Song Ascends to Dominant Chip Lead Following a Frenetic Day 2 of Event #28: $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em
Day 2 of Event #28: $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em began with 346 players and with the accelerated 40-minute levels forcing the short stacks to attempt to double up or go home, eliminations came like an avalanche. The action crazy day eventually ended with six players remaining who still have a chance to win the coveted WSOP bracelet.
Leading the remaining pack of six at the end of the day was Stephen Song of Greenwich, CT who lapped the field with nearly half the chips in play with an outstanding count of 24,655,000.
Song was one of the first players to cross the 1 million-chip threshold early in the day and he would not relinquish that momentum as he became the beneficiary of several big hands that went his way throughout the day, including the very last hand of the day when he chose the right time to get pocket aces, which took down the pocket queens of Pedro Ingles that reduced the field to its final six players.
Five other players survived the day, including WSOP bracelet winner Ryan Laplante who will take a stack of 4,885,000 into the final six, Brazilian Renato Kaneoya (4,875,000] who is coming off a deep run in the Millionaire Maker, Sevat Mikaiel (6,395,000), Scot Masters (5,315,000) and Dominic Coombe (3,505,000).
Final Table Seat Draw
| Seat | Player | Country | Chips |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Scot Masters | United States | 5,315,000 |
| 2 | Sevak Mikaiel | United States | 6,395,000 |
| 3 | Renato Kaneoya | Brazil | 4,875,000 |
| 4 | Stephen Song | United States | 24,655,000 |
| 5 | Ryan Laplante | United States | 4,885,000 |
| 6 | Dominic Coombe | Australia | 3,505,000 |
The frenetic action led to many well-known players busting out throughout the day. Among those who met their fate and busted on Day 2 were; Daniel Zack (108th Place), Giuseppe Pantaleo (87th Place) who started the day in the chip lead, Jessica Dawley (38th Place), Shaun Deeb (28th Place} who ran into queens just before the three table redraw and Phil Hellmuth (16th Place).
The always enigmatic Hellmuth did not disappoint on Day 2 as he spent most of the day chirping to his tablemates and doing his best to get their chips. He had a fairly steady day as he rode a medium-short stack all the way down to the final two tables, but that is where his dreams for a 16th bracelet would end when his pocket sevens went down in flames to the pocket kings of Scot Masters.
The remaining six players will return to determine a champion at 12 p.m. local time on Thursday. Play will commence with 27 minutes remaining at Level 31 with blinds at 80,000/160,000 and a 160,000 big blind ante. All remaining levels will be 40 minutes long.
PokerNews will provide live hand-for-hand updates until the bracelet winner is crowned, so make sure to stay up to date as the action continues.