Paul Browne Leads 185 Survivors into Day 2 of the Warm Up
After four starting flights, the entire field in the Merit Poker Western Series $2,200 Warm Up will join together into one room when Day 2 begins at 12:30 p.m. local time.
Paul Browne leads the way, having amassed a massive stack of 635,500 on Day 1a. He's followed closely by the likes of Arie Kliper (475,000), Bartlomiej Swieboda (463,000), Vasili Firsau (385,000), Uri Reichenstein (355,000), and Gabi Livshitz (351,000).
Top 10 chip counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paul Browne | United Kingdom | 635,500 | 254 |
| 2 | Ryan Mandara | United Kingdom | 621,000 | 248 |
| 3 | Ermanno Di Nicola | Italy | 583,000 | 233 |
| 4 | Valentin Tsoy | 545,000 | 218 | |
| 5 | Aibek Kozhomzharov | Kyrgyzstan | 535,000 | 214 |
| 6 | Arie Kliper | Israel | 475,000 | 190 |
| 7 | Bartlomiej Swieboda | Poland | 463,000 | 185 |
| 8 | Roelof Pepping | Netherlands | 461,000 | 184 |
| 9 | La Sengphet | United States | 442,000 | 177 |
| 10 | Simeon Spasov | Bulgaria | 417,000 | 167 |
Further down the leaderboard are Maxime Chilaud (279,500), Nikolay Fal (210,500), Ran Koller (155,500), and Michael Lech (141,500). They'll each have an eye on capturing a portion of the $500,000 guaranteed prize pool as the field inches toward the money bubble today.
The field currently stands at 380 total entries, with 185 players remaining. Late registration is open through the end of Level 12, which should come around 5 p.m. Players are allowed unlimited reentries, so the field should grow considerably before the prize pool is confirmed.
Blinds pick up on Level 9 at 1,000-2,500 and a 2,500 big blind ante. Levels again will be 60 minutes long, with a 10-minute break after every two levels.
The money bubble awaits the surviving players, and PokerNews will be on hand to capture all the action throughout the day at the Merit Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino.