Terry Fleischer, Halil Tasyurek Race Their Way to the Top on Day 2 of Event #1: $5,000 Champions Reunion
Two massive coin flips made Terry Fleischer and Halil Tasyurek the players to beat after Day 2 of Event #1: $5,000 Champions Reunion.
Fleischer, whose first recorded World Series of Poker cash came back in 2002, doubled up in a more than 4,000,000 race with two tens against Michael Acevedo’s ace-king. He then eliminated Chris Hunichen in 12th place on his way to bagging the chip lead over the remaining 10 players with 5,610,000.
Hunichen was only left short after being on the losing end of the largest pot of the day. Tasyurek was all in for 2,600,000 with ace-king against Hunichen’s queens and spiked a king to double up. He finished with 3,995,000 and in second place as he tries to become only the third player from Turkey to win a WSOP bracelet and first in Las Vegas.
Final 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Terry Fleischer | United States | 5,610,000 | 70 |
| 2 | Halil Tasyurek | Turkey | 3,995,000 | 50 |
| 3 | Yuzhou Yin | China | 3,600,000 | 45 |
| 4 | Nenad Dukic | Serbia | 2,700,000 | 34 |
| 5 | Asher Conniff | United States | 2,040,000 | 26 |
| 6 | Michael Acevedo | Costa Rica | 1,885,000 | 24 |
| 7 | Jonathan Pastore | France | 1,465,000 | 18 |
| 8 | Aram Zobian | United States | 1,370,000 | 17 |
| 9 | David Coleman | United States | 1,315,000 | 16 |
| 10 | Bryce Welker | United States | 660,000 | 8 |
The rest of the final ten is rounded out by Yuzhou Yin (3,600,000), Nenad Dukic (2,700,000), Asher Conniff (2,040,000), Acevedo (1,885,000), Jonathan Pastore (1,465,000), David Coleman (1,315,000), and Bryce Welker (660,000), while 2018 Main Event finalist Aram Zobian went on a rollercoaster over the last level but finished on a high note when he doubled up to 1,370,000 on the last hand of the night.
A total of 99 players returned for Day 2 out of a starting field of 493. That included seven past Main Event champions, each with a $10,000 seat into this year’s Main Event as a bounty. Qui Nguyen claimed two of the bounties early, knocking out Huck Seed and then cracking Jamie Gold’s aces on the river a few spots short of the money. Just 74 players guaranteed themselves a payday, and Joe McKeehen and Toby Lewis were among those who fell short of the money.
Ren Lin was eliminated by Brian Rast in 75th place to burst the bubble. Main Event champ Greg Merson (67th), Jeremy Becker (58th), Robert Mizrachi (55th), Kristen Foxen (45th), David “Bakes” Baker (40th), and Dan Zack (26th) then made their way to the payout desk. Reigning world champion Daniel Weinman was eliminated by Xiaohu Liu in 52nd, while Daniel Negreanu ran into John Thornton’s jacks to finish in 50th.
Nguyen then made trip fives to bust Dan Harrington in 37th place, making the 2016 champion the last Main Event winner remaining in the field. He eventually fell in 21st place to Conniff. Rast busted in 17th when Yin won a race with ace-queen against fives.
The remaining ten players return on May 30 at 1:00 p.m. local time, just one spot away from making the final table. Action will be streamed on PokerGO beginning at 5 p.m. until a champion is crowned. Everyone left is guaranteed $23,584, with a spot at the final table being worth $29,999. The eventual champion takes home $408,468 and the coveted WSOP bracelet.
Stay tuned to PokerNews on Thursday, May 30 for all the action as the final ten return to play down to a champion.