Ryan Mandara, Paul Browne Back Near the Top on Day 2 of the $2,200 Warm Up
History repeated itself on Day 2 of the Merit Poker Western Series $2,200 Warm Up.
Paul Browne and Ryan Mandara entered the day as the two top stacks. They finished it right back where they started, near the top of the leaderboard each with 1,200,000 as 102 survivors have made it through to tomorrow's Day 3. They're looking up only at Valeriy Pak, who bagged a chip-leading stack of 1,320,000.
Maxime Chilaud, who won a high roller here at Merit Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino in November, is also part of the million-chip club after bagging up 1,121,000. He is joined by Andrew Hulme (1,068,000) and Jamie Nixon (1,002,000) as the top stacks heading into Day 3.
Top 10 chip counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Valeriy Pak | Belarus | 1,320,000 | 132 |
| 2 | Ryan Mandara | United Kingdom | 1,200,000 | 120 |
| 3 | Paul Browne | United Kingdom | 1,200,000 | 120 |
| 4 | Maxime Chilaud | France | 1,121,000 | 112 |
| 5 | Andrew Hulme | United Kingdom | 1,068,000 | 107 |
| 6 | Valentin Tsoy | Uzbekistan | 1,021,000 | 102 |
| 7 | Zaid Al-Khashab | Iran | 1,002,000 | 100 |
| 8 | Jamie Nixon | United Kingdom | 1,002,000 | 100 |
| 9 | Nariman Yaghmai | Iran | 993,000 | 99 |
| 10 | Arie Kliper | Israel | 934,000 | 93 |
Other notable players still alive in the tournament include Bartlomiej Swieboda (881,000), Day 1b chip leader Ermanno Di Nicola (847,000), and Michael Lech (425,000). Katherina Aristotelos was the beneficiary of a fortunate runout when she hit a running full house to crack a set and double up, finishing the day with 627,000. Some of the players who weren't as lucky to survive Day 2 include Uri Reichenstein, Joseph Hebert, and Ugur Secilmis.
A total of 523 entries into the event generated a prize pool of $962,320. Only the top 62 players will finish in the money, so plenty of unhappy players will head home with nothing when play resumes tomorrow at noon local time.
PokerNews will be on hand throughout Day 3 as the field reaches the money bubble and plays onward to the final table and the eventual crowning of a new champion in North Cyprus.