Welcome to Day 2 of Event #43: $50,000 Poker Players Championship
One of the most elusive tournaments of the 2023 World Series of Poker (WSOP) will continue as of 1 p.m. local time at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas. Some of the biggest names in the world of poker are set to return to their seats for Day 2 of Event #43: $50,000 Poker Players Championship, which has attracted a total of 73 entries so far.
Only 55 players survived the first six levels on Day 1 and as many levels are scheduled for the second day as well. Josh Arieh returns as the chip leader with 1,088,000 and will aim to continue his WSOP legacy after earning his fifth career bracelet some eight days ago in Event #22: $10,000 Limit Hold'em Championship.
Arieh is followed by Poker Hall of Fame member and ten-time WSOP bracelet winner Phil Ivey (944,500), who has endured mixed fortunes during the 2023 WSOP so far, having bubbled the $250,000 Super High Roller most recently. James Obst sits in third place with 929,500 whereas fellow five-time bracelet winner John Monnette (800,500) and Viktor Blom, better known under his online moniker of "Isildur1", complete the overnight top five with 784,000.
Top 10 Chip Counts for Day 2
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Josh Arieh | United States | 1,088,000 |
| 2 | Phil Ivey | United States | 944,500 |
| 3 | James Obst | Australia | 929,500 |
| 4 | John Monnette | United States | 800,500 |
| 5 | Viktor Blom | Sweden | 784,000 |
| 6 | Jeremy Ausmus | United States | 737,500 |
| 7 | Bryce Yockey | United States | 634,000 |
| 8 | Elior Sion | United Kingdom | 620,000 |
| 9 | David Williams | United States | 585,000 |
| 10 | Matthew Ashton | United Kingdom | 565,000 |
Two-time defending champion Dan "Jungleman" Cates entered the fray in a Terminator cosplay and kept his hopes of a historic three-peat alive after he bounced back from a rough start and bagged up 305,500. Former PPC winners Elior Sion (620,000) and Matthew Ashton (565,000) can be found in the top 10, whereas Brian Rast (466,000) follows not far behind.
In a field filled with the best and brightest of the high-stakes and mixed games scene, Julien Martini, Paul Volpe, Yuri Dzivielevski, Scott Seiver, Jen Harman, Shaun Deeb, Anthony Zinno, and David "ODB" Baker are just a few notables still in contention.
The previous PPC champions Mike Gorodinsky, Michael Mizrachi and Philip Hui were not spotted in the field yet but can take advantage of the extended late registration until the end of level nine at approximately 7.30 p.m. local time. All participants start their journey with 300,000 in chips.
All levels last 100 minutes each and a total of six of them are scheduled for Day 2 with a 15-minute break after every level and a 75-minute dinner break upon completion of level nine. Stay tuned to see who shines the most during the rotation of nine different poker variants in this five-day tournament right here on PokerNews.