Laurence Essa Leads After Day 2 of the partypoker 2015 WPTN London Accumulator
The second day of the 2015 partypoker World Poker Tour National London £200 No-Limit Hold'em Accumulator at Aspers Casino started fast and furious with one-fourth of the 205 remaining participants being sent to the rail within the first two levels. After 12 levels of 40 minutes each, only 24 players remained, and it was Laurence Essa who bagged up the lead with 1,069,000 in chips.
The vast majority of Essa's stack came off two coin flips despite Essa not preferring the pressure of these situations.
Among the early eliminations were Carlo Citrone, WPT Champions Club member Tony Dunst, James Akenhead, Tamer Kamel, and July 2014 WPT National London champion Gabriel Tuna.
On the stone-cold bubble, Jeraint "JJ" Hazan would make a hazardous move to crack the pocket kings of Francisco Manuel Salvador Flores, and the bubble burst in Level 19 when Jacques Arama could not hold up against Christopher Yong.
Once in the money, the eliminations came in quickly, and Surinder Sunar, as well as Xuan Nguyen, were among those to settle for a min-cash worth £600. With Kelly Ann Saxby (34th) and Alexandra O'Brien (31st) bowing out in the second payout step for £690, an all-male affair for the final day of the tournament was created.
The chip lead was decided in a massive coin flip that sent Martin Spearing to the rail in 30th place, and then another five players ended up on the rail in the last level of play. With upcoming blinds of 10,000/20,000 and a running ante of 3,000, more fireworks can be expected right from the start of Day 3 at 1 p.m. UK time.
All remaining 24 players are guaranteed at least £895 for their efforts, whereas the first-place payout of £22,500 and the title of WPT National champion are still up for grabs. Some of the contenders with big stacks include Rahim Tadj-Saadat (921,000), Christopher Yong (784,000), Kevin Allen (709,000), Jesus Gracia (687,000), and 2014 WPT Nottingham champion and Day 1b chip leader Matas Cimbolas (589,000).
Be sure to tune back in with the PokerNews Live Reporting team as we'll be here to deliver all key situations on the way to write another chapter in the WPT history books.
Day 3 Seat Draw
| Table | Seat | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Andrew Bell | 295,000 |
| 1 | 2 | Jeraint Hazan | 625,000 |
| 1 | 3 | Lucio Pacifico | 537,000 |
| 1 | 4 | Marius Lietuvninkas | 361,000 |
| 1 | 5 | Kenny King | 400,000 |
| 1 | 6 | Umberan Akhtar | 388,000 |
| 1 | 7 | Petrit Papushi | 386,000 |
| 1 | 8 | Paul Siliceo | 587,000 |
| 2 | 1 | Christopher Yong | 784,000 |
| 2 | 2 | Michel Melkert | 362,000 |
| 2 | 3 | Laurence Essa | 1,069,000 |
| 2 | 4 | Jesus Gracia | 687,000 |
| 2 | 5 | Saulius Tumosa | 133,000 |
| 2 | 6 | Justin Kean | 105,000 |
| 2 | 7 | Matas Cimbolas | 589,000 |
| 2 | 8 | Karl Roberts | 574,000 |
| 3 | 1 | Kevin Allen | 709,000 |
| 3 | 2 | Chan Ha | 413,000 |
| 3 | 3 | James Manlove | 60,000 |
| 3 | 4 | Jamal Gormati | 232,000 |
| 3 | 5 | Christopher Gordon | 417,000 |
| 3 | 6 | Rahim Tadj-Saadat | 921,000 |
| 3 | 7 | Darren Mapley | 469,000 |
| 3 | 8 | Matthew Buckland | 158,000 |