The end of summer saw a great turnout for the Bay 101 Open in San Jose. Famous tournament director Matt Savage returned to his home turf to give Brian Gudin a hand with the series, which drew more than 400 players for just the championship event.
In the first tournament, $345 no-limit hold’em, Eric Schafer bested a field of 268 to take down $21,700.
On Day 2, the action switched to $345 Omaha/8 as 134 players began the day only to see Cuong Leong hoist the trophy and pocket $13,280 for first place.
It was back to $345 NLHE on Day 3, but there was a slight twist in that the final 36 played six-handed. San Jose’s Don Santos outlasted the field of 185 for an $18K payday.
Event 4, a $345 NLHE bounty tournament, attracted 237 players. With one-third of the prize money paid in bounties, $12,810 was left for first-place finisher Houston Williams.
The championship played out as a three-day event. On Day 1A, 169 players paid $1,080 each for a shot at the $100K-plus first-place money.
Day 1B drew a larger field (232) and the final 18 from each day advanced to Day 2. Evan Karcie of San Francisco eventually captured the title to take home $110,300 and a seat to the Bay 101 Shooting Star event in 2012.
Event 6, the $120 all-in-or-fold tournament, went to Sylvia Day, who plowed her way through more than 100 players for the trophy and $3,440.
The $450 partners event rounded out the series with 80 teams as Bao Huynh and Thanh Phung earned the title and $11,200. Nearly 1,500 entrants overall played for close to $700K in prize money.
In other notable news, Scott Numoto and Andy Gamboa, both of San Jose, had two final-table appearances each. Two-time World Series of Poker bracelet-winner Howard “Tahoe” Andrews added to his impressive list of tournament cashes by placing 29th in the championship event.
— Bret Miller is the Ante Up Ambassador for Northern California. Email him at anteupbret@gmail.com.
Bay 101 Open, Aug. 22-29
Event 1 • $345 NLHE
268 Players • $80,400 Prize Pool
WINNER: Eric Schafer, $21,700
Event 2 • $345 Omaha/8
134 Players • $40,200 Prize Pool
WINNER: Cuong Leong, $13,280
Event 3 • $345 NLHE
185 Players • $55,500 Prize Pool
WINNER: Don Santos, $18,000
Event 4 • $345 Bounty
237 Players • $71,100 Prize Pool
WINNER: Houston Williams, $12,810
$1,080 Main Event
401 Players • $401K Prize Pool
WINNER: Evan Karcie, $120,300
Event 6 • $120 AIOF
103 Players • $10,300 Prize Pool
WINNER: Sylvia Day $3,440
Event 7 • $450 Partners
80 Teams • $32,000 Prize Pool
WINNERS: B. Huynh/T. Phung, $11,200
