CPT Summer Showdown Day 8: Doug James Leads Main Event

The Canadian Poker Tour (CPT) Summer Showdown has kicked off the $1,100 Main Event at Grey Eagle Resort & Casino and Doug James is leading the way after Day 1a with 348,200 chips. Only four players crossed the 300,000 mark, and 20 survived the day to qualify for Day 2.

Play began at noon and didn't wrap up until 2 a.m. They didn't quite reach the 10% of the field that they were hoping to get to, so Day 2 will not begin in the money. Day 1b begins at noon on Saturday.

With 128 entries in the day, the $150,000 prize pool guarantee was not far off. With a larger field expected on Saturday, it wouldn't be surprising to see that guarantee doubled by the time Day 1b registration closes at the start of Level 10.

Here are the top 10 stacks who survived Day 1a:

Player	Chips
Doug James	348,200
Richard Mask	316,800
Ruben Perceval	304,600
Zhun Chen	300,100
Rahim Hassam	296,500
DA	294,600
Peter Koumoutsidis	232,100
Leanne Brown	224,300
Dustin Centanni	201,500
Chris Clisby	188,400

James, with the chip lead, is hot off of his fourth-place finish in the $3,300 High Roller in this same series, as well as a runner-up result in the Summer UltraStack in Vancouver. He's definitely one to watch as this event heads toward Day 2 on Sunday.

But first, we need to see a new field enter on Day 1b. Follow the action on the PokerNews Canada live blog for reports of the big hands, the familiar faces, and the largest stacks.

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