Epic Poker League Main Event #3 Day 2: Schwartz Takes Control
Day 2 of the Epic Poker League's third Main Event took place on Thursday. At the beginning of play, 61 players remained from the original starting field of 100. Play began seven-handed and then moved to six-handed once 36 players were left. At the end of play for the day, the field was whittled to 25 competitors with Noah Schwartz leading the way. He bagged up 352,200 in chips.
One of the big pots Schwartz captured throughout the day was during Level 8 when he eliminated Hoyt Corkins. According to the EPL Live Update Team, the blinds were 800/1,600/200 and Schwartz led with a bet of 6,600 on the 5♣4♦3♣ flop. Corkins fought back with a raise to 20,000, but Schwartz didn't back down. He reraised all-in — having Corkins covered — and Corkins called.
Schwartz held top set with 5♥5♠. There wasn't much Corkins could do as he flopped top two pair with the 5♦4♣. The Q♣ on the turn and K♦ on the river sealed the deal for Schwartz and moved him over 400,000 in chips at the time.
Another big-time player to head to the rail was start-of-the-day chip leader Erik Seidel. Despite topping the returning pack of players, Seidel went out in 32nd place at the hands of Chris Klodnicki.
During the same level as Corkins' elimination, Seidel and Klodnicki were in action on a board of 10♦10♠7♥4♠. Seidel fired a bet of 12,000 before Klodnicki raised to 32,000. Seidel called the extra 20,000 and the dealer dealt the 2♣ on the river. Seidel checked and Klodnicki moved all-in. He had the larger stack at the time and Seidel made the call for all 115,000 of his chips. Klodnicki tabled the A♥10♣ for trip tens with an ace kicker and Seidel mucked his hand. From there, Klodnicki went on to finish with 254,900, which has him in eighth place overall going into Day 3.
Some of the other players to bust on Day 2 included Scott Seiver, Chino Rheem, Nick Schulman, Huck Seed, Ben Lamb, Shannon Shorr, Chau Giang, Victor Ramdin and Eugene Katchalov.
Katchalov was the last elimination that occurred on Thursday. He went out after his A♠Q♣ couldn't out run Joe Tehan's 10♦10♠.
Top 10 Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Noah Schwartz | 352,200 |
| 2 | Faraz Jaka | 341,100 |
| 3 | David Williams | 336,800 |
| 4 | Michael Mizrachi | 310,300 |
| 5 | Vanessa Rousso | 290,400 |
| 6 | Joe Tehan | 288,600 |
| 7 | Hafiz Khan | 267,800 |
| 8 | Chris Klodnicki | 254,900 |
| 9 | Amit Makhija | 251,800 |
| 10 | Marco Johnson | 234,300 |
Other players advancing to Friday's Day 3 are Jason Mercier, Andrew Lichtenberger, Dan O'Brien, Amnon Filippi and Matt Graham.
Day 3 will take place on Friday starting at 1200 PST (2100 CET). Six-handed play will be played until the final 12 players — and the money — are reached. Be sure to stay tuned to PokerNews for the daily recap.
Follow PokerNews on Twitter for up-to-the-minute news.
