Schuyler Thornton raised from under the gun, Mark Klecan three-bet, and James Woods called in the big blind. Klecan called as well.
Everyone drew two on the first draw and action checked around to Klecan who bet and everyone called.
Woods drew one on the second draw while Thornton drew two and Klecan drew one behind him. Action checked to Klecan who bet again and both players called.
The last draw saw everyone draw one and Woods bet which quickly folded out Thornton and Klecan shifted uncomfortably before calling.
"Ace," said Woods as he turned over Ax7x5x4x2x for an ace. Klecan nodded and tossed his hand into the muck as Woods hopped to over one million chips.
Takuro Matsumoto raised in the hijack and Ben Yu defended his big blind.
Yu drew two while Matsumoto stood pat and Yu check-called a bet from Matsumoto.
On the second draw, Yu drew one and Matsumoto stood pat and bet to put Yu all in which Yu called.
Ben Yu: 6x4x3x2xXx
Takuro Matsumoto: 8x6x4x3x2x
Yu was drawing to a seven to win or an eight to chop. He peeled up a 10x to leave Matsumoto's eight-six out in front and the WSOP bracelet winner took his leave from the tournament.
David "Bakes" Baker opened from the cutoff and Sean Akhavi called from the button. Both players drew two.
After the first draw Baker bet and Akhavi raised, putting himself all-in. Baker called with a covering stack and drew one while Akhavi stood pat.
Both players stood pat for the final draw. Akhavi had an eight with 8x5x4x3xAx but Baker had a seven with 7x6x5x2xAx to send Akhavi to the rail and win the hand.
David Tarbet raised from under the gun and Jampana Appalaraju raised in the hijack which saw Johannes Becker call in the big blind. Tarbet raised to put himself all in, prompting Appalaraju to cap it and Becker called.
Becker drew two on the first draw while Tarbet drew three and Appalaraju stood pat. Becker check-called a bet from Appalaraju on the first round.
On the second draw, Becker drew one while Tarbet was still drawing three and Appalaraju stood pat again. Once more Becker check-called a bet from Appalaraju.
Becker stood pat while Tarbet drew one and Appalaraju stood pat again with action checking through.
David Tarbet: 5x4x2xAxXx
Johannes Becker: 7x5x3x2xAx
Jampana Appalaraju: 7x6x4x3x2x
Tarbet was drawing to hit a three or six to survive, but peeled up an 8x and Tarbet was eliminated on the final hand of the day while Becker scooped a side pot with Appalaraju.
Day 2 of Event #56: $2,500 Mixed Triple Draw Lowball has concluded here at the 2025 World Series of Poker at Horseshoe and Paris, Las Vegas. The event attracted 463 entries, generating a $1,030,175 prize pool and making it the largest field ever for this event since it debuted 2018.
Michael Balan ended Day 2 with the chip lead after bagging 2,225,000. Balan is most closely followed by Johannes Becker, who bagged 2,110,000 while David “Bakes” Baker rounds out the podium with 1,990,000. Becker will be going for not only his second bracelet overall, but his second bracelet in this event, having won the 2018 edition.
Also in contention with a top-ten stack is Benny Glaser, who ended the night with 1,115,000. A win in this event would be Glaser's third for the series and eighth overall after winning back-to-back bracelets in the $1,500 Dealer's Choice and $1,500 Mixed Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo events earlier in the series.
Benny Glaser
Top Ten Chip Counts
Rank
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Bets
1
Michael Balan
United States
2,225,000
27
2
Johannes Becker
Germany
2,110,000
26
3
David "Bakes" Baker
United States
1,990,000
24
4
Schuyler Thornton
United States
1,970,000
24
5
Chris Klodnicki
United States
1,335,000
16
6
Benny Glaser
United Kingdom
1,115,000
13
7
Mark Klecan
Canada
1,070,000
13
8
James Woods
United States
1,005,000
12
9
George Alexander
United States
860,000
10
10
Takuro Matsumoto
Japan
795,000
9
Day 2 Action
The first order of business for returning players was to reach the money bubble, as there were only 70 paid spots for the 133 players who made it to Day 2. Some players to fall early in the day before the bubble include Chris Brewer, Philip Sternheimer and defending champion Patrick Moulder.
Junhyoung Ki earned the unfortunate title of bubble boy after getting his last chips in against Chino Rheem. Both players had strong one-card draws in A-5, but Rheem drew into a six-low to send Ki to the rail one spot shy of the money.
Dzmitry Urbanovich was the first player to collect a $5,021 min-cash after the money bubble burst. Urbanovich was followed out the door by notables such as David “ODB” Baker, Christopher Vitch, Greg Mueller and David Bach, as the field was gradually whittled down to the final three tables shortly before the end of the night.
Remaining Payouts
Place
Prize
1
$208,552
2
$135,506
3
$90,139
4
$61,409
5
$42,872
6
$30,690
7
$22,542
8-9
$17,000
10-11
$13,172
12-15
$10,495
The remaining 15 players have all locked up $10,495 and will return Saturday, June 21, at 1 p.m. local time to decide who will take home the bracelet and top prize of $208,552. The action is set to resume at Level 23, with blinds of 20,000/40,000 and limits of 40,000/80,000.
Stay tuned to PokerNews as we bring you all the final day action from the moment cards are in the air until a winner is crowned.
