Day 2 has come and gone at the 2017 World Poker Tour (WPT) Maryland Live! Main Event with just 29 players remaining from the original field of 561. Brooklyn’s Grigoriy Shvarts leads the way with 1.562 million chips, but the pro’s pro Matt Glantz is close behind with 1.426 million. William Griffith and Casey Yontz are the only two other players with more than a million chips, holding 1.304 million and 1.071 million chips, respectively.
Shvarts was already the chip leader late in the day, but was able to give himself a small cushion when he knocked out Hyon Kim in 31st place. Kim had moved all-in pre-flop for 93,000 chips with A-9 and Shvarts made the call with pocket Fours. Shvarts flopped a full house and the miracle runner-runner did not manifest itself for Kim.
Registration for the tournament was open until the start of Monday’s Day 2 and with that, an additional 33 players signed up, bringing the end total to 561. With $3,200 from each entrant going to the prize pool, that meant that Maryland! Live, WPT, or whomever is footing the bill is on the hook for about $200,000 in overlay. The tournament has a guaranteed prize pool of $2 million, but only generated $1,795,200 in buy-ins, so the players are working with some extra equity.
The top 71 players are making the money this week, with a minimum cash of $6,000 and a first prize of $389,405. The final four will all score six-figure payouts.
With 29 players remaining, everyone advancing to Day 3 is already guaranteed $12,000. That already qualifies as the second highest cash for the chip leader Shvarts, who has yet to earn $50,000 in total in live tournaments (I WISH I had anywhere near those earnings). His biggest cash is $13,855 for a fifth place finish in an event at the 2012 Borgata Summer Poker Open.
The second place Glantz is used to the Maryland Live! Casino, as it is one of the venues for the “Poker Night in America” television show, for which Glantz works. Glantz has almost $6.5 million in recorded live tournament earnings and 16 WPT cashes, but no WPT titles.
“I don’t really play many tournaments anymore,” Glantz told WPT.com after Day 2. “I skipped the WPT Borgata last week and that’s in my backyard. With responsibilities with kids and work, I rarely play tournaments. This one worked out in my schedule and it’s a nice place here at Maryland Live! I definitely do not take it for granted getting chips this deep.”
Also among the chip leaders is Art Papazyan, who won the WPT Legends of Poker Main Event and went into this one tied with Guo Liang Chen and Jay Lee for the WPT Player of the Year top spot, but he is now all by himself by virtue of this cash.
2017 World Poker Tour Maryland Live! Main Event – Day 2 Chip Leaders
1. Grigoriy Shvarts – 1,562,000
2. Matt Glantz – 1,426,000
3. William Griffith – 1,304,000
4. Casey Yontz – 1,071,000
5. Thomas Reynolds – 1,051,000
6. Zachary Gruneberg – 833,000
7. Ben Eilers – 826,000
8. DJ Alexander – 798,000
9. Art Papazyan – 683,000
10. Timothy Chang – 681,000