Day Two of the Main Event Championship currently taking place at Horseshoe Hammond (Chicago) has come to a close.
The fourth WSOP Circuit Main Event of the season drew what will likely be the biggest Main Event field of the 2012-2013 WSOP Circuit season.
There were 1,536 entrants who all flooded into the giant entertainment complex called The Venue for the opening playing sessions held on Friday and Saturday. The official tournament numbers became available earlier today, and the total prize pool was announced at $2,304,000. The top 171 finishers made the money.
After two full days, Mississippi poker pro Claudia Crawford holds a commanding chip lead. She enjoyed a monster session on Sunday, rocketing from middle of the pack when the day started -- not just to the top of the leaderboard -- but the player that made as big a move as has been seen in quite some time on the WSOP Circuit.
Crawford has been a high-stakes cash game player for the past five years. She plays regularly in big games in both New Orleans and her current residence of Biloxi, MS. Crawford is well-known to be a huge fan of the Alabaman Crimson Tide. She often yells out "Roll Tide" when she wins a huge hand. No doubt, by the way things went, players in Chicago today heard "Roll Tide" more than if they were attending an SEC college football game. No doubt, Crawford will be the player everyone will be watching when play resumes on Monday.
When play started on Day Two, Phillip Liou (Chicago, IL) was the chip leader. He went out in 138th place.
Mike Leah (Tornonto, Canada) was another player who dominated the first day of play, but he ended up exiting in 56th place earlier today. However, it should be noted that Leah's cash in the Main Event gives him an additional 10 points, which means he has retaken the lead from Ari Engel (Las Vegas, NV) in the Casino Champions race for Horseshoe Hammond. As manny as 65 players still remain alive in the race, where the winner earns an automatic seat into the WSOP National Championship presented by Southern Comfort 100 Proof. Three tournaments are still pending (Events 10-12), which leaves the race still wide open.
Here's a list of the top ten players by chip count entering Day Three:
| Claudia Crawford |
3,426,000 |
|
BROOKHAVEN |
MS |
US |
2 |
Venue |
2 |
6 |
| Bradford Albrinck |
2,710,000 |
|
CINCINNATI |
OH |
US |
2 |
Venue |
4 |
2 |
| Joshua Williams |
1,950,000 |
|
SOUTH BEND |
IN |
US |
2 |
Venue |
3 |
2 |
| Sean Szurko |
1,921,000 |
|
DEKALB |
IL |
US |
2 |
Venue |
3 |
7 |
| James Henson |
1,635,000 |
|
LAKE JACKSON |
TX |
US |
2 |
Venue |
4 |
6 |
| Nick Guagenti |
1,582,000 |
|
WESTERVILLE |
OH |
US |
2 |
Venue |
1 |
5 |
| Tripp Kirk |
1,512,000 |
|
ATLANTA |
GA |
US |
2 |
Venue |
4 |
7 |
| Joshua Reichard |
1,432,000 |
|
BELOIT |
WI |
US |
2 |
Venue |
3 |
5 |
| Shiva Dudani |
1,399,000 |
|
WEST DESMOINES |
IA |
US |
2 |
Venue |
1 |
3 |
| Ryan Riess |
1,159,000 |
|
EAST LANSING |
MI |
US |
2 |
Venue |
3 |
8 |
Once again, for players still alive in the Main Event -- a reminder that cards go in the air promptly at 1 pm (insead of the original 2 pm announced starting time).
Note that all chip counts and seat assignments are available on the WSOP Circuit Blog, along with tournament coverage. Moreover, live updates from the floor are available on WSOP.com.