button in SafariJustin Arnwine Among the Leaders on Day 2a of the $500 COLOSSUS
Day 2a of Event #34: $500 COLOSSUS No-Limit Hold'em started with 501 players returning to the action. After another 12 levels were completed, all but 43 of them had fallen by the wayside. Justin Arnwine was one of those 43 survivong players who progressed to Day 3 from this flight, doing so with a top 10 stack.
Arnwine has cashed in four 2026 World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet-awarding events, including an eighth-place finish in the $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em 6-Handed tournament. The Maryland native has almost $2 million in live tournament cashes, but a bracelet has eluded him thus far. Arnwine sits down on Day 3 with 5,050,000 chips, or 42 big blinds.
Anthony Fay (6,620,000) earned the title of Day 2a chip leader. Fay has cashed at least once at the WSOP every year since 2023, including this year, where he enjoyed a 13th-place finish in the $500 No-Limit Hold'em Freezeout, which earned him a career-best $11,710.
Day 2a Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anthony Fay | United States | 6,620,000 | 55 |
| 2 | Tyler Kolness | United States | 6,415,000 | 53 |
| 3 | Joel Kop | United States | 5,890,000 | 49 |
| 4 | Kfir Nahum | Israel | 5,190,000 | 43 |
| 5 | Justin Arnwine | United States | 5,050,000 | 42 |
| 6 | Hasnain Sm | United States | 4,975,000 | 41 |
| 7 | Gaetan Goudmaeker | Belgium | 4,880,000 | 41 |
| 8 | Van Tran | Netherlands | 4,735,000 | 39 |
| 9 | Hang Xu | China | 4,380,000 | 37 |
| 10 | Christian Burger | Germany | 4,260,000 | 36 |
None of the 43 players who safely made it through the Day 2a field has previously won a bracelet, but they are inching closer to changing that fact. Tyler Kolness (6,415,000), Joel Kop (5,890,000), and Kfir Nahum (5,190,000) are just three of the players who have given themselves every chance of becoming this event's champion.
Nahum has gone close to capturing some WSOP hardware in the past. The Israeli grinder finished fifth in the $300 Gladiators of Poker at the 2023 WSOP for $123,840. How he'd love to go four places deeper in the COLOSSUS.
The 43 survivors from Day 2a get to have a welcomed break, or can play in other tournaments, because Day 3 of the COLOSSUS doesn't start until June 15. Before then, there will be Day 1c and 1d, then Day 2b, 2c, and 2d!