Marco Johnson Leads After Day 2 in Event #19: $10,000 Limit Hold'em Championship
Two-time gold bracelet winner Marco Johnson will have his eye on a third gold bracelet at the 2024 World Series of Poker. Johnson ended Day 2 of Event #19: $10,000 Limit Hold'em Championship (8-Handed) as the chip leader. When play concluded at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas Johnson was the only player to bag over a million chips, with 1,100,000. Right behind Johnson at the top of the leaderboard was Anthony Marsico (985,000), and Justin Kusumowidagdo (880,000)
End of Day 2 Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chips | Big Bets |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marco Johnson | United States | 1,110,000 | 28 |
| 2 | Anthony Marsico | United States | 985,000 | 25 |
| 3 | Justin Kusumowidagdo | United States | 880,000 | 22 |
| 4 | Shyamsundar Challa | United States | 760,000 | 19 |
| 5 | Maxx Coleman | United States | 630,000 | 16 |
| 6 | Chad Eveslage | United States | 619,000 | 15 |
| 7 | Louis Hillman | United States | 575,000 | 14 |
| 8 | Juha Helppi | Finland | 525,000 | 13 |
| 9 | Renan Bruschi | Brazil | 430,000 | 11 |
| 10 | Ronnie Bardah | United States | 405,000 | 10 |
The other players remaining in the field include former bracelet winner Andrew Kelsall (310,000), Dan Shak (295,000), four-time bracelet winner Nick Schulman (245,000), and one-time bracelet winner John Racener (210,000).
There were 133 players entered in this event, creating a prize pool of $1,236,900, with 20 players making the money. The minimum cash prize was $20,945, and the top prize that's waiting to be won weighs in at $308,930. The 14 players remaining have all locked up a cash worth $21,992.
Of the 133 entries, 29 players joined during Day 2 including Phil Ivey, Daniel Negreanu, Phil Hellmuth, Shaun Deeb, and Eli Elezra.
The defending champion in this event, Josh Arieh, had built up a big stack early during Day 2. But when players were on the money bubble, Arieh found himself the short stack in the tournament and was eliminated in 21st place.
Another unfortunate bust out near the money bubble was when David Lieberman had his aces cracked by Ronnie Bardah. The players were all in on the flop, and Bardah hit running cards to make a straight.
The final 14 players will return on June 7 at 1:00 p.m. local time starting in Level 18 with 20,000-40,000 betting limits. Players will play 90-minute levels, with 10-minute breaks after each level, with the exaptation of playing down to a winner.
Be sure to keep up with PokerNews for live coverage and updates until a champion is crowned.