Welcome back to the 2019 partypoker LIVE MILLIONS North America, and the Playground Poker Club in Kahnawake, Quebec, Canada, for Day 2 of the CA$10,300 High Roller.
The first day of the tournament brought in 52 entries by the end of eight levels of play and James Romero sat atop the list with his 4,320,000 and the chip lead. Close behind is David Lopez who finished just shy of the chipleader and has 4,300,000 to start the second day.
Lauren Roberts will be starting the day third in chips with 3,630,000 and is a well-known and loved regular her at the Playground. Germanies Anton Morgenstern (3,000,000) and Derek Verrian (2,850,000) round out the top five, putting them in a great spot to find a healthy sized cash.
Day 2 begins at 1 p.m. with the blinds at 10,000/20,000 and a 20,000 big blind ante. A total of ten 60-minute levels will be played before all players bag up and advance to the third day. The tournament still needs another 48 entries to hit the one million guarantee and should be able to do so with the late registration/re-entry remaining open until the start of level 13.
The PokerNews live reporting team will be bringing you all the updates throughout the tournament so be sure to stay tuned as the action unfolds.
Brian Yoon opened to 45,000 from under the gun, James Romero called in the cutoff and Jeremy Ausmus moved all in for 455,000 from the button. Yoon announced all in for 1,185,000, Romero folded and the two remaining turned over their hands.
Jeremy Ausmus:
Brian Yoon:
The board ran out and Yoon's snowmen held on to take down the pot, eliminating Ausmus from the tournament.
James Romero opened to 75,000 from under the gun, Lauren Roberts stuck along in the hijack and the dealer spread out on the flop.
Romero bet 70,000, Roberts called and the landed as a turn card. Romero pushed in 200,000 and Roberts thought for a minute before she pushed in enough to call.
A peeled off on the river and Romero pushed in a massive bet of 850,000. Roberts hit the tank for several minutes but in the end, she called the bet.
Romero instantly threw his hand into the muck, signifying that Roberts won and she then scooped in the pot without having to show a single card.
Maria Ho opened from the cutoff, Brian Yoon three-bet in the small blind and Ho moved all in for 1,560,000. Yoon snap-called and the two turned over their hands with Ho at risk.
Ho:
Yoon:
The board ran out and Ho's aces held on for the pot, grabbing a full double up through Yoon.
Pierre-Paul Paulin opened to 100,000, James Romero three-bet to 230,000 and Paulin moved all in for more than enough to cover his opponent. Romero thought for just a moment before he slammed in his 1.650,000 stack and the two turned over their hands.
Romero:
Paulin:
The flop was beautiful for Romero as it came and he took a commanding lead with his set of sixes. An peeled off on the turn and Paulin now picked up some full house outs.
An unthinkable card popped off on the river when the turned over, giving Paulin a higher full house to take down the pot and send the start of the day chipleader packing.
Pierre-Paul Paulin opened to 130,000 from the cutoff, Elliot Smith bumped it up to 315,000 on the button, Paulin called and the dealer spread out on the flop.
Action checked to Smith, he bet 160,000 and Paulin quickly check-raised to 520,000. Smith thought for a moment and elected to shove all in for around 1,550,000.
Paulin swiftly called, tabling for top pair but would not be in a great spot as Smith turned over for the same pair with an ace kicker.
A fortuitous card landed on the turn for Paulin when the dealer flipped over the , giving him two pair and the lead. The river bricked out when a hit the felt and Paulin took down another large pot, sending Smith home in the process.
Peter Weinand opened to 150,000 from under the gun, Hannes Speiser moved all in from the cutoff for 1,420,000 and Anatoly Filatov called on the button. Weinand moved all in over the top for 3,650,000 and Filitov said "Let's Go!" as he slammed in the chips for a call.
Speiser:
Weinand:
Filatov:
The flop came down and Weinand was still way ahead with his kings. A peeled off on the turn, giving Speiser a set of sevens and the lead.
The river came down a very lucky card for Filatov as the dealer flipped over the , giving him the nut straight. Filatov took down the pot with his straight, eliminating two opponents while doing so.
The second day of the partypoker LIVE MILLIONS North America CA$10,300 High Roller has come to an end. There were a total of 102 to join the event over the first 12 levels of play and just 16 players found a bag by the end Day 2.
Pierre-Paul Paulin started the day off with a couple of big hands and completely took over after he found a chip lead. Paulin used his massive stack to apply an enormous amount of pressure on his opponents and lucky luck proved to favor the backbone today as he also got lucky when needed. The New Brunswick native will be starting Day 3 with 21,425,000 in chips and all the momentum in the world.
Behind the chipleader is Brian Yoon who has 15,525,000 and enough experience to take over the tournament at any given moment. Look for Yoon to make a lot of aggressive moves early tomorrow to try and overtake the lead. A couple of partypoker pro's made it through in Anatoly Filatov (13,300,000) and Bertrand Grospellier (1,405,000). Grospellier sat around average the most of the day and is headed into Day 3 on the shorter side of things. Filatov, on the other hand, took off like a rocket and jumped near the top of the list shortly after dinner break, he will be someone to watch for on the third day.
A full recap of the day, along with a list of chip counts will be posted shortly.
Day 2 of the 2019 partypoker LIVE MILLIONS North America CA$10,300 High Roller is now in the books after ten grueling hours of play. The late registration/Re-Entry period was still open for another four hours to begin the day and by the completion of that period, there were a total of 102 slips sold. By nights end it was Pierre-Paul Paulin leading the way with an impressive 21,425,000 in chips.
Paulin started the day just slightly above average in chips but instantly catapulted to the top of the food chain. He was the first player to reach the ten million mark and he did so by eliminating the start of the day chipleader James Romero. The two found themselves in a flipping situation with Paulin holding big slick against Romero's pair of sixes. Romero flopped a six and seemed to have the hand all but locked up. Paulin managed to hit a runner-runner full house, taking down the pot and eliminating Romero from the tournament.
The New Brunswick, Canada native continued to run hot and it seems like a standard for him here in the Playground Poker Club as he finished seventh in the partypoker Main Event held in October of last year for his first six-figure cash. Paulin will be looking to surpass that personal best and add another six-figure cash to his resume.
Right behind the chipleader is Brian Yoon with a healthy 15,525,000 stack. Yoon started the day around average and just like Paulin, he started to climb quickly. Yoon played an aggressive style of poker but always seemed to have a hand when the cards were turned over. He is a competitor with enough experience to take over during Day 3 so be sure to keep an eye out for him as the action unfolds on the final day.
The tournament started the day with 52 runners and by the end of late registration, a total of 102 had joined, gathering $989,400 for the prize pool. A total that came up just shy of the one million guarantee that was set. Only 16 found a bag at the end of play and those who did will be returning tomorrow to battle it out. The money bubble is lingering around the corner with only 11 receiving a payday. A min-cash will be worth CA$25,000 and the eventual winner will be pulling in an immense CA$300,000.
Many familiar faces will be returning tomorrow for that top prize but two, in particular, stand out. partypoker pro's Anatoly Filatov and Bertran Grospellier are two people that everyone will have their eyes on tomorrow. Filitov is starting the day third in chips and always brings excitement to the table whenever he plays. Grospellier is starting at the bottom of the pack but knows his way around a short stack and will look to prove that once again.
A lot of pros took a shot, or in some cases, several, and failed to make it to Day 3, including Germanies Rainer Kempe, Lauren Roberts, Artem Metalidi, Javier Gomez, Alan Schein, Kitty Kuo, and Ryan Riess.
The action will restart on at 1 p.m. EST with the blinds resuming at 60,000/120,000 and a 120,000 big blind ante. There will be a 15-minute break after every two levels of play and the levels will remain at 60-minutes in length. A winner will be crowned tomorrow and the tournament will not stop until someone takes down first place for that cool $300,000 cash prize.
The PokerNews live reporting team will be bringing you all the action throughout the rest of the tournament so be sure to stay tuned.