Urbanovich and Staples Among Final 28 Players in 2021 partypoker MILLIONS Online Main Event
It was moving day in the 2021 partypoker MILLIONS $5,300 Main Event, as all remaining 160 contenders out of 1,084 entries had locked up a portion of the $5,420,000 prize pool. Ten levels of 30 minutes each were scheduled and once the final river showdown was completed, only 28 hopefuls still had chips at their disposal.
Among them are also two partypoker representatives in Dzmitry Urbanovich and Jaime Staples, both of which can be found in the middle of the pack.
The honor of being the Day 2 chip lead belongs to Ukraine's Valentyn Kazantsev with 68,852,752 in chips. Little is known about Kazantsev as there is only one recorded live event cash to his name.
Plenty of other notables in the overnight top 10 are, however, well-known names of the international online and live poker circuit. German High Roller regular Oliver Weis finished the day second in chips with 66,475,886, followed closely by Endrit Geci with 62,331,105. WSOP bracelet winner Jerry Ödeen bagged up a very healthy 60,600,259 and 2021 partypoker MILLIONS Online Mini Main Event Justin Ouimette will aim to achieve an unprecedented double as he advanced with 59,028,336.
The 2020 WSOP Main Event international leg finalist Dominykas Mikolaitis also claimed a top 10 stack to his name and finished Day 2 with 55,041,104 in chips.
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Valentyn Kazantsev | Ukraine | 68,852,752 | 86 |
| 2 | Oliver Weis | Germany | 66,475,886 | 83 |
| 3 | Endrit Geci | United Kingdom | 62,331,105 | 78 |
| 4 | Jerry Odeen | Sweden | 60,600,259 | 76 |
| 5 | Justin Ouimette | Canada | 59,028,336 | 74 |
| 6 | Timothy Ulmer | United States | 56,275,337 | 70 |
| 7 | Dominykas Mikolaitis | Lithuania | 55,041,104 | 69 |
| 8 | Richard Mullen | Canada | 53,305,689 | 67 |
| 9 | Martin Brinkmann | United Kingdom | 48,994,828 | 61 |
| 10 | Christopher Brice | United Kingdom | 48,047,296 | 60 |
Just outside of the top ten is WPT Barcelona champion Vitalijs Zavorotnijs (47,348,859) while partypoker sponsored pro Urbanovich sits in 14th place with 39,376,294. Twitch streamer Staples isn't far behind as he made it through with 30,667,945 in chips.
Plenty of other notables advanced including the Day 1 chip leaders Peter Jetten and Daniel Dvoress, 2018 partypoker MILLIONS Online champion Manuel Ruivo, Juan Carlos Vecino, Christian Rudolph, and Joris Ruijs. All 28 remaining contenders have $27,724 locked up for their efforts and the next pay-jump will be reached at 23 players left.
Before the start of the day, Twitch streamer Staples shared all but a short "It’s time. I’m hyped" on Twitter. He was then busy for the next five and a half hours, during which he chipped up significantly. Early on, Staples knocked out High Roller regular Sergi Reixach and also won a flip to bust Aki Virtanen a few levels later.
The Canadian boosted his stack to more than 50 million at one point before dropping back just below the average during the late stages. After the final hand was over, it took a while for Staples to gather his thoughts, which he then shared via Twitter as follows:
"$892,000 for the win and there are 28 left in the @partypoker Millions Main event! 28!!!! I've been working 11 years for this moment."
partypoker sponsored pro Urbanovich was among the shortest stacks in contention when the action resumed but scored two early double-ups to gain traction. He then went on a hot streak to eliminate several opponents and joined the top five in chips mid-way through the day. The meteoric rise culminated in a big double with a turned flush, which saw Urbanovich soar above 50 million in chips. Like Staples, he lost some chips towards the end but is right in the mix.
The partypoker ambassadors Jason Koon and Kristen Bicknell were among the early casualties of the day. Bicknell got it in with a flopped set only to see the top pair of Sosia Jiang improve to a runner-runner straight. Moments later, the UK's Martin Bremner departed in 123rd place. He had qualified for the Main Event after starting his journey in a $5 satellite and parlayed that into an $11,490 cash. Alan Ford also risked just $5 to enter the fray and made ut even further, bowing out in 76th place for $13,931.
Another partypoker ambassador made a deep run and that was Mikita Badziakouski. The Belorussian was well above the average mid-way through the day but eventually ran out of steam. It was a classic flip for Badziakouski, who held ace-king and failed to beat the pocket queens of Peter Jetten. Right before that, poker philanthropist Scott Wellenbach had departed in 49th place.
Among the late casualties on Day 2 were notables such as Francois Billard, Christian Jeppsson, Andrei Chernokoz, Andreas Christoforou, and Alexander Ivarsson. Many other big names of the international poker circuit could be listed among those who walked away with a cash prize on Day 2, as the field was filled with bracelet winners and High Roller regulars from all over the world.
All remaining 28 players will return to their virtual seats after a good night's sleep on March 2 at 7.05 p.m. GMT.
Here is what they are still playing for:
| Place | Prize |
|---|---|
| 1 | $892,275 |
| 2 | $614,523 |
| 3 | $422,422 |
| 4 | $276,128 |
| 5 | $189,320 |
| 6 | $146,300 |
| 7 | $115,425 |
| 8 | $91,542 |
| 9 | $72,260 |
| 10-11 | $54,542 |
| 12-15 | $43,335 |
| 16-23 | $35,084 |
| 24-28 | $27,724 |
The blinds at the start of Day 3 will recommence at 400,000-800,000 with a running ante of 100,000. The penultimate tournament day will play down to the nine-handed final table, which will then be streamed with cards-up coverage and commentary the following day. Stay tuned for more as the PokerNews live reporting team will be there to provide all the action until a champion has been crowned.