Justin Steinbrenner, Youness Barakat Far Out in Front on Day 2 of the $25,000 PLO Main Event
The Onyx High Roller Series is entering its final days, and Justin Steinbrenner is the player best poised to leave the Merit Royal Diamond Hotel & Spa with a trophy when Day 2 of the $25,000 PLO Main Event begins at 2 p.m. local time.
Steinbrenner bagged up 5,655,000 during the turbo Day 1c flight last night and takes the chip lead over 29 returning players into Day 2. The German pro has one previous cash this series, finishing 13th in the $50,000 No-Limit Hold'em Grand Slam.
Day 2 Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Justin Steinbrenner | Germany | 5,655,000 | 189 |
| 2 | Youness Barakat | Italy | 5,155,000 | 172 |
| 3 | Nino Pansier | Netherlands | 4,320,000 | 144 |
| 4 | Tomasz Krzesinski | Poland | 3,800,000 | 127 |
| 5 | Artur Martirosian | Russian Federation | 3,320,000 | 111 |
| 6 | Quan Zhou | China | 2,755,000 | 92 |
| 7 | Bassel Alanaz | Lebanon | 2,100,000 | 70 |
| 8 | Espen Myrmo | Norway | 2,015,000 | 67 |
| 9 | Lautaro Guerra | Spain | 2,010,000 | 67 |
| 10 | Dennis Weiss | Germany | 1,685,000 | 56 |
Behind him on the leaderboard is Youness Barakat. The Italian-born, UK-based pro finished the opening flight with just 5,000, a tenth of a big blind. He did much better on his second try the next day, bagging up a massive stack of 5,155,000.
Nino Pansier (4,320,000), Tomasz Krzesinski (3,800,000), and Artur Martirosian (3,320,000) round out the top five. Also returning for Day 2 are Quan Zhou (2,755,000), Lautaro Guerra (2,010,000), Dennis Weiss (1,685,000), Aku Joentausta (1,370,000), Klemens Roiter (1,095,000), Joni Jouhkimainen (975,000), Gergo Nagy (665,000), and Eelis Parssinen (325,000).
A total of 199 players entered over the three starting flights. All remaining players are already in the money, and the official list of payouts should be announced shortly after the start of play. The action picks up on Level 15 with blinds of 15,000/30,000 and a 30,000 big blind ante. Levels will be extended to 60 minutes today, and the plan is to play down to a final table of seven.
Stay tuned as PokerNews follows all the action and provides live updates throughout the day here in North Cyprus.