliminated in 5th place, barring some kind of miracle. Down to 3.5 million chips with blinds at 500,000 and 1 million, 75champ75 made a stand with [9s] [9d] after Tiktok23 opened for 3 million. Naxer also called out of the blinds. Naxer and Tiktok23 checked all the way to the river, [ts] [5c] [qs] [ah] [td], where Tiktok23 fired a bet of 4 million. He didn't induce a call from Naxer, but was probably happy all the same to pick up the pot with a pair of aces, [As] [7d]. That meant that 75champ75 was the fifth place finisher, a distinction that came with $56,241.01.

5:58pm - Updated chip counts

A look at the final five:

1. JannotLapin (61.3 million)
2. Naxer (44.2 million)
3. Sador1983 (38.7 million)
4. Tiktok23 (37.5 million)
5. 75champ75 (5.5 million)

5:55pm - The blinds they are arising

With 500K/1 million blinds and a 125K ante, the stakes are getting up there. moohaha123 found himself with less than three big blinds remaining when he shoved in from the small blind for 2.92 million and Naxer called in the big blind. The hands:

moohaha123 [ac] [9c]
Naxer [kh] [6c]

The flop came [kc] [5h] [8c] to give Naxer the lead, but moohaha the flush and ace draw. The turn [jd] and river [8d] brought no help and moohaha123 received $37,494.01 for the sixth-place finish.

5:52pm - dhutt24 eliminated in 7th place

The pace of eliminations hasn't slackened at all at this final table. dhutt24 had fewer than fifteen big blinds left when he pushed all in preflop for 12.2 million chips with [7s] [Ah]. Action passed to Naxer, who all-in re-raise to 26.9 million chips surely gave dhutt24 a bad feeling. Rightfully so -- Naxer showed down [jc] [js] and took down the pot with two pair, jacks and sixes, when the board came [5d] [6h] [9d] [7d] [6c].

For finishing in seventh place, dhutt24 earned $26,339.54.

5:46pm - Dream ends in eighth place for dreamer_ss

He who has the chips usually winds up with more chips. JannotLapin, one of the chip leaders of the final table, opened a pot preflop to 10 million. Action folded to dreamer_ss in the big blind, who called all in for 4.9 million with the smallest of pocket pairs, [2h] [2d]. JannotLapin also had a pair, [6c] [6s], which turned into aces and sixes on a board of [9d] [tc] [ad] [as] [jd]. The hand left dreamer_ss without a chip or a chair, but with eighth-place money of $16,872.31.

5:40pm - xxRogexx eliminated in 9th place

The first hand of the final table brought the first elimination. xxRogexx open-raised to 9.6 million and was called by big blind JannotLapin. It was a case of horrible timing for xxRogexx, whose [9s] [Td] was up against the pocket aces of JannotLapin. xxRogexx flopped a ten, but JannotLapin turned an ace to secure the pot with a set of aces. xxRogexx's stay at the final table may have been a short one, but $11,248.21 in prize money should ease the pain.

5:36pm - Final table set

We are down to the final nine as we go on break after one hour of play.

Seat 1 -- moohaha123 9,946,435
Seat 2 -- dhutt24 -- 10,303,075
Seat 3 -- xxRogexx 9,707,703
Seat 4 -- dreamer_ss 8,164,803
Seat 5 -- Naxer 31,830,692
Seat 6 -- Sador1983 40,931,246
Seat 7 -- Tiktok23 43,892,219
Seat 8 -- JannotLapin 29,110,203
Seat 9 -- 75champ75 3,583,624

5:33pm - AlGohr eliminated on final table bubble

It was a gutsy play by AlGohr. With the tournament about to go on a break, Naxer opened the pot preflop to 2.0 million. AlGohr was in the big blind and re-raised all in for 11.2 million. Naxer dipped into his time bank while he pondered what to do. He finally opted to make the call with [Th] [Ad], a hand that was ahead of AlGohr's [ks] [6s] -- but not by much. An ace on a flop of [2d] [8c] [ac] was an inconvenient truth for AlGohr, leaving him looking for running cards. The turn [7c] slammed the door on the final table. When the river came [5c], AlGohr was eliminated in 10th place with prize money of $7,030.13. The final table was also set.

