Grossglauser Leads the Pack After Day 2
Only 17 remain standing after a consequential Day 2 saw the field trimmed down to the final two tables in the $2,700 Mission Run Good Million Dollar Main Event at the Thunder Valley Casino and Resort. Day 2 featured a total of 116 players returning to chase a piece of the $1,000,000 prize pool, as the players were not only tasked with bagging to make Day 3, but also making the money as the top 58 places paid in this year’s iteration of the main event at the Run Good Poker Series (RGPS).
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Robert Grossglauser | United States | 3,095,000 | 103 |
| 2 | Jackson Spencer | United States | 1,690,000 | 56 |
| 3 | Andrew Moreno | United States | 1,580,000 | 52 |
| 4 | Dan Stavila | United States | 1,465,000 | 48 |
| 5 | Hamed Valizadegan | United States | 1,160,000 | 38 |
| 6 | Shane Miller | United States | 940,000 | 31 |
| 7 | Joel Foscalina | United States | 880,000 | 29 |
| 8 | Mahmoudreza Heshmati | United States | 745,000 | 24 |
| 9 | Paul Vang | United States | 675,000 | 22 |
| 10 | Thu Tran | United States | 655,000 | 21 |
Robert Grossglauser (3,095,000), Jackson Spencer (1,690,000), and Andrew Moreno (1,580,000) finished as the top three stacks in the room when play concluded.
Grossglauser entered the day as a top-three stack and continued his success all throughout Day 2 as he continued his march towards the final goal of the title. He got going early in the day, chipping up during the third level as he leveraged his stack with aggression. By the fourth level of the day, he had already crossed the seven-figure mark, but his march to three million began with the last three levels, as he surged to the Day 2 chip lead.
Andrew Moreno stumbled out of the gate on Day 2 after losing a big pot to Haixia Zhang to dip down to below 150,000 in chips, but Moreno stayed the course and began to chip back up during the day. Moreno got his footing when he doubled through Tyler Patterson. He then clashed again with Zhang, but this time was on the better end of it when he doubled through Zhang with kings versus her fives to vault past the half-million mark. Moreno crossed the seven-figure chip mark when he eliminated Ali Berenji in 23rd place.
Tyler Patterson, the 2023 champion of this very event, bagged for Day 3 after a rough ending left him short with 150,000. Despite that, Patterson is still alive as he continues his quest to become a two-time champion at Thunder Valley.
Each player returning for Day 3 is guaranteed at least $11,000 with the final 17 players chasing the top prize of $200,080 for first place. Below are the remaining payouts for Day 3.
| Place | Prize |
|---|---|
| 1 | $200,080 |
| 2 | $139,240 |
| 3 | $89,620 |
| 4 | $61,220 |
| 5 | $47,030 |
| 6 | $39,130 |
| 7 | $32,750 |
| 8 | $26,350 |
| 9 | $19,950 |
| 10-12 | $16,350 |
| 13-15 | $13,000 |
| 16-18 | $11,000 |
Several notable players' tournament runs ended on Day 2, including Day 1b chip leader Haixia Zhang, Erick Lindgren, Casey Sandretto, Matthew Wantman, Michael Noori, Francis Anderson, Ian Steinman, and Darren Rabinowitz.
Rise and Fall of Zhang
The eliminations were quick during the onset of Day 2, with the field being trimmed down to 60 players within four levels. Zhang was a dominant force to begin Day 2. Zhang picked up right where she left off on Day 1b and got to work early, taking down big pots against Moreno and Adam Nattress to cross 900,000 in chips. Unfortunately for Zhang, that would be her peak, as she was unable to keep up the hot streak until she met her demise in 28th place.
Single Chip
The bubble was an elongated ordeal as play slowed down once players were close to the money. Yotam Shmuelov was one of the many players looking to survive as he was down to just a single 1,000 chip, but despite being short, Shmuelov snuck into the money after Larry Thomas popped the bubble and sent the rest of the field into the money.
Play will resume at 11 a.m. local time tomorrow as the final 17 entrants play down to a champion. Stay tuned here at PokerNews for updates on the action and the eventual champion.