Epparla Leads The Final Nine
Day 2 of the Main Event here at WSOP-C Harrah's Chester has come to an end.
We began the day with 55 players remaining from the starting field of 269. After seven levels and change, only nine are left with hopes of capturing the $94,901 first-place prize and a seat in the WSOP-C National Championship to be held later this month. On top of the counts is Ramana Epparla, holding a massive lead on the competition with a stack of 1,950,000.
Epparla was in the middle of the pack for much of the day, but a key hand with 11 players remaining propelled him to the top. At the 6,000/12,000/2,000 level, he opened the pot with a raise to 32,000 from the button. Michael DePasquale three-bet to 77,000 out of the big blind, Epparla called to see a flop, and it came down 
. DePasquale bet 67,000, but Epparla's response was a shove with the bigger stack, putting DePasquale to the decision for his last ~440,000 chips.
A quick call from DePasquale revealed 
, while Epparla sheepishly showed 
for nothing but a gutshot straight draw. The 
turn changed nothing, but the 
completed Epparla's draw, sending DePasquale to the rail, as well the momentum of the tournament Epparla's way.
The remaining nine stack up like this:
| Seat | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huy Nguyen | 429,000 |
| 2 | Robert Hwang | 274,000 |
| 3 | Ed Cotter | 686,000 |
| 4 | Ryan Waddell | 321,000 |
| 5 | Sean Knitter | 226,000 |
| 6 | Ari Engel | 411,000 |
| 7 | Ramana Epparla | 1,950,000 |
| 8 | Kenny Nguyen | 622,000 |
| 9 | Robert Scott | 467,000 |
WSOP-C Choctaw Main Event Champion Huy Nguyen is in contention, as is the always dangerous Ari Engel. We'll be back at Noon local time tomorrow to bring you final table coverage of all the action. Until then, good night from Chester!