Dmitry Kukhtarev Leads the Charge with 28 Remaining in $2,200 Grand Final

After ten fast-paced levels on Day 2 of the $2,200 Luxon Pay Grand Final, the field of 247 entries has been trimmed down to just 28 survivors, all of whom will return tomorrow for the third and final day of play.

Leading the charge is Dmitry Kukhtarev, who bagged a huge bag of 30,875,000 chips to secure the overnight chip lead. He’ll come back in pole position when the action resumes inside the luxurious Merit Royal Diamond Hotel Casino & Spa, with the title, trophy, and a share of the $2,787,840 prize pool now firmly in sight.

End of Day 2 Top Ten Chip Counts

Rank	Player	Country	Chip Count	Big Blinds
1	Dmitry Kukhtarev	Serbia	30,875,000	77
2	Alexandru Lupuleac	Romania	23,600,000	59
3	Adrian Strobel	Germany	22,375,000	56
4	Tymofii Savkin	Ukraine	17,650,000	44
5	Alvaro Gonza	Spain	15,900,000	40
6	Sebastian Ionita	Romania	14,800,000	37
7	Konstantin Voronin	Russian Federation	13,075,000	33
8	Wojciech Frankowski	Poland	12,650,000	32
9	Vlado Banicevic	Montenegro	11,550,000	29
10	Sergey Aleksandrov	Russian Federation	11,325,000	28

The first objective for players returning for Day 2 was to make the money, and with 215 spots on offer, it meant that 32 players would be going home empty-handed. Unfortunately for Robert Heidorn, he was the last player to leave without a prize after his flopped top set with pocket queens fell to the pocket nines of Kukhtarev, who turned a flush, From then on, every player eliminated would earn at least a min-cash of $4,000.

Alexandru Lupuleac took second in the counts after he amassed 23,600,000 by the time the claxon rang on Day 2, mainly thanks to a huge pot against Pablo Beltran. Lupeleac had rivered quads holding pocket tens and got his river shove paid off as Beltran turned a straight holding eight-seven. That pot, along with several others, helped steer Lupuleac onto the podium and in a great position to make a run at the final table.

Adrian Strobel rounds out the top three with 22,375,000 chips, having eliminated several opponents in the closing levels of the day. Meanwhile, Tymofii Savkin (17,650,000) and Konstantin Voronin (13,075,000)—the respective chip leaders from Day 1c and Day 1d—were the only opening flight leaders to survive Day 2 and secure a seat on the final day.

Lachezar Petkov (32nd), Kirill Burtin (38th), Dan Borlan (46th), Lukas Pazma (55th), and Espen Jorstad (65th), were just a handful of names that fell throughout Day 2.

With just 28 players remaining, everyone still in the hunt is now guaranteed at least $16,700 for their efforts. But with a massive $375,000 up top for the winner, there’s still plenty to play for. Pay jumps will start coming quickly tomorrow, with the final nine locking up $37,540 and the eventual runner-up set to take home $250,500. All eyes, however, will be on the top prize—and the prestigious Luxon Pay Grand Final title.