2020 Midway Poker Tour Chicago

Midway Poker Tour Chicago $1,100 Main Event
Day: 2
Event Info

2020 Midway Poker Tour Chicago

Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
74
Prize
$55,060
Event Info
Buy-in
$1,100
Prize Pool
$258,020
Entries
266
Level Info
Level
22
Blinds
10,000 / 20,000
Ante
20,000
Players Info - Day 2
Entries
266
Players Left
1

Ogwo Eliminated in 23rd as Tanaka Builds to Over a Milliion

Level 18 : 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante
Satoshi Tanaka
Satoshi Tanaka

We came across the action on a board of {6-Hearts}{3-Diamonds}{8-Hearts}{7-Hearts} and about 90,000 in the middle.

Praise Ogwo was seated in the big blind and had checked to Satoshi Tanaka, playing from the under-the-gun position. Tanaka bet 65,000 and Ogwo elected to raise to 177,000. Tanaka made the call. At this point Ogwo had 230,000 behind and Tanaka 520,000.

On the {5-Clubs} river, Ogwo moved all-in and was quickly called by Tanaka.

Ogwo held {j-Spades}{5-Hearts} and Tanaka {a-Hearts}{q-Hearts}. Ogwo was eliminated in 23rd place.

At another table, Alex Tremanis was eliminated, bringing us down to 21 remaining players.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Satoshi Tanaka us
Satoshi Tanaka
1,100,000
390,000
390,000
WSOP 1X Winner
Profile photo of Praise Ogwo us
Praise Ogwo
Busted
Profile photo of Alex Tremanis us
Alex Tremanis
Busted

Tags: Alex TremanisPraise OgwoSatoshi Tanaka

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Level 18 : 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante
PokerNews Discord
PokerNews Discord

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Level: 18

Blinds: 4,000/8,000

Ante: 8,000

Another Round of Eliminations

Level 17 : 3,000/6,000, 6,000 ante

The action is fast and furious and we have seen the following players finding the rail as the consolidation of stacks continues.
Young Hoon Koh, Mike Sisiliano, Eric Salazar, Donnie Phan, and Matt Lubawski have been eliminated.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Young Hoon Koh us
Young Hoon Koh
Busted
Profile photo of Mike Sisiliano us
Mike Sisiliano
Busted
Profile photo of Eric Salazar us
Eric Salazar
Busted
Profile photo of Matt Lubawski us
Matt Lubawski
Busted
Profile photo of Donnie Phan us
Donnie Phan
Busted

Tags: Eric SalazarMatt LubawskiMike SisilianoYoung Hoon Koh

Steele Doubles Through Sisiliano

Level 17 : 3,000/6,000, 6,000 ante
Pat Steele
Pat Steele

On a flop of {a-Spades}{k-Spades}{7-Spades} we pick up the action with Pat Steele in the big blind checking to Mike Sisiliano in the cutoff. Sisiliano bet 27,000 and was called by Steele.

On the {10-Clubs} turn, Steele again check-called, this time 55,000.

An finally, on the {9-Diamonds} river, Steele check-called once more, this time the all-in bet from Sisiliano who covered the remaining 183,000 of Steele. Sisiliano declared "I guess you got it then" as he turned over {q-Hearts}{10-Hearts}. Steele did, in fact, win the pot with his {k-Diamonds}{7-Diamonds}.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Pat Steele us
Pat Steele
580,000
292,000
292,000
Profile photo of Mike Sisiliano us
Mike Sisiliano
60,000
-209,000
-209,000

Tags: Mike SisilianoPat Steele

Kuckreja, Brady & Bone the First to Depart Day 2

Level 17 : 3,000/6,000, 6,000 ante

Amit Kuckreja was all-in with {a-Clubs}{j-Diamonds} against the {a-Spades}{q-Hearts} of his opponent. Although he flopped a jack, the board ran out giving his opponent a flush and he was sent to the rail in 31st place.

Meanwhile, at another table, Dennis Brady was busted in 30th.

Chris Bone, who was left short-stacked with 9,000 at the end of Day 1, was blinded off in 29th place.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Amit Kuckreja us
Amit Kuckreja
Busted
Profile photo of Dennis Brady us
Dennis Brady
Busted
Profile photo of Chris Bone us
Chris Bone
Busted

Tags: Amit KuckrejaDennis BradyChris Bone

Level: 17

Blinds: 3,000/6,000

Ante: 6,000

Payout Clarity (Controversy?) Prior to Kickoff

Day 2 hasn't officially kicked off yet and already there have developments in the inaugural Midway Poker Tour.

All 31 players returning to action today are guaranteed a $2,300 prize, while the eventual winner is slated to receive $55,060. However, due to the Illinois Charitable Gaming Acts and regulations (230 ILCS30), organizers are only able to pay out $500 in cash atop the cost of the buy-in. As such, players will only receive $1,600 in cash no matter their finish, while the remainder of their prize will be awarded in gold/precious metals/collectibles.

Apparently, not all players had been aware of that fact. Tournament officials just informed the players that they have contact information for someone off-site willing to buy said gold/precious metals/collectibles if players are interested in selling after the fact.

The payouts are a topic of conversation among the seated players, many of whom seem to be unhappy with the situation and the fact the payout situation wasn't more clearly explained prior to the tournament.

Midway Poker Tour
Midway Poker Tour

Here's a look at how the prize pool is slated to be distributed in cash and prizes:

PlacePrize
1$55,060
2$38,180
3$25,800
4$18,320
5$14,120
6$11.600
7$9,680
8$8,150
9$6,680
10-12$5,290
13-15$4,120
16-18$3,200
19-27$2,600
28-31$2,300

Analyzing the Day 2 Field

With 31 players remaining and a pause before the action begins, we thought it would be fun to analyze the distribution of stacks and table dynamics heading into Day 2.

First, let's take a look at the average Day 2 starting stack by table:

Day 2 Final Table Average Stacks
Day 2 Final Table Average Stacks

Now, let's take a look at the distribution of average stacks.

Day 2 Starting Stack Distribution
Day 2 Starting Stack Distribution