Day 2 Kicks Off at Noon With Michael Malm at the Helm

Welcome to Day 2 of the Card Player Poker Tour (CPPT) World Cup of Cards. Just 43 players will return to the felt when cards hit the air at noon local time inside Playground Poker Club. World Series of Poker bracelet winner Michael Malm has a sizeable lead over the remaining field.

Along with his WSOP bracelet, Malm also captured a World Cup of Cards (WCC) title back in 2016. Malm starts the day with 414,500, miles ahead of Blake Tarbell (274,500) who will start the day second in chips.

Also topping the leaderboard are Jonathan Marrie (267,000), Jake Labonte (248,000), Jiachen Gong (226,000), who also won a 2016 WCC title, and Gregory Hartwick (221,500).

The defending champion remains in contention. Brady Hinnegan (42,500) topped a field of over 350 players in 2016 to claim a $110,000 first place prize. Other former WCC title winners returning for Day 2 include William Blais (169,000), Andrew Watt (111,000), David-Valcourt Dube (57,000), and Nathan Hall (48,000).

The top 24 places will walk away with a prize today. All of them will be guaranteed $3,600 with the Champion's trophy and a top prize of $98,000 awaiting the eventual winner.

Day 2 is scheduled to play nine 60-minute levels though that number could be extended or reduced depending on the outcome of the early stages. With just 43 players left, a champion could very well be crowned late Sunday evening.

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