Circuit Regular Jeff Fielder Leads Final 15; Ilich Vying for Casino Championship
This past weekend, the World Series of Poker Circuit Choctaw Durant Main Event began with 1,140 entries over two starting flights making it the third largest on WSOP Circuit history. On Sunday, the 64 survivors from Day 1a and 99 from Day 1b were brought together under one roof for Day 2 action. The returning field of 163 was whittled down to just 15 players over the course of 11 levels with Jeff Fielder and his stack of 3.215 million leading the way.
Day 2 began with everyone intent on making the money by finishing in the top 117, but 46 players needed to fall to make that happen. Among those who left empty handed were Brett Schwertley, Michael Swimelar, Shawn Rice, Michael “Carwash” Schneider and Richard Lee, who you may recall earned $2,803,851 for his sixth-place finisher in the 2006 WSOP Main Event
Lee actually finished as the bubble boy. It happened when Drazen Ilich, who finished as the Day 1a chip leader, opened on the button and Lee three-bet about half of his stack from the small blind. Ilich moved all in with 
, Lee called holding 
, and the board ran out clean for Ilich to send Lee home in 118th place.
Once the bubble burst, the eliminations began to mount. Chris Conrad (116th-$2,804), Kevin “1SickDisease” Eyster (102nd-$3,044), Todd Breyfogle (87th-$3,608), Hien Nguyen (78th-$3,916) and Jody Rummel (65th-$4,258) were just a few of the players to fall during midday.
At the end of Level 22, with blinds at 5,000/10,000/1,000, Poker Hall of Famer T.J. Cloutier also hit the rail. Cloutier, who has six World Series of Poker bracelets and finished runner-up in the WSOP Main Event on two occasions (1985 & 2000) fell after Jim Carroll opened for 28,000 and Jeff Fielder flatted from the small blind with 
. Cloutier then three-bet to 128,000 from the big with , Carroll folded, and Fielder spent some time in the tank before moving all in. Cloutier called off and Fielder's nines held.
A few minutes later, after the clock had rolled over to Level 23 (6,000/12,000/2000), another six-time WSOP bracelet winner joined Cloutier on the rail. Layne Flack's demise came when he opened for 31,000 from early and received a call from Matt Kirby in the hijack. When action reached Mario "Pwnasaurus" Silvestri, of Ship It Holla Ballas fame, in the small blind, he quietly announced that he was all in for 193,000. Flack, who happened to have the exact same amount, snap-called while Kirby got out of the way.
Flack: 
Silvestri: 
It was a bad spot for Flack, and it got even worse when the 
flop delivered Silvestri a set. Flack needed running cards to stay alive, but the 
turn ended any hope of that happening. Flack was drawing dead headed to the river, which came down the 
, and was eliminated in 58th place.
Andy Philachack (56th-$4,668), Kou Vang (50th-$5,164), Silvestri (48th-$5,164), David Nicholson (34th-$6,532), Matt Lawrence (29th-$8,584), Rex Clinkscales (27th-$9,986), “Cowboy” John Land (26th-$9,986), Will Carrion 25th-$9,986), Jonathan Bakhshian (22nd-$11,748) and Mitch Schock (20th-$13,954) were just a few of the players who busted in the later levels of Day 2.
While many fell, a few notable managed to survive. Phil Ivey doppelganger Clifton Stewart; Minnesota’s Matt Kirby; lovely ladies Brenda Bassett and Krissi McFarland; and Lee Abramson, who was responsible for a slowroll controversy on Day 1b, are all among the players still in contention for the $312,080 first-place prize and seat in the Southern Comfort 100 Proof National Championship.
It's also worth noting that Ilich is the only player left in the Main Event who can win the Choctaw Casino Championship. If he finishes fourth or higher he would take the lead over current frontrunner Andrew Robinson, though Event #12 is yet to be determined.
Day 3 Seating Assignments and Chip Counts
| Table | Seat | Player | Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | 1 | Matt Kirby | 1,025,000 |
| 11 | 2 | --empty-- | -- |
| 11 | 3 | Reginald Roberts | 1,285,000 |
| 11 | 4 | Drazen Ilich | 1,700,000 |
| 11 | 5 | Clifton Stewart | 1,755,000 |
| 11 | 6 | Bryan Campanello | 2,180,000 |
| 11 | 7 | Brenda Bassett | 350,000 |
| 11 | 8 | Brant Hale | 1,290,000 |
| 11 | 9 | --empty-- | -- |
| 12 | 1 | Krissi McFarland | 1,095,000 |
| 12 | 2 | --empty-- | -- |
| 12 | 3 | Doug Ashmore | 1,280,000 |
| 12 | 4 | Dale Roesel | 2,800,000 |
| 12 | 5 | Kasra Khodayarkhani | 670,000 |
| 12 | 6 | Jon Wood | 775,000 |
| 12 | 7 | Lee Abramson | 1,295,000 |
| 12 | 8 | Jeff Fielder | 3,215,000 |
| 12 | 9 | Paul Phillips | 2,060,000 |
The third and final day of the Choctaw Durant Main Event will begin at 12:00 p.m. CST on Monday and the final 15 players will play down to a winner. The PokerNews Live Reporting Team will be on hand bringing you all the action as we look to crown the next WSOP Circuit Choctaw Durant Main Event champion.