If we were allowed only one word to describe the events today, it would be “action!”  For the major part of the day, the eliminations were happening at a constant and steady pace.  The money bubble broke halfway through the day and that’s when the flood gates of chips were thrown open.  Chips were flying everywhere and the players were out for blood.

Early on, the prize pool was announced and promised almost $90,000 to the final table.  That got the players going and they all had their eyes on the prizes.  Coming into Day 2, Michel Gariepy was the overall chip leader with 339,000 chips.  But after only three levels, the balance of power had completely shifted, and now Pascal Fournier was the leader.  This is right about the time when the bubble hit, confirming that the remaining players were officially in the money.

A few hours later, it was Steve Pouliot who seemed to be riding a freight train to success.  Things were going his way and he was taking full advantage of it.  A few minutes into the 22nd level, Jean-René Lafleur got a huge break when he cracked Etienne Sorel’s aces, scooping major chips towards him.  He didn’t really look back after that point.  A few levels before the end of play, it was François Gagné’s turn to hit a great streak.  A few back-to-back important pots catapulted him to the top of the leaderboard, where he cruised for the remainder of the tournament before losing a few pots just before the end, but still ending up in great position.

After all was said and done, Wayne Derouchie, who flew under the radar all day, sprinted into the first spot of the leaderboard with 1,830,000 chips.  Jean-René Lafleur comes in second with 1,500,000.  Peter Liakopoulos bagged 1,375,000 chips and Marcello Simonetti dumped 1,110,000 chips in the bag.  François Gagne is the last of the millionaire club, with 1,095,000 chips.

Now the bags are sealed and it’s time for the players to unwind and get ready for Day 3 action tomorrow.  The tournament is scheduled to get going at 12:00pm for the remaining 26 players.  The blinds will be 15K/30K+30K, on eight-handed tables, and play will continue until a winner is crowned.