WSOP Tournament of Champions
Day 2 Started
WSOP Tournament of Champions
Day 2 Started
Yesterday afternoon, five members of our 27-player field saw their chip stacks reduced to nothing, leaving us 22 contenders for the title of "Champion of Champions." In about thirty minutes' time they'll return to the Amazon Room, which, at the moment is extraordinarily quiet and sparsely populated. ESPN's cameras are in place here on the main stage-- they'll be live-streaming the featured table action on ESPN3 this afternoon, while we'll be ringside on all three tables bringing you up-to-the minute action.
Erik Seidel comes into play as the chip leader with more than 72,000 in his stack. He is closely trailed by Johnny Chan and Mike Matusow, while on the other end of the spectrum, Doyle Brunson, Joe Cada, and Annie Duke are looking to double up early in order to remain in contention.
Check back with us at Noon Pacific time as we begin the march through another four levels of play.
The players are sitting in the same configuration they were yesterday, although the Hellmuth/Matusow table has moved over to the main stage while the Brunson/Negreanu table is now stationed outside the Jack Link's Lounge. When we reach 18 players, there will be a full re-draw.
ESPN Featured Table
Seat 1: Mike Matusow
Seat 2: Allen Cunningham
Seat 3: Mike Sexton
Seat 4: Phil Hellmuth
Seat 5: Dan Harrington
Seat 6: -OPEN-
Seat 7: Barry Greenstein
Seat 8: -OPEN-
Seat 9: Scotty Nguyen
Table 2
Seat 1: Joe Hachem
Seat 2: Doyle Brunson
Seat 3: Howard Lederer
Seat 4: T.J. Cloutier
Seat 5: Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier
Seat 6: -OPEN-
Seat 7: Annie Duke
Seat 8: Daniel Negreanu
Seat 9: Antonio Esfandiari
Table 3
Seat 1: Huck Seed
Seat 2: -OPEN-
Seat 3: Jennifer Harman
Seat 4: Joe Cada
Seat 5: Erik Seidel
Seat 6: Chris Ferguson
Seat 7:-OPEN-
Seat 8: Johnny Chan
Seat 9: Andrew Barton
Level: 5
Blinds: 200/400
Ante: 50
That was fast. Doyle Brunson got his last chips in on the first hand. Daniel Negreanu put him to the test with , and Brunson called all in with . "Oh, the old jack-high call," Negreanu laughed.
The board ran out . At first Brunson thought he'd hit on the river, but then he realized Negreanu had made a runner-runner flush to win the hand and eliminate the Godfather.
Or at least live streaming internet.
The clock is running, and has been for the last several minutes although things are still a bit discombobulated at the ESPN featured table. The lights are extremely dim onstage and the players are having a bit of difficulty seeing their cards. A decision was just made to pause the clock until the lighting situation can be rectified.
The lights are on and the clock is running. Shuffle up and deal!
Antonio Esfandiari raised to 1,025 under the gun plus one. That was enough to steal the blinds and antes. The next hand, Esfandiari made the same raise and had the same result.
The Magician was in the big blind the next hand. Joe Hachem raised to 1,100 under the gun, and only Antonio made the call. The flop fell , and Esfandiari check-called 1,700. Antonio checked again after the turn, and Hachem bet 4,300. Esfandiari called that too. The river seemed like a brick, and both players checked. Esfandiari turned over for a flopped pair of eights, and that was good enough to take the pot.
Mike Sexton and Mike Matusow were just involved in a small pot that ended before the flop. However, as not to confuse the audience, TD Robbie Thompson referred to Matusow as "Mike" and Sexton as "Mr. Sexton."
"How about 'the idiot limps in' or 'the nit folds?'" Matusow said, referring to himself. "Or maybe 'the ambassador raises?'" he said, gesturing to Sexton.
They settled on calling Matusow by his entirely appropriate nickname-- "The Mouth."
Andrew Barton limped under the gun and action folded around to Chris Ferguson in the small blind. He called as well and Johnny Chan checked his option.
The flop came down and all three players checked. The turn was the and Ferguson bet 1,000. Chan popped it to 4,000 and Barton called. Ferguson got out of the way and the hit the river. Chan bet 4,000 and Barton looked sick over it. After about two minutes, he talked himself into a call. Chan tabled and Barton mucked, dropping to about 9,500.
Chan is up to about 76,000.