WSOP Results – Event #18 $5,000 LHE, Day Two – Brunson Out, Thorsson Heads Final Table

Day Two of the $5,000 Limit Hold'em (Event #18) began at 3pm PDT, with a chase to the final table and a WSOP bracelet and $333,379 first-place cash in sight. Doyle Brunson entered the day second in chips, with a shot at a possible 11th career bracelet, though play was stopped when Phil Hellmuth reached that milestone first (in Event #15) so Brunson could attend that ceremony.

Several tough tables were in view; one featured Eli Elezra, Howard Lederer, and Tony G, while another featured 'Gentleman' John Gale, Brunson, and David Benyamine, and a third offered Barry Greenstein, Mimi Tran, Richard 'Quiet Lion' Brodie and Liz Lieu.

Ted Forrest, Brodie, Jennifer Harman, Ted Lawson, Chris Ferguson, Berry Johnston, and Shannon Shorr all made exits in the opening rounds of the day. Elezra, however, terrorized opponents in early play, but unfortunately for the cash-game ace, he busted before he would make the money.

Doyle Brunson was eliminated by Saro Getzoyan, not long after the Hellmuth bracelet ceremony, after Getzoyan tabled (8-Diamonds)

for a flush and the knockout. Othe players busting as the cash bubble neared were Full Tilt's captain Howard Lederer, Thomas Wahlroos, and eventual bubble-boy Dustin Sitar, with the remaining 27 players making the money.

Possibly the most intriguing story of Day Two was Thor Hansen's remarkable comeback. Battling back from being a short stack just before Day One's dinner break, Hansen managed to make both the money and final table by playing solid poker. Liz Lieu cashed but didn't make the final, placing 18th for $11,475. Going into Day Three and the final table, William Thorsson sits atop the chip count at 585,000. Here's the lineup for today's final table:

PLAYER — CHIPS

Seat 1: Ray Dehkharghani 471,000
Seat 2: David Gee 162,000
Seat 3: Thor Hansen 282,000
Seat 4: William Thorsson 585,000
Seat 5: Don Todd 207,000
Seat 6: Gabriel Nassif 97,000
Seat 7: Saro Getzoyan 109,000
Seat 8: Tom Koral 325,000
Seat 9: Geoff Sanford 333,000

Monitor the final-table action by checking in at PokerNews.com's 'Live Reporting' for Event #18, $5,000 World Championship Limit Hold 'Em. Action is scheduled to begin at 3pm PDT.