LIVE EVENTS

After some lengthy and dramatic hand-for-hand play on the bubble, the top 111 finishers from Day 2B are in the money and moving on to Day 3.

This flight was the last chance to get in on the Main Event, and it brought a huge influx of new players and re-entries during the first two levels of play. By the time the late registration period ended at the beginning of level 13, the total number of entries stopped one shy of 500 to put a massive number of chips in play and allowed the Main Event to cover the $2,000,000 prize pool guarantee.

There was over an hour of play on the money bubble that featured numerous situations where players were at risk, but the short stack prevailed in every case. Day 2B was brought to an end by George Chow, who had bagged the chip lead from his starting flight, in a hand against Luc Plamondon. Plamondon found himself in the (un)fortunate position of waking up with pocket aces during hand-for-hand play, and his opening raise picked up a call from Chow with . The king-high flop gave Chow a flush draw, one that came in on the turn to send Plamondon to the rail and put the remaining players into the money.

Here are the chip counts for the Day 3 qualifiers from this flight:

There are now less than 120 remaining on Day 2B, and the money bubble is rapidly approaching. The tension is mounting as each hand takes on greater and greater importance from here on in.

Here is an updated look at the field from level 17:

As expected, the Main Event gathered more than enough entries to reach the $2,000,000 prize pool guarantee. All the players who qualify for Day 3 are assured of at least $2,000, but all eyes will be on the six-figure prizes that the top three finishers will receive.

The Day 2B chip leader, Mike Vesia, is only two big blinds shy of a seven-figure stack. The action will resume shortly and continue for as many levels a needed to reduce the field to the last 111 players in this flight. When that moment arrives, the remaining players will bag their chips for tomorrow’s Day 3 and be assured of a cash of at least $2,000.

Following the conclusion of level 16, the players are off on a 60-minute dinner break. The players will have the chance to enjoy buffet and prepare themselves for the remainder of the flight.

The field now stands at 153 players, only 42 eliminations from the money bubble and the conclusion of play for the day. A full leaderboard will be provided shortly.

As Day 2B reaches the midpoint of level 16, the field stands at 173 players.

The remaining players are showing their focus and determination through solid play and careful chip management. Everyone realizes that the money bubble is not far off and that this event has become a freezeout from this point on. As one player put it, “the real tournament starts now.” As a result, the pace of play has slowed significantly from the wild action seen during the first two levels and the bustouts are now few and far between.

Here is an updated look at the field from level 16:

Play has resumed following the second break of the day. For the 213 players still in the running on Day 2B, the Main Event has effectively become a freezeout. Now that re-entering is no longer possible, everyone must manage their chips carefully if they hope to make it to Day 3. Slightly more than half of the remaining field will advance and secure a min-cash.

The chip leader at the first break, Danielle Bracy, kept up her winning ways during the last two levels and remains the chip leader. Her lead is significant, but others players will be closing in quickly as the blinds increase throughout the afternoon.

Now that the late registration and re-entry period has ended, the cutoff point to qualify for Day 3 and reach the money has been set at 111 players.

Day 2B came just one player short of the 500-mark, and 241 players are still in contention. There are nearly 39 million in chips in play, and the current chip average provides slightly more than 50 big blinds. But there is a huge disparity between the big and small stacks in the field, which should lead to some interesting play dynamics throughout the rest of this flight. The chip leaders have hundreds of blinds to play with while many others are still trying to run up their 50K starting stacks.

Here is a look at the field from level 13:

Play has just resumed in level 13, following the first break of the day and the end of the late registration period. The first two levels of play saw a huge influx of new players into the Main Event as well as a significant number of re-entries that brought the total number of entries on Day 2B just shy of the 500-mark. These additions helped bring the total field in the Main Event to over 2,000, enough to surpass the $2,000,000 prize pool guarantee.

The remaining field is currently led by Danielle Bracy, with over half a million in chips which is more than quadruple the current chip average. There is a wide gap in the field between those who advanced stacks from a Day 1 and those still working with a starting stack, but many players in the field are sitting comfortably with stacks of more than double the average, but t

The action got off to a fast start this afternoon on Day 2B, as new players and re-entries quickly added up to push the number of total entries well beyond 400 after only an hour play. New players are wasting no time in their efforts to double up because they know the clock is winding down on the late registration and re-entry period. Late registration will be available until the beginning of level 13 so the action will undoubtedly keep heating up until then.

Here is a look at the field from the first level of play:

The cards are now in the air on Day 2B. A flood of players are rushing to their seats to claim their starting stacks, pushing the number of entries towards the 400-mark after only a few minutes of play.

The late registration (and re-entry) period is open until the beginning of level 13 at 2:15pm. Players who are returning to chips bagged from a starting flight are allowed to fire two additional bullets – one entry and one re-entry – as their bagged chips will not be counted as a Day 2 entry. New players who buy in directly to Day 2B are permitted a single re-entry. Players who advance stacks from both Day 2s will resume play on Day 3 with their largest qualifying stack and receive a min-cash for their other stack, which will be forfeited.

Good luck to all!