Bunch Takes Chip Lead Into Final Day of WinStar River Main Event
Day 2 of the 2019 WinStar Labor Day River Poker Series $1,500 Main Event saw 151 players return to play under one roof for the first time after three initial Day 1 flights throughout the weekend. Play began with the entire field having made it into the money, already guaranteed a first-level payout of $2,645.
The day was scheduled to play to whichever came first between the conclusion of 10 one-hour levels or the field reaching the official final table of nine players. It appeared as if the 10 full hours would be a lock, though a slightly-shortened end did become a possibility as just 10 players were still standing when the day came to an end.
When play finished, Eric Bunch found himself atop the chip counts after ending the day with 7.865 million in chips. A few of the other nine players looking up at him are Spencer Champlin (6.75 million), Eluterio Rodriguez (1.77 million), and Viet Vo (620,000).
Day 3 Seating Assignments
| Table | Seat | Player | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 41 | 1 | Eric Bunch | 7,865,000 | 98 |
| 41 | 4 | Chuck Barker | 125,000 | 2 |
| 41 | 5 | Katherine Offutt | 2,460,000 | 31 |
| 41 | 7 | Jeremy Liu | 3,075,000 | 38 |
| 41 | 8 | Kris Burchfield | 3,040,000 | 38 |
| 42 | 1 | Eluterio Rodriguez | 1,770,000 | 22 |
| 42 | 2 | James Jewell | 4,300,000 | 54 |
| 42 | 4 | Jim Harris | 850,000 | 11 |
| 42 | 5 | Viet Vo | 620,000 | 8 |
| 42 | 7 | Spencer Champlin | 6,750,000 | 84 |
Day 2 Action
There was no bubble in play when the day began and it didn’t take long for the rungs on the payout ladder to be climbed. Players such as Shawn Rice, Ray Henson, WinStar Ambassador Maria Ho were all eliminated before the first break of the day, with plenty more joining them along the way.
Will Berry (52nd place - $5,644), defending champion Will Pengelly (40th place - $6,525), and Kelly Minkin (31st place - $8,465) were a few other well-known players to find themselves with no chips to play as the day progressed.
Family affairs were another theme on Day 2, with brothers Tim- (58th place - $5,115) and Brandon Gilliam (37th place - $6,525) both making it through several payout levels through the day. They were not the only pair of related genes in the field, as they were both outdone by the father and son duo of Keith Copp (21st place - $13,580) and Kramer Copp (15th place - $19,929).
Copp's elimination came during the final level of the night, shortly after Don Goodman was eliminated in 16th place, which also came in the last level. It set off a slew of bust outs, with Copp, Joe Cho (14th place), Caibin Ai (13th place), James Mordue (12th place), and Craig Kinney (11th place) all seeing their visions of advancing to Day 3 crushed within the final hour of play on Day 2.
The final 10 players will return on Tuesday to play down to a winner. Play will resume at noon local time, beginning with a full hour on the clock for the beginning of Level 26 (40,000/80,000/80,000). Come back to PokerNews to see who reigns supreme en route to a $300,005 first-place prize on the final day of the WinStar River Main Event