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.
flop gave Jucys two pair. Left with a straight draw, Fagunes got no help on the 
turn or 
and became another early casualty on Day 2.
and Chilaud continued for 12,000. Skhirtladze called as the 
fell on the turn.
for flopped trips.
and Skhirtladze quickly got out of his seat and was already heading for the exit by the time the dealer turned over the 
river.
on the turn, when Margolin moved all in for 74,500.
, Seyedahmad Haghgou bet 40,000 from middle position before Andrew Hulme raised to 80,000 on the button. Haghgou then announced he was all in, and Hulme snap-called for 280,000.
and Hulme doubled up.
, Michel Atallah bet 23,000 from the big blind and Michael Lech called in middle position.
fell on the river. Atallah this time threw out 35,000 and Lech snap-called.
for top pair, but Lech had 
for the rivered straight as Atallah angrily slammed his cards on the table and began muttering to himself.
. Evgenii Korchagin called in the hijack as they saw the 
fall on the river.
and Hershkovich checked over to David, who bet another 13,000. Hershkovich again called to see the 
on the river.
for a set and Hershkovich showed 
when Aristotelos got her last 250,000 in the middle from the big blind.
for a flopped set, while Aristotelos showed 