5:30pm - Meanwhile on the other table...

Tiktok23 is crushing it on the other side of the tourney. Playing 300K/600K blinds with a 75K ante, mosche shoved all-in for 8.19 million from the small blind after it was folded around. Tiktok23 made the call with [ah] [td] and was happy to see the [kd] [ts] held by mosche. The board was no help and mosche collected $7,030.13 for 11th.

5:29pm - Sador1983 keeps crushing opponents

Sador1983 picked the right time to hit a rush. Down to the last two tables and getting close to the final table bubble, Sador1983 has been winning all of his major pots. This time it was a preflop raise to 1.65 million that was re-raised all in by Benny Binion to 7.58 million. Sador1983 made the call with pocket sevens and out-raced Benny Binion's [Ac] [Kh] on a board of [6d] [jh] [8h] [5h] [9c]. For 12th place, Benny Binion received $7,030.13.

5:23pm - Oh, you dirty river

Sometimes the river card is so cruel. To wit:

RSS readers click through to see replay

gbel13 earned $5,436.64 for 13th place.

5:16pm - Slaasch exits on dirty beat

When you have two small aces squaring off against each other, the worst outcome is usually a chop. Every once in a while, however, something even more disgusting happens. Slaaasch open-shoved preflop for 6.8 million chips from the small blind with [Ad] [6s] and was called by the big blind, Sador1983, who tabled [5c] [as]. So far, so good for Slaasch. The flop paired his six -- also good. But it also came three clubs, [Qc] [6c] [9c], and Sador1983 was the only player with a club. The flush filled with the turn [Jc], leaving Slaasch looking for any club other than the deuce, trey or four for a chop. He didn't get it. The river fell [9d]. That scream you heard was Slaaasch blowing off some disgust at his 14th-place exit. He will have to console himself with the $5,436.64 he just won.

5:10pm - Game over for massey8

massey8 caught a few short stacks in the early-going today to add chips to his stack, but wasn't able to build up enough to avoid elimination. massey8 open-raised from the button to 1.2 million only to see the small blind, Sador1983, re-raise to 3.5 million. It was a decision point for massey8, with only 7.5 million chips total. He decided to put them in the middle and was quickly called by Sador1983. It was a battle of aces, with massey8's [jd] [ad] coming up short against Sador1983's [ah] [qd] on a board of [2h] [Ks] [6s] [9d] [Qh]. massey8 is the 15th place finisher, with $5,436.64 in winnings..

5:07pm - Live with aces, die with aces

After having doubled only minutes ago with aces, le pistash was just eliminated by them. Playing 250K/500K blinds with a 62,500 ante, this player shoved for 2.17 million under the gun plus one with [Td] [Th], but moohaha123 re-shoved over the top one to le pistash's left with [Ac] [As]. The board ran out [7s] [ks] [kc] [3c] [kd] to eliminate le pistash in 16th place, and with a prize of $3,843.14.

5:05pm - rebuking can't win flip for life

Tiktok23 raised it to 1.2 million from under the gun plus one and cebuking re-raised all-in for 4.59 million from the small blind with [ah] [td]. Tiktok23 requested time before making the call wiht [6c] [6h]. The flop of [6d] [5h] [7h] pretty much ended it. cebuking could not catch a runner-runner straight and was out in 17th, collecting $3,843.14.

