WSOP: Michael Mizrachi Among Top Five Chip Leaders From Day 2C; 2,186 left | poker news

It’s about to happen in the 2016 World Series of Poker Main Event. That’s not to say there wasn’t significant action and movement for the 2,186 players who made it to Day 3 (and it was certainly important for those who are no longer in the tournament, whose Main Event title hopes were a have to wait another year). . But the next few days hold regular milestones, each representing a significant step toward defining the November Nine.

The first will take place once tickets are in the air on Thursday, as all remaining contestants are all under one roof for the first time. Then there’s the money bubble, which should happen on day 4, and then the whole field condensed into a single space, which should also happen on Friday.

However, before all of this can take place, the initially massive field of Day 2C had to be significantly reduced; 3,226 hopefuls arrived at 11am hoping to survive Wednesday’s 11 hours of poker, but only 1,416 were successful in this particular endeavor.

Two Brazilians occupied two of the top three at the end of Day 2C’s chip count, led by Gustavo Lopes. His 630,700 puts him second overall, behind the overwhelming Day 2A/B chip leader Valentin Vornicu. Lopes’ compatriot Rafael Moraes (571,900) finished Wednesday’s Day 2C game third and sixth overall, with Italy’s Raffaele Castro even sandwiching them with 587,000. Castro has two WSOP-related cashes, and both were final-table appearances; At the 2016 WSOP, he placed eighth behind eventual champion Tony Dunst at Event 63 and finished fourth at the WSOP Circuit Main Event on home soil in Campione, Italy, in September.

One notable player stands out among the top 5: Michael Mizrachi. The Grinder, a three-time WSOP bracelet winner and two-time $50,000 Poker Player’s Championship winner, has built big stacks in this tournament in the past, and while in 2010 he broke through with an appearance on November Nine and a fifth-place finish in the Main Event it’s one of only two career cashes in this tournament.

He already has 12 cashes at the 2016 WSOP, with a third career $50,000 PPC final table among those results.

“I have a good streak and everything comes at the end of the streak, so it was a very hot period for me,” Mizrachi said. “I was the chip leader in almost all of these events [at some point].”

When asked why he was often able to build a big stack early in this tournament, Mizrachi gave a simple answer.

“I play really well against bad players and that always helps,” Mizrachi said.

Andrew Chen (447,200), Steve O’Dwyer (441,600), Ole Schemion (438,400), JC Alvarado (430,700) and Marc-Andre Ladouceur (410,500) also compiled outstanding Tag 2Cs and finished in the top-50 chip counts in the Thursday.

Only six former WSOP Main Event champions remain in the mix going into Day 3, but some of them have healthy stacks.

2015: Joe McKeehen – 182,900

2013: Ryan Riess – 349,900

2004: Greg Raymer – 179,800

1989: Phil Hellmuth – 82,300

1987 & 1988: Johnny Chan – 154,300

1983: Tom McEvoy – 119,400

Hellmuth, the smallest of the bunch, is no stranger to making the most of any stack he can get.

End of day 2 in @WSOP Main Event: I showed determination, courage and HEART today! I have 82,300, blinds 1k-2k #WillToWin #PlayGreatPoker

— phil_hellmuth (@phil_hellmuth) July 14, 2016

Top 10 chip counts overall

1. Valentin Vornicu (San Diego) – 838,600
2. Gustavo Lopes (Brasilia, Brazil) – 630,700
3. Raffaele Castro (Lugano, Italy) – 587,000
4. Jamie Shaevel (Santa Monica, California) – 586,000
5. Alvaro Lopez (Tucson, Ariz.) – 573,200
6. Rafael Moraes (Sao Paulo) – 571,900
7. Albert Therefore (Lebanon) – 570,200
8. Ramin Hajiyev (Baku, Azerbaijan) – 558,400
9. Michael Mizrachi (Hollywood, Fla.) – 549,400
10. Chad Power (Pittsburgh) – 546,800

Full chip counts

Negreanu, Ivey and Holz among the 2C casualties

More than half of the Day 2C field was eliminated over the course of five and a half levels on Wednesday, but there was a particularly tough stretch for casual poker fans and those who appreciate a good narration as two legends of the game and one white-hot 22-year-old went all in quick succession. Daniel Negreanu couldn’t pull off the same kind of magic he had for most of the Main Event in 2015…

Busted the main event with 99 against AQ. Stretched my chips as long as I could. Two days without cooperation from the deck and had to turn around. – Daniel Negreanu (@RealKidPoker) July 14, 2016

Fedor Holz also dropped out and thus ended a summer for eternity…

I’m done here. All still there! #homesweethomesoon

— Fedor Holz (@CrownUpGuy) July 14, 2016

Finally, they were joined on the rails by Phil Ivey, playing his first and only event of the 2016 WSOP.

Small blinds

Milwaukee Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry was in the field on Wednesday’s Day 2C, but his run ended after a few levels into the day. … Some players who still have some notoriety outside of poker include Ray Romano (72,600), John Arne Riise (40,200), former “Survivor” contestants Garrett Adelstein (425,100) and Anna Khait (159,800), the former “Amazing Race” contestant Maria Ho (435,000); and current “Master Chef” contestant (and 2004 WSOP Main Event runner-up) David Williams (4,400). …With two out of three starting sessions on the books, the $1,111 Little One has it for One Drop attracted a total of 2,934 registrations, of which 344 have already been reached by Friday’s Day 2. Turnout for Day 1C is expected to exceed turnout for the previous two days…. The schedule has changed several times over the past few days, but a final plan that includes a noon PT start time the remainder of the main event was rescheduled for Wednesday afternoon.

What’s next: Day 3 of the 2016 WSOP Main Event begins at 12pm PT at the Rio, with action across three rooms. There will be a total of 10.5 hours of gameplay on Day 3, with an 80-minute dinner break scheduled for 5:40 p.m. PT.