2013 Seneca Niagara Fall Poker Classic Day 2: Spears Take Huge Lead Into Final Table
The second day of the 2013 Seneca Niagara Fall Poker Classic $1,500 Main Event came to a close Sunday night. The returning 46 players from Day 1 were joined by 10 new entrants at the beginning to the day to comprise the Day 2 field. By the day's end, the final table of nine was set with Day 1 chip leader Andy Spears still leading the field.
$1,500 Main Event Final Table
| Seat | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Johannes Mueller | 392,000 |
| 2 | Ryan Hall | 194,000 |
| 3 | Alex Barker | 501,000 |
| 4 | Jason Nablo | 249,000 |
| 5 | Budway Salhab | 440,000 |
| 6 | Travell Thomas | 339,000 |
| 7 | Andy Spears | 1,549,000 |
| 8 | Brian McCormick | 507,000 |
| 9 | Scott Gaddi | 292,000 |
Spears dominated Day 1 play and held a spot among the leaders as early as the second level of play. He came into Day 2 with the same aggressive style that earned him his mammoth stack in the first day and never relented his spot at the top of the chip counts. Spears found a surge late in the day when he took a flop with eventual 14th-place finisher Erik Lemarquand. At 4,000/8,000/1,000, the two saw 10♥9♣5♦ hit the felt. Lemarquand checked and Spears fired out 31,000. Lemarquand cut out a check-raise to 68,000 and Spears called. The turn was the A♣ and Lemarquand checked once again. Spears bet 46,000 and Lemarquand announced that he was all in over the top. Spears snapped him off and the hands were tabled.
Spears: 10♣10♦
Lemarquand: A♦10♠
Spears found himself in a dominating position and needed to fade just an ace heading to the river to send Lemarquand home. He did exactly that when the 7♦ hit the felt and he was able to rake in a massive pot. Spears bagged up 1.549 million in chips to end the night, which is over 1 million more than second place.
Also returning to the felt in a back-to-back final table appearance is Budway Salhab. Salhab, who just days ago scored a runner-up finish in the $500 No-Limit Hold'em Re-Entry event, will bring a stack of 440,000 to the final table. Two-time World Series of Poker Circuit ring winner Travell Thomas will also appear at the final table with 339,000 in chips, as well as last year's runner up in this event, Alex Barker.
The money bubble burst midway through Day 2, guaranteeing the top 18 players a cash. Among those to cash were Matt Cafarella, Scott Aitchison, Mike O'Halloran ($3,106), Long Nguyen, Lemarquand, Martin Feijo ($3,688), Kai Koppe, Tom Clayton, and Hoss Colao ($4,659).
Day 3 kicks off at 12 p.m. on Monday. PokerNews will have live coverage of the tournament until its completion, so stay tuned to our Live Reporting Page for all of the updates!
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