5:02pm - Sevens are not lucky for KarinMR

Now down to two tables and playing 200K/400K blinds with a 50K ante, KarinMR shoved all-in for 1.55 million in middle position and gbel13 called from the cutoff. The hands:

KarinMR [7d] [7c]
gbel13 [ah] [ac]

The board ran out [Jh] [kc] [6c] [3s] [qd] to send KarinMR out in 18th with $3,843.14

4:59pm - dreamer_ss wins battle of short-stacks versus ByggmesterBe

Stack consolidation is the name of the game right now. ByggmesterBe open-raised all in to 4.9 million and was called by dreamer_ss, who had 5.5 million total. Each player had an ace, but the [kd] [as] of dreamer_ss was better than ByggmesterBe's [jh] [ac]. dreamer_ss wound up with a full house, queens full of kings, on a board of [qc] [6c] [qd] [kh] [qh] to take down the pot and send ByggmesterBe off to do other things in 19th place.

4:56pm - le pistash gains a foothold

The short stack with 1.4 million, le pistash just doubled through cebuking with [Ah] [Ac] versus [Jh] [Qh] to gather a 3.2 million stack.

4:52pm--Naxer's "super-good" board is super-bad for supergood1

Naxer has jumped to more than 21 million in chips. Those chips had to come at the expense of someone else, of course. Naxer's latest victim was supergood1, who was so close to doubling up by a rivered set sent him packing.

4:50pm - Razwar flips out

Naxer started the action on Razwar's last hand of the 2009 SCOOP low-stakes Main Event, but AlGohr was the one who delivered the fateful blow. Naxer opened the preflop action for 1 million chips before AlGohr raised to 7.7 million. Razwar called all in for less, putting the action back to Naxer. Naxer dipped deep into his time bank before folding, leaving AlGohr's pocket nines up against Razwar's Big Slick. The nines held on a board of [5d] [2s] [5s] [Jh] [Td] to send Razwar crashing out of the tournament in 21st place.

4:49pm - KidNyam119 cools his heels on the rail

At one point late in the day yesterday, KidNyam119 was chip leader. Today he is the 22nd place finisher. His last 1.9 million chips were in the middle preflop with [Ks] [6d]. massey8 was in there with another small ace, [As] [5s], and it held up again. The board came [9c] [4d] [4c] [Ts] [Jd], leaving KidNyam119 to ponder what might have been, given his chip position late on Day 1.

4:45pm - Naxer feeling fine with nines

Once upon a time, someone somewhere said that in order to go deep in, and win, a major tournament, you have to get lucky a few times. Naxer just used one of his times. Naxer open-shoved preflop for a staggering 8.6 million (about 28 big blinds) and was snap-called by big stack 75champ75, who showed down pocket jacks. Naxer had a live ace with [Ah] [9s], but he didn't need it. The board ran out [Ts] [8c] [9d] [9h] [8d] to make a full house, nines full of eights, for Naxer and to keep his SCOOP Main Event title run alive.

4:40pm - Bad luck sends chris8142 to the rail

When you have fewer than 15 big blinds and are dealt a hand like [Qc] [Ad], you're often happy to pick up the blinds and antes. chris8142 moved all in preflop with that hand for 3.5 million chips. mosche called with a worse ace, [Ah] [5d], but paired up in excruciating fashion -- on the river. A board of [Td] [Tc] [6h] [3h] [5s] was clean for chris8142 until that fateful river. He's out of the tournament in 23rd place.

4:37pm - GonzNZ Gone-zo

With the average stack having fewer than 25 big blinds to start Day 2 play, we expected to see quite a bit of moving and shaking early. GonzNZ decided to make his play for chips by calling all in for 2.58 million with [Kc] [8s] after KarinMR open-shoved preflop for about 5.1 million. KarinNR showed down [Ac] [4s], which was the best hand on a board of [5d] [Tc] [Qd] [3d] [7s]. Add GonzNZ's name to the list of the fallen, in 24th place.

4:34pm - Queens can't hold for spielraum.at

dhutt24 raised to 649K from early position and spielraum.at re-raised to 1.2 million. dhutt24 made the call and led out for 1.2 million on a flop of [5h] [8h] [As] to put spielraum.at all in. The latter made the call with [Qd] [Qc] and dhutt24 showed [Ac] [7s]. The turn and river were blanks to send spielraum.at to the rail in 25th place.

