A quick round-up of the action as the World Series of Poker Main Event breezed through Day 2a/b, and we will have a new champion after James Akenhead eliminated Qui Nguyen.
2,219 players took a seat in Day 2a/b of the 2017 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event. Each equipped with an in-built metal detector seeking out the only piece of gold: Mickey Mouse in a spacesuit, a plastic hot dog, and a boob amongst the plastic toys protecting the cards from the muck.
Those left over from Day 1a and Day 1b may have been sitting in the same casino, but the fields were kept separate, with a united front happening during Day 3.
The fallout of both days produced two chip leaders, each playing the WSOP Main Event for the first time. Mickey Craft, who finished third in the $3,000 Limit Hold’em Six-Max, ended as the Day 2a chip leader with 608,100.
The biggest stack belonged to the Day 2b chip leader, Lawrence Bayley from London, England, who bagged up 618,000. Bayley has never cashed in a WSOP event. If he manages to avoid chip stack mutilation, he may change that statistic.
The reigning champion, Qui Nguyen, is not going to be the first person since Johnny Chan to win back-to-back Main Event titles after losing out to the former November Niner James Akenhead. The 2014 champion, Martin Jacobson, won’t be raising any money for Raising for Effective Giving (REG). The 2002 Champ Robert Varkonyi also exited stage left, as did the 2010 champ Jonathan Duhamel.
Those remaining in contention for a rinse-repeat are the 2005 Champion Joe Hachem (134,700), the 2004 Champion Greg Raymer (106,400), and the 1983 Champion Tom McEvoy (25,200).
The former WSOP Player of the Year Mike Gorodinsky (340,000), The Day 1A chip leader Morten Mortensen (295,700), Doug Polk (287,500), Mike Matusow (228,200), Super High Roller Bowl winner, Christoph Vogelsang (225,000), Day 1B chip leader Richard Dubini (217,000), Max Pescatori (207,600), Adrian Mateos (134,200), Barry Greenstein (133,200), Billy Baxter (124,000), Perry Green (53,000), Erik Seidel (40,900), Brian Hastings (24,000), Benny Glaser (20,000), and David Bach (16,000) also made it through.
The six-time bracelet winner Layne Flack, and four-time bracelet winner, Tom Schneider, did not.
Day 2a/b Top 10 Chip Counts
1. Lawrence Bayley – 618,000
2. Mickey Craft – 608,100
3. Sergio Castelluccio – 548,500
4. Michael Sklenicka – 540,600
5. Joseph Conor – 511,100
6. Jessica Ngu – 481,500
7. Koen Breed – 480,800
8. Grayson Ramage – 471,000
9. Larry Smalley – 469,000
10. Jared Hamby – 455,000
1,013 players made it through to Day 3.
