Scott Ball Leads the Last 28 After Day 2; Williams, Arieh and Negreanu in Contention
The money bubble has burst on Day 2 of Event #19: $25,000 Pot-Limit Omaha High Roller. Once more, the high-stakes competitions of the 2022 WSOP in its new home at Bally’s and Paris Las Vegas convinced, with yet another huge turnout.
An additional 69 entries were generated within the two levels of late registration, which boosted the overall field to 264 entries and created a prize pool of $6,237,000. Compared to the edition in 2021, the attendance was boosted significantly by 52 entries. The top 40 finishers were guaranteed a portion of it, and after ten levels of 60 minutes each, only 28 contenders were still in the mix.
Two-time WSOP bracelet winner Scott Ball emerged as the chipleader with a stack of 3,990,000 after going through the day like a wrecking ball in the mid and final stages. Jonathan Depa follows in second place with 3,625,000 after he won a large pot off GGPoker ambassador Daniel Negreanu, who also advanced with a stack of 1,550,000.
Another familiar name in the overnight top ten is certainly David Williams, who will aim to double his WSOP gold bracelet tally after claiming a stack worth 2,970,000. Pittsburgh's James Chen (2,585,000), Sam Stein (1,635,000) and Frank Crivello (1,550,000) can likewise be named among the bigger stacks as well.
Top 10 Chip Counts After Day 2
| Position | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Scott Ball | United States | 3,990,000 | 133 |
| 2 | Jonathan Depa | United States | 3,625,000 | 121 |
| 3 | David Williams | United States | 2,970,000 | 99 |
| 4 | James Chen (US) | United States | 2,585,000 | 86 |
| 5 | Emmanuel Sebag | United States | 2,315,000 | 77 |
| 6 | Aaron Mermelstein | United States | 1,955,000 | 65 |
| 7 | Philip Wiszowaty | United States | 1,640,000 | 55 |
| 8 | Sam Stein | United States | 1,635,000 | 55 |
| 9 | Frank Crivello | United States | 1,550,000 | 52 |
| 10 | Daniel Negreanu | Canada | 1,550,000 | 52 |
In a field filled with high-stakes regulars and PLO specialists, several other big names advanced, including Day 1 chip leader Jared Bleznick, Ben Lamb, Yuri Dzivielevski, Noah Schwartz, Gavin Cochrane, Keith Lehr and the reigning WSOP Player of the Year, Josh Arieh. They have all locked up a payday of $44,253 thus far, and the next pay jump awaits after the next elimination.
All 28 contenders will return to their seats at the Bally's Event Center at 2 p.m. local time on Saturday, June 11, 2022. The penultimate tournament day is slated to play down to the final five players, and the event's conclusion will then be streamed the following day. Returning blinds in level 21 will be 15,000-30,000 with a big blind ante of 30,000.
Evan Krentzman was the last player to leave empty-handed after he had his pocket aces with one suit cracked by the double-suited queens of Lamb. Just before that, recent WSOP gold bracelet winner Jake Schindler also came up short with aces and the nut flush draw to miss out on another WSOP cash for his resume.
Other big names to come up shy of the money were Ben Yu, Eelis Pärssinen, Joni Jouhkimainen, Sean Winter, Adam Hendrix, Dash Dudley, Anson Tsang, Scott Seiver, Paul Volpe, Phil Ivey, Brian Rast and Erik Seidel to name all but a few.
Among the casualties in the money after the bubble had burst were notables such as Andriy Lyubovetskiy, Matthew Shepsky, Fabian Schoneck, Artem Maksimov, Kristopher Tong, and Stephen Chidwick.
Ball ran up a bigger stack early in the day and joined the chip leaders after knocking out Shaun Deeb and Bryce Yockey, among others. Deeb's fate came in runner-runner fashion while Yockey's top two pair were up against a full wrap and didn't hold. In the final level of the night, Ball also sent Chidwick to the payout desk and cemented his status as the chip leader.
PLO specialist Depa started as one of the shorter stacks into Day 2 but consistently increased his tower of chips. In the final stages of the night, he won a large pot against Negreanu when his full house was paid off and temporarily took over the top spot before conceding it at the very end.
Another two tournament days remain to crown a winner who can look forward to a massive payday of $1,467,739. Stay tuned right here on PokerNews for the conclusion of Event #19: $25,000 Pot-Limit Omaha High Roller.
Remaining Payouts
| Place | Prize (in USD) | Place | Prize (in USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1,467,739 | 9 | $120,457 |
| 2 | $907,132 | 10-11 | $97,266 |
| 3 | $644,365 | 12-13 | $80,105 |
| 4 | $465,717 | 14-15 | $67,313 |
| 5 | $342,590 | 16-20 | $57,738 |
| 6 | $256,582 | 21-27 | $50,575 |
| 7 | $195,713 | 28 | $44,253 |
| 8 | $152,091 |