4:31pm - dushbagg eliminated in 26th place

dushbagg probably wondered why he was even coming back to the table this afternoon. He was crippled late in the day yesterday and started Day 2 with 54,864 chips. One ante was 37,500. On the first hand of play, sitting in the cutoff, he moved all in with [Kc] [8h]. The button player, massey8, called with [Ac] [2c]. When neither player improved, dushbagg was out.

4:30pm - And we're off

Playing 150K/300K blinds with a 37,500 ante we are off as players vie for that $187,470.01 first-place prize.

Day 2 coverage to begin at 4:30pm ET

Join us here at 4:30pm ET for Day 2 coverage of the 2009 SCOOP $109 Main Event. The 26 remaining players and their chip counts are as follows:

1. dhutt24 (21,485,086)
2. JannotLapin (14,301,227)
3. xxRogexx (13,676,255)
4. Benny Binion (11,696,241)
5. Naxer (11,080,806)
6. 75champ75 (10,747,618)
7. Tiktok23 (10,346,942)
8. mosche (9,028,382)
9. AlGohr (8,624,415)
10. ByggmesterBe (7,962,404)
11. Sador1983 (7,453,582)
12. Slaaasch (7,382,233)
13. supergood1 (5,551,820)
14. gbel13 (5,096,065)
15. chris8142 (5,069,528)
16. massey8 (4,937,356)
17. cebuking (4,620,632)
18. KarinMR (4,591,535)
19. moohaha123 (4,362,302)
20. dreamer_ss (3,971,149)
21. Razwar (3,697,157)
22. le pistash (3,090,800)
23. GonzNZ (2,919,476)
24. KidNyam119 (2,889,125)
25. spielraum.at (2,833,000)
26. dushbagg (54,864)

Finally, we've made it. After 21 thrilling and varied SCOOP events across a spectrum of buy-in levels, we've come to the two-day finale: the SCOOP Main Event. And what a Main Event it is turning into!

The $1,000,000 guarantee for the $109 "low" version of the Main Event was never in danger of not being met. By the time late registration concluded, 18,747 players signed up. That meant a prize pool of $1,874,700 and a first prize of $187,470.01. For just $109 and two days of perfect poker, someone was going to earn more than most people earn in a year. To be in the Top 10 counts at the end of Day 1 required a player to amass almost 8 million chips. "Every turn card is a sweat," remarked one railbird.

It was definitely going to take perfect poker to get to the final table. 18,747 players meant that there were 2,083 tables to start play. The odds against any single, random player making the final table were 2,082-to-1. Too much can go wrong somewhere between 18,747 and 9, even when you play perfectly. If you don't play perfectly, you can forget any final table dreams.

The Team PokerStars Pros turned out in force for this event, and they could write a book about what went wrong between 18,747 and 9. 23 of them -- more than two-thirds of the Team -- tried their hand at the low-stakes version of the Main Event. Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier won the Team last-shorter bet as the first Pro eliminated when he went out in 17,180th place. In truth, it was a rough day for the whole Team. Only Victor Ramdin, Marcin Horecki and JC Alvarado saw any return on their investment. Alvarado made the deepest run, finishing in 676th place for prize money of $487.43.

KidNyam119 was the chip leader in the latter stages of the day and got there by making some pretty sick calls and ducking some pretty big draws. Sometimes in the same hand. For example, there was this hand in which KidNyam119 eliminated Jannik007111: RSS readers click through to see replay

Sdouble also made a late push up the leaderboard. We can't tell you how many times we saw Sdouble raise or re-raise a pot. It was as if Sdouble was the self-appointed terror of the table. His image was so crazy that we watched one player call all in against Sdouble, on a flop of [6c] [8c] [Ad]. Sdouble opened the pot for about 250,000, was raised by vvap to 640,000, three-bet all-in and was called for another 1 million. vvap showed down [8s] [jd], a hand absolutely crushed by Sdouble's [Ac] [Qc]. A third club on the turn, the [9c], gave Sdouble the lock and pushed his chip count to more than 5 million.

Sometimes, with all the action, it was easy to miss certain things. We'd like to tell you how TitanTilts zoomed to 9.6 million in chips when the next closest player was at 6.5 million. Honestly, we don't know. That's the way it goes in no-limit hold'em. Hit a small rush, make the most of it, and go from middle of the pack to top dog.

dhutt24 soon joined TitanTilts at the 9.0 million mark, thanks in no small part to the reversed fortunes of KidNyam119. dhutt24 check-raised from 890,000 to 1,780,000 on a board of [5] [jh] [2s] [ac] after floating a flop bet from KidNyam119 of 375,000. KidNyam119 surrendered to the turn check-raise. Later on, dhutt24 took down a pot worth more than 7 million chips against JimJiminy. The action was raised preflop by dhutt24, then re-raised by JimJiminy to 411,950. JimJiminy bet 1.0 million on a flop of [Ac] [4h] [kd], then check-called 2.0 million when the turn fell [7h]. Both players checked the [Qd] river, with dhutt24's [kc] [7d] two pair, kings and sevens, besting JimJiminy's single pair of kings, [kh] [3h]. That pot allowed dhutt24 to become the first player to eclipse the 12 million chip mark.

Other players were accumulating chips as well. Sdouble continued a relentless assault on his table to chip up to 8.3 million while Allanon85 quietly amassed a stack that was almost as impressive. Of course, they all suffered their share of setbacks along the way to the end of the day. Allanon85 suffered the biggest setback after opening a pot to 380,000 and being re-raised by Benny Binion to 1.4 million. Allanon85's response to shove all in for just more than 7 million, probably hoping to take down the pot. Instead Benny Binion snapp-called all in for 5.5 million total and showed down [kh] [ks]. Those kings held up against Allanon85's [ad] [qs] and gave Benny Binion the chip lead with 11.7 million chips. Allanon85 would eventually be eliminated in 41st place. Sdouble found himself in a tailspin as well and followed Allanon85 out of the tournament in 38th place.

dhutt24 righted his own ship with a hand that wasn't exactly the prettiest: RSS readers click through for replay

dhutt24 used the chips from that pot to re-establish dominion over the table. The big hand of the night came against TitanTilts, a player who had shown a repeated propensity to raise all in. The two players took a raised flop of [2d] [8h] [5d]. dhutt24 led out for about 875,000 before TitanTilts moved all in for 6.3 million. dhutt24 made the call with chips to spare, turning over [6d] [3d] for an inside straight flush draw. TitanTilts showed down [Ah] [jh], barely the best hand. The turn [3s] gave dhutt24 a pair of threes and the lead; the river [4c] made a straight for both players, but dhutt24's was best.

That hand created a massive pot worth over 14 million chips and gave dhutt24 a commanding chip lead. At the end of the day he was the overnight chip lead with 21.4 million chips. That's triple the average stack of 7.2 million chips. and 7 million chips more than JannotLapin, the second-place player. Although a lot can still happen between now and the crowning of a champion later today, we'd say dhutt24 has a leg up on the field of 26 remaining players.

End of Day 1 Top Ten Chip Counts:

1. dhutt24 (21,485,086 in chips)
2. JannotLapin (14,301,227 in chips)
3. xxRogexx (13,676,255 in chips)
4. Benny Binion (11,696,241 in chips)
5. Naxer (11,080,806 in chips)
6. 75champ75 (10,747,618 in chips)
7. Tiktok23 (10,346,942 in chips)
8. mosche (9,028,382 in chips)
9. AlGohr (8,624,415 in chips)
10.ByggmesterBe (7,962,404 in chips)

Play will resume at 16:30 ET on Monday with blinds at 150,000 and 300,000 and an ante of 37,500. Until then, follow along with all the SCOOP action on the
SCOOP page. You can track the results of the top performers on the leaderboard page. PokerStars.tv has also been hard at work putting together their usual fantastic video coverage of the SCOOP series.