The second of the two starting flights of the 2012 World Poker Tour (WPT) Merit Cyprus Classic is now in the books, so it’s time to marry the survivors into a single, combined field for Monday’s Day 2. A total of 164 players took to the felts Sunday at the Merit Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino, 55 of whom were re-entries after busting on Day 1A. Less than half – 65 – made it through the day, creating a Day 2 field of 132 runners. The chip lead changed hands several times as the end of the night drew near, but by the time the chips were bagged, it was David “Chino” Rheem who ended up on top with 291,500 chips.
With 329 entrants, the prize pool for the $4,000 + $400 WPT Merit Cyprus Classic came out to $1,212,694 (3 percent of the prize pool was removed to pay for tournament costs and 5 percent was taken out for local taxes). 36 players will make the money. Here is a look at the entire prize schedule:
1. $287,784 (plus a $25,500 WPT Championship Seat)
2. $184,020
3. $118,360
4. $87,610
5. $65,770
6. $52,590
7. $43,690
8. $35,020
9. $26,240
10-12th. $19,110
13th-15th. $15,670
16th-18th. $13,420
19th-21st. $11,750
22nd-24th. $10,450
25th-27th. $9,260
28th-36th. $8,070
Our chip leader, Chino Rheem, is no stranger to the top of a tournament leader board. He has won just shy of $6 million on the live tournament circuit, about $1.5 million of which came from a win in the 2008 WPT Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic. He does not have a World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet, but did finish as the runner-up in a tournament in 2006 and finished 7th in the 2008 WSOP Main Event.
Unfortunately, Rheem is also no stranger to controversy. Just a week after winning the inaugural Main Event of the now defunct Epic Poker League in August 2011, Rheem was placed on probation by the league for not “meeting financial responsibilities on time and honoring contractual agreements.” Word had come out earlier that month that Rheem had apparently “scammed” many fellow poker players, borrowