Ravi Sheth Leads PokerStars Open Main Event as 49 Players Bag for Day 3
Day 2 of the PokerStars Open Manchester Main Event, running at the Deansgate Hotel and hosted by Hippodrome Casino, has now drawn to a close. After 10 levels of action, 49 players have bagged and tagged to return for Day 3.
A total of 927 entries were made to the tournament across four starting flights and, including late regs, 381 sat down at the start of Day 2 to compete for their share of the £1,000,000 prize pool.
Ravi Sheth came out on top, bagging a total of 1,810,000. Sheth has a few five-figure scores over the last few years and is now well on track to beat his previous best of €16,500 for finishing 16th in the 2024 EPT Monte Carlo €2,200 FPS High Roller.
Sheth is trailed by Jay O'Leary, who managed to maintain and grow his stack gradually throughout the day to bag in second place with 1,600,000 chips.
United Kingdom pro Jack Hardcastle, who has over $2.4 million in live winnings, bagged in third with 1,030,000, while 2023 UKIPT Blackpool Main Event winner Tuan Le finished in fourth. Hasmukh Khodiyara rounds out the top five.
End of Day 2 Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ravi Sheth | United Kingdom | 1,810,000 | 121 |
| 2 | Jay O'Leary | United Kingdom | 1,600,000 | 107 |
| 3 | Jack Hardcastle | United Kingdom | 1,030,000 | 69 |
| 4 | Tuan Le | United Kingdom | 950,000 | 63 |
| 5 | Hasmukh Khodiyara | United Kingdom | 920,000 | 61 |
| 6 | Christopher Cunliffe | United Kingdom | 900,000 | 60 |
| 7 | Christopher Brammer | United Kingdom | 875,000 | 58 |
| 8 | Michael Rosaman | United Kingdom | 870,000 | 58 |
| 9 | Sinead Davenport | United Kingdom | 855,000 | 57 |
| 10 | Javier Rodriguez Gonzalez | Spain | 835,000 | 56 |
Other notables who found the bag for Day 3 include PokerStars Ambassador Kenny Hallaert (735,000), Antoine Labat (570,000), Michel Molenaar (445,000) and Andrew Hulme (230,000), along with UKIPT winners Brett Angell (470,000) and Christopher Yong (45,000).
Ian Simpson wasn't so fortunate. After starting Day 2 as the chip leader, his aces were cracked by ace-king inside the money to bust out in 78th place.
At least Simpson made the money. Alex Todd didn't. He was eliminated on the stone bubble when he ran his pocket kings into aces. The rest of the players locked up at least a min-cash. Below are the remaining payouts when players return.
Remaining Payouts
| Place | Prize | Place | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | £174,400 | 12 – 13 | £10,730 |
| 2 | £109,000 | 14 – 15 | £8,940 |
| 3 | £77,860 | 16 – 17 | £7,770 |
| 4 | £59,890 | 18 – 20 | £6,760 |
| 5 | £46,070 | 21 – 23 | £5,880 |
| 6 | £35,440 | 24 – 27 | £5,110 |
| 7 | £27,260 | 28 – 31 | £4,440 |
| 8 | £20,970 | 32 – 39 | £3,860 |
| 9 | £16,130 | 40 – 49 | £3,360 |
| 10 – 11 | £12,870 |
The PokerStars Open Main Event recommences at noon local time on October 25. Players will return to Level 21 with blinds on 10,000/15,000/15,000. The tournament is expected to play down to a winner on Day 3.
Stay tuned to PokerNews as reporters bring you live updates straight from the tournament floor.