Michael Dyer Takes Pole Position for Day 2 of WPT Legends of Poker
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The Day 2 field is set for World Poker Tour (WPT) Legends of Poker and 223 players will return on Tuesday for their shot at a WPT title and the top prize of $573,350, which includes a $10,400 seat into the WPT World Championship in December.
WPT’s return to The Bike drew 642 players and the prize pool totaled $3,113,700. The event eclipsed the $2.5 million guarantee with a bumper turnout of 303 players for Monday’s Day 1c.
Michael Dyer leads the way with 739,000 after dominating the Day 1b field. He’s joined by Day 1a chip leader Giuseppe Pantaleo with 396,000 and Day 1c pacesetter Matthew Wantman with 366,000. Wantman is in position for another WPT title, while Dyer and Pantaleo are looking for their first.
Day 1a Notables
Pantaleo was joined at the top of the Day 1a leaderboard by Noel Rodriguez, Robel Andemichael, and Shawn Daniels. All three players finished with over 300,000 in their bag for Day 2. WPT Deepstacks champions Jeff Trudeau and Michael Lin also moved on from Day 1a, and they’ll look for a chance to add their name to the Mike Sexton Cup.
Among the other notable players returning from Day 1a are Katie Lindsay, Scott Stewart, Dan Colpoys, Adam Hendrix, Farid Jattin, Angela Jordison, and Andrew Moreno.
Day 1b Notables
Day 1b was all Dyer, and he’s followed on the leaderboard by Dillon Najor and Joseph Poozhikala. Najor and Poohikala are the only other players to have bagged more than 400,000 for Day 2.
Several WPT champions survived Day 1b, including David “ODB” Baker, Dylan Wilkerson, Mohsin Charania, and Season 13 Player of the Year Anthony Zinno. Other notables include WPT Deepstack champions Maria Ho and James Gorham, along with Danny Wong, Landon Tice, Kyna England, and Bill Klein. Klein also survived Day 1a, but he found a much bigger back on Monday and he will return with 233,000.
Day 1c Notables
Wantman returns as the Day 1c chip leader in search of another WPT title, and he’s trailed on the leaderboard by Dorian Rios and Adam Brownstone.
A large contingent of the WPT Champions Club moved on from Day 1c, including Season 16 Player of the Year Art Papazyan and Season 6 Player of the Year J.C. Tran. Other players returning for a shot at another title are Ryan Tosoc, Nam Le, David Williams, Michael Mizrachi, Robert Mizrachi, Brandon Cantu, Frank Stepuchin, Lee Markholt, and the short stack Arnold Spee.
Jordan Cristos won this event in 2013 and he will return for the chance to become the event’s first repeat champion. Defending champ Aaron Van Blarcum also made it through to Day 2.
More to Come on Tuesday
The 223 surviving players will return on Tuesday at 12 p.m. local time for Day 2. Blinds will kick off in Level 11 at 1,500/2,500/2,500, and players will play ten 60-minute levels before they bag up for Day 3. The tournament will continue on Day 3 with 60-minute levels until 24 players remain, at which time the blinds will increase every 90 minutes. Day 3 ends when six players are left for the final table, and blinds will go back to 60 minutes until heads-up play cuts the levels in half.
WPT Legends of Poker Final Payouts
| Place | Prize | Place | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $573,350* | 15-16 | $29,600 |
| 2 | $380,000 | 17-20 | $24,600 |
| 3 | $280,000 | 21-24 | $20,800 |
| 4 | $207,000 | 25-32 | $17,700 |
| 5 | $156,000 | 33-40 | $15,400 |
| 6 | $119,000 | 41-48 | $13,500 |
| 7 | $91,000 | 49-56 | $12,100 |
| 8 | $71,000 | 57-64 | $10,950 |
| 9-10 | $56,000 | 65-72 | $10,100 |
| 11-12 | $44,500 | 73-76 | $9,450 |
| 13-14 | $36,000 | 77-81 | $9,350 |
* - includes $10,400 entry into the WPT World Championship in December.
Be sure to keep it with PokerNews all week long for coverage of WPT Legends of Poker from Parkwest Bicycle Casino in Bell Gardens, California.
Feature photo courtesy of Joe Giron/WPT
