With more than 35,000 entries into the PokerStars Americas Cup of Poker, the pre-event favorites have pulled out to a commanding lead.

As you've likely heard, the Americas Cup is pitting people from all over North and South America against each other in a battle for bragging rights and big money at the end of the world. At stake, a chance at the live final in the Patagonia region of Argentina and a heck of a ski trip in September.

A snow boarder on the slopes in Argentina -- Photo by Palmiro Bedeschi

After one round of play, several of the divisions have seen serious blow outs. In Group A, the United States and Mexico have crushed Equador and preliminary qualifier Guatemala 8-0 in early action. Canada and Colombia have done the same thing to Uruguay and Panama in Group B. In Group D, Argentina (host of the live final) and Brazil skunked Paraguay and Honduras.

It's only in Group C where things have stayed exceptionally tight. All four countries are still well within reach of making live final. As of right now, here's how the teams win/loss records look.

Costa Rica (6 - 2)
Chile (4 - 4)
Venezuela (4 - 4)
Peru (2 - 6)

The top two teams in each group will be headed to the live final. This week, PokerStars announced that all teams that finish in third place will get a chance to play for the $10,000 ninth place playoff. That means that even those teams that didn't fare well in the early going still have a reason to fight.

To see the full results so far, check out the Americas Cup results page.

Read More... [Source: PokerStarsBlog.com :: Americas Cup]