Allen Cunningham raised to 2,500, and Johnny Chan called. Jen Harman joined from the big blind to see the flop. Harman checked, and Cunningham c-bet 4,000. Chan believed him and folded, but Harman check-raised all in for her last 19,200. Cunningham had no interest in calling all of that, and he capitulated quickly. She took the pot, moving back to 31,000. Cunningham fell a bit to 53,000.
The action folded around to Phil Hellmuth, who limped in. Daniel Negreanu checked his option in the big blind.
The flop was . Negreanu checked and Hellmuth checked behind. The turn was the and Negreanu took a 1,500-chip stab at the pot. Hellmuth called. The river fell the and Negreanu led again, this time for 3,000. Hellmuth said something about how much he lives for big pairs, which drew chuckles from around the table. He folded and Negreanu took the pot.
With almost two full tables of players remaining and only one more day of play scheduled, the powers that be at the WSOP are hastily putting together an alternate plan for playing down to a winner. Bringing the players back on Friday, July 2 at Noon was discussed, but that option was quickly scuttled as it not only conflicts with the $25,000 6-max event but also Howard Lederer's annual "World Series of BBQ" fundraiser at the Golden Nugget.
The latest we've heard (and this is of course unconfirmed), is that everyone will have to return at 10 a.m. on July 4th to play this tournament out. Not sure how well such an early start will go over with this crowd, who isn't used to getting up before Noon.
Daniel Negreanu opened for 2,200 and Chris Ferguson made the call from the big blind.
The flop was . Ferguson checked to Negreanu, who bet 2,500. Ferguson raised to 6,000 and Negreanu moved all-in for his remaining 18,000. Ferguson made the call.
Negreanu
Ferguson
Ferguson needed a runner-runner miracle to KO Negreanu, but didn't get it. The turn was the , the river was the and Negreanu doubled to 41,700 with his set of sixes.
Mike "The Mouth" Matusow stole the show on Day 2 of the Tournament of Champions, building a stack high enough to rival the volume of his chatter. He finished in the lead with 85,500, followed by Huck Seed and Johnny Chan. Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier will return with the most work to do, as he's down to 21,400. Antoinio Esfandiari is also in critical condition.
After an hour, the 22 players who returned for Day 2 of the Tournament of Champions had whittled themselves down to 18. But they only got rid of one more player in the next three levels. Doyle Brunson was the first to make his exit, followed soon after by reigning Main Event Champion Joe Cada, Internet qualifier Andrew Barton, and "poker's greatest ambassador" Mike Sexton. Once they redrew to the two ESPN feature stages, action slowed down...waaaay down. Dan Harrington was the only unlucky soul to find himself down and out without a chance at the freeroll cash.
Since 17 players survived Day 2, tournament staff had to do some quick rescheduling. They were supposed to return on July 4th already down to nine players, but with 17 left, they decided to resume on Saturday, July 3rd at 7 p.m. to play to a final table. However, if one of the remaining players is still alive in the $25k Six Max event or in Ante Up for Africa, they'll scrap that plan and return at 9 a.m. on Sunday.
Join us Saturday night right here at PokerNews for Day 3 coverage of the Tournament of Champions!