Day 2 of the WPT World Championship Sees 68 Survive
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After two starting flights attracted 328 entries and reentries, the day began with 199 players assembled in the Borgata's Signature Room, each one hoping to move in the right direction on every tournament's moving day. A total of six 90-minute levels were played on Day 2, and when it was all said and done just 68 survivors bagged and tagged a stack, with Eric Afriat putting on a bravura performance to end with an astounding 1,003,000 chips to his credit.
That number is staggering when one considers the mathematics, as the average stack sits at 241,176 to begin tomorrow's Day 3, and Afriat's closest competitor Athanasios Polychronopoulos put 592,500 in the bag. Sitting more than 400,000 clear of the pack, Afriat is poised to to make a run at back to back World Poker Tour titles, as he took down the 2014 WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown for $1,081,184 just last week.
Afriat began his rampage through one of the toughest fields on the tournament circuit in style, claiming a huge pot against Harrison Gimbel by virtue of bullets in the hole. From there, Afriat played relentlessly and siphoned chips from accomplished pros like Loni Harwood, remaining unafraid to mix it up and play big pots.
Other big stacks to separate themselves from the rest include Tony "End Boss" Gregg (567,000), Scott Seiver (539,500), Ryan D'Angelo (519,500), Jason Koon (500,500) and Maurice Hawkins (433,500).
Those who fell short of their goal include Scotty Nguyen, Joe McKeehen, Christina Lindley, Matt Glantz, Joe Serock, Chris Klodnicki, Bryn Kenney, Layne Flack and a who's who of poker's elite players.
The remaining runners are no slouches themselves, so check back in with PokerNews tomorrow at 12 noon local time to follow all of the action live from the floor of the WPT World Championship. The money bubble will burst and the play will be intense right from the get go, so keep it here to see who weaves their way through the minefield on one of poker's grand stages.