Christopher Bolek Bags the Chip Lead at the End of Day 2 in Event #20: $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em
A total of 189 runners began Day 2 of Event #20: $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em, adding 19 more players during the late registration period that was open until the tournament resumed at 2pm on Saturday, 9 June. The tournament brought in a total of 518 entries and generated a hardy $2,408,700 prize pool.
After the last chance saloon had closed for business it was Chris Bolek that had bagged the chip lead with an impressive 1,129,000 and is in the best of positions to take down the $537,710 top prize and coveted bracelet.
Bolek stayed around average for most of the day and started to stack up after the last break. The three table redraw was the highlight of his day when he got into a hand with Martin Mathis who moved all in on the turn into Bolek's flopped set. After that hand Bolek moved into first and never looked back. The 2017 $1,500 No Limit Hold'em-Bounty Champion will be looking to secure his second bracelet.
It was on level 16 when Matthew Parry was eliminated in 79th place on the money bubble by Kristin Bicknell. Parry moved all in under the gun with ace-jack and ran into Bicknell's aces. Once the money bubble busted all the remaining players were guaranteed $7,435, with a final table finish getting at least $34,862.
There were a lot of well know players that made the money but could not survive long enough to move on to Day 3. They had a jewelry box full of bracelets between them and these decorated individuals included Justin Bonomo (29th-$12,331), Bryn Kenney (40th-$10,659), Brian Yoon (47th Place-$9,417), Humberto Brenes (57th Place-$8,506), Erik Seidel (64th-$7,860), Tom Cannuli (65th-$7,860), and Ben Yu (75th-$7,435).
There is a large contingent of notable players moving on to Day 3 and that list includes Seth Davies (812,000), Jake Shindler (926,000), Shawn Buchanan (846,000), Arne Ruge (166,000), Stephen Chidwick (164,000), and two-time bracelet winner Kristen Bicknell (106,000).
Action will resume at 2pm local time on Sunday, 10 June, where players will return to play another ten 60-minute levels with a 15-minute break every two levels. Blinds will resume at 6,000/12,000 with an ante of 12,000.
Seat Draw
| Room | Table | Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon | 431 | 1 | Peter Neff | United States | 683,000 | 57 |
| Amazon | 431 | 2 | Seth Davies | United States | 812,000 | 68 |
| Amazon | 431 | 3 | Kristen Bicknell | Canada | 106,000 | 9 |
| Amazon | 431 | 4 | Stephen Chidwick | United Kingdom | 164,000 | 14 |
| Amazon | 431 | 5 | Jeremy Wien | United States | 437,000 | 36 |
| Amazon | 431 | 6 | Ross Schultz | United States | 244,000 | 20 |
| Amazon | 431 | 7 | David Laka | Spain | 673,000 | 56 |
| Amazon | 431 | 8 | Michael Gagliano | United States | 320,000 | 27 |
| Amazon | 431 | 9 | John Amato | United States | 420,000 | 35 |
| Amazon | 439 | 1 | Asi Moshe | Israel | 698,000 | 58 |
| Amazon | 439 | 2 | Chris Bolek | United States | 1,129,000 | 94 |
| Amazon | 439 | 3 | Kenneth Smaron | United States | 990,000 | 83 |
| Amazon | 439 | 4 | Martin Mathis | United States | 385,000 | 32 |
| Amazon | 439 | 6 | David Peters | United States | 171,000 | 14 |
| Amazon | 439 | 7 | Jan Christoph Von Halle | Germany | 593,000 | 49 |
| Amazon | 439 | 9 | Patrick Truong | United States | 655,000 | 55 |
| Amazon | 447 | 1 | Nicholas Pupillo | United States | 367,000 | 31 |
| Amazon | 447 | 2 | Jake Schindler | United States | 926,000 | 77 |
| Amazon | 447 | 3 | Richard Tuhrim | United States | 532,000 | 44 |
| Amazon | 447 | 4 | William Remshardt | United States | 342,000 | 29 |
| Amazon | 447 | 5 | Arne Ruge | Germany | 166,000 | 14 |
| Amazon | 447 | 6 | Ran Ilani | Israel | 924,000 | 77 |
| Amazon | 447 | 7 | Eric Blair | United States | 352,000 | 29 |
| Amazon | 447 | 8 | Shawn Buchanan | Canada | 846,000 | 71 |
The PokerNews team will bring full coverage of this and every other event during the WSOP this summer.