Christophe De Meulder raised to 2,200 from early position and Antonio Garcia three-bet to 7,500 from the hijack.
The action folded back to defending champion De Meulder, and he called to see the flop fall q♥10♣8♥.
De Meulder checked, and Garcia bet 7,000. De Meulder raised to 18,500 and Garcia quickly called.
After the 7♠ hit the turn, De Meulder moved all in for 51,000, and Garcia asked for the count before he called just 30 seconds later.
De Meulder tabled 9♣8♣ and was in bad shape against Garcia’s k♣q♣.
The 5♥ on the river brought no joy for De Meulder, and the 2018 winner departed from Day 1a but will have the chance to defend his title by taking part in either Day 1b or Day 1c tomorrow.
Antonio Garcia – 240,000
Christophe De Meulder – Eliminated
