As the 2016 World Series of Poker $10,000 Main Event rolls on, we are still in that weird-feeling portion of the tournament in which the field is carved into pieces. We already had the three starting flights, but the Main Event is so big that even on Day 2, the field has to be split into more manageable pieces. As such, the survivors from Day 1A and Day 1B returned to the Rio on Tuesday to compete in Day 2A and 2B. Though players from both flights were playing on the same calendar day, the “poker days” 2A and 2B were kept separate; those in Day 2A only competed against others from Day 2A, the same going for Day 2B. The 760 remaining players from the two Day 2 flights combined now advance to Day 3 on Thursday, led by Valentin Vornicu with 838,600 chips.
The total number of players sitting down on Days 2A and 2B was 1,847, with 546 of them emerging from Day 1A and the other 1,301 from Day 1B. Vornicu’s chip lead is fairly massive for this stage in the tournament; the gap between him and second place is 252,600 chips.
Vornicu has never won a World Series of Poker event, but he has certainly had loads of success in WSOP-related tournaments. He has won eight (EIGHT!) rings on the WSOP Circuit, so he knows a thing or two about going deep in live tournaments. Here is a list of his WSOP Circuit victories:
2011/2012 WSOP Circuit Event – Horsehoe Hammond (Indiana) – Event #3: No Limit Hold’em
2012/2013 WSOP Circuit Event – Harrah’s Rincon (California) – Event #7: No-Limit Hold’em Six Handed
2013/2014 WSOP Circuit Event – The Bicycle Casino (Los Angeles) – Event #3: No-Limit Hold’em
2013/2014 WSOP Circuit Event – The Lodge Casino (Colorado) – Event #2: No-Limit Hold’em
2014/2015 WSOP Circuit – IP Biloxi (Mississippi) – Event #5: $365 No-Limit Hold’em
2014/2015 WSOP Circuit – Foxwoods Resort (Connecticut) – Event #8: $580 No-Limit Hold’em
2015/2016 WSOP Circuit – The Bicycle Casino (Los Angeles) – Event #11: Main Event No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
2015/2016 WSOP Circuit – The Bicycle Casino (Los Angeles) – Event #12: $580 No-Limit Hold’em Turbo Re-Entry
Vornicu has also cashed four times at the 2016 World Series of Poker, but for a total of just $27,505 so far.
Rounding out the top five of the Day 2A/2B standings are Jamie Shaevel, Alvaro Lopez, Ramin Hajiyev, and Chad Power.
Lopez may not have been that high up on the leaderboard had it not been for a bit of luck (then again, isn’t that always the case in poker?). Late in the night, Lopez raised to 4,000 chips pre-flop and Eric Bunch made the call. On the flop of A-6-5, Lopez bet 25,000, Bunch raised to 70,000, and Lopez called. When the T was dealt on the turn, Lopez checked it over to Bunch, who shoved for about 100,000 chips. Lopez pondered his decision shortly and then made the call.
Bunch, having initiated the betting, showed his cards first: A-6 for a nicely flopped two pair. Lopez turned over A-K, the better hand to start with, but at this point was way behind. The river, though, was the T, one of the very few cards that could have helped Lopez. That counterfeited Bunch’s two pair, as it gave Lopez two pair Aces and Tens, which bested Bunch’s two pair Aces and Sixes. Bunch went from a key double-up to out of the tournament, while a relieved Lopez continued his excellent day.
The Day 1C survivors are playing today in Day 2C. Starting tomorrow, though, everyone will join up in a single field to continue the tournament.
2016 World Series of Poker Event #68 – $10,000 No Limit Hold’em Championship Event – Day 2A/2B Chip Leaders
1. Valentin Vornicu – 838,600
2. Jamie Shaevel – 586,000
3. Alvaro Lopez – 573,200
4. Ramin Hajiyev – 558,400
5. Chad Power – 546,800
6. Petr Bartagov – 546,000
7. Ronnie Pease – 518,100
8. Jonas Lauck – 510,000
9. Gaelle Baumann – 504,600
