2022 WSOP Day 38: Gavin Munroe Leads After Day 2abc of the Main Event

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Jul 08, 2022 6 min read

It was another spectacle of a day at the 2022 World Series of Poker at Bally's and Paris Las Vegas as Day 2abc of Event #70: $10,000 Main Event World Championship got underway. There were 2,641 players that returned to their seats with hopes of advancing to Day 3.

When all was said and done after another five levels of play, Gavin Munroe emerged as the chip leader. Munroe accumulated a massive stack of 1,067,500 chips thanks in part to a late-night heater. Munroe has had plenty of recent success, especially on the WSOP circuit. The Alabama native captured his first WSOP Circuit ring in the $1,700 Main Event at the stop in Tunica, Mississippi. It was also his largest recorded cash of over $158,000.

"It's the first Main Event that I've played so it's nice. I had kings a lot, four times I think and I busted three players." While good cards are definitely needed to make a deep run, Munroe has come guns blazing all day long. "I’m always gas, gas, gas. My friends know that. So I guess we’re just going to keep at it."

While Munroe was the only player to put a seven-figure stack in the bag, another player sitting among the leaders is Karim Rebei who finished the day with 932,000 chips. Rebei is also playing the Main Event for the first time and is extremely excited to be atop the leaderboard. "It's like a dream to be on the top counts, I don't realize it yet. I got very lucky today, and I also made a lot of bluffs that went through, including one against Jason Koon. It's a really great surprise to live that."

Players Advancing in the 2022 WSOP Main Event

Action from Day 2abc

The day kicked off with a bang as Phil Hellmuth made his grand appearance in a Darth Vader costume just moments after the cards went in the air. While some cheers scattered through the ballroom, there were more boos echoing through the walls. Did that have an impact on the "Poker Brat's" quick-showing on Day 2? Well, only he can answer that.

Hellmuth lasted all but just over an hour in the prestigious Main Event that he won back in 1989. Most of his chips went the way of Shawn Smith who made a runner-runner straight against Hellmuth's pocket kings which left him short-stacked and fuming. Just minutes later, the rest of Hellmuth's chips landed in Jeff Frerichs' lap thanks to a two-outer on the river.

Some other notable casualties on Day 2 included former WSOP Main Event champions Joe Cada, Martin Jacobson, Qui Nguyen. It was also a rough day at the tables for some of the greatest players in the game including Stephen Chidwick, Justin Bonomo, Andrew Lichtenberger, Ben Heath, and Twitch streamer Kevin Martin.

While many pros were eliminated throughout the day, there were also many good storylines heading into Day 3. Ryan Riess is looking to accomplish a modern-day feat that no other has done before and win this extravagant event twice. Riess captured the Main Event title back in 2013 and will be heading to Day 3 with a solid 275,500 chips. Riess along with John Cynn (234,000) Joe McKeehen (118,000) are the only former champions to advance to Day 3 thus far.

Another notable sighting on Day 2abc was Kelly Minkin who wasted no time building up her stack in the early going. Just minutes into the opening level, Minkin spun her stack up to over 300,000 and put it on cruise control for the rest of the day, finishing with 363,500 chips. A relaxing day was just what the doctor ordered for Minkin who is currently playing while seven months pregnant with her second child.

"I'm happy with how the day went. I had a rough last couple of levels but I've got a decent stack," Minkin said after bagging up her chips. As for playing while deep into her pregnancy, Minkin noted that it was a bit of a relief to sit for most of the day. "It's a bit of a relief from carrying my 30lb son around so a lot of people think it's difficult but I'm sure if I go deep it will be kind of rough on my body but so far it's been not bad."

There were a total of 148 new entries recorded before the late registration period ended for the day. That brings the total number of entries to 8,209 thus far, with the record coming in 2006 when 8,773 entries were tallied.

After another five levels were completed on Day 2abc, the tournament staff roughly estimate that around 1,300 players advanced to Day 3 but that number is still to be confirmed in the coming hours. All of those players that made it through will be returning on Saturday, July 9th at 11 a.m. local time, joining those that advance through Day 2d tomorrow. The money bubble will still be a fair distance away, likely expected to burst early on Day 4.

Be sure to keep it tuned into PokerNews as the live reporting team will be back every step of the way as the Main Event journey continues.

Event #70: $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em Main Event Top 10 Day 2abc Chip Counts

Renmei Liu Captures One More for One Drop Day 1a Lead

Day 1a of Event #71: $1,111 One More for One Drop drew in a crowd of 841 players but only 253 of those who started bagged up chips after the tenth level concluded. Canada's Renmei Liu is the name at the top of the overnight chip counts after Liu finished with 445,500 chips.

Justin Fawcett (438,500) came close to becoming the chip leader as he was the only other player to finished the night having to cram more than 400,000 chips into his overnight bag.

Others who progressed from Day 1a include Carlos Chang (286,000), Mateusz Moolhuizen (257,000), Matt Berkey (101,500), Brett Shaffer (90,500), and Alex Foxen (35,500)

Day 1b commences at midday local time on July 8.

Event #71: $1,111 One More for One Drop Top 10 Chip Counts

Krickl Captures Mixed Omaha Day 1 Chip Lead

Day 1 of Event #72: $1,500 Mixed Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better saw 771 players buy in, including Kate Krickl. After 15 levels of intense poker action, only 223 of those starters had chips in front of them, and nobody had more chips than Krickl.

Krickl may be an unknown quantity she has a chance to make a name for herself after bagging and tagging 280,500 chips at the close of play. She finds herself in good company going into Day 2 because the likes of David Prociak (244,000), James Chen (223,500), Rob Hollink (219,000), Andres Korn (208,000), and Chance Kornuth (207,500) each have enough chips to find themselves in the top ten going into Day 2.

Event #72: $1,500 Mixed Omaha Hi-Low 8 or Better Top 10 Chip Counts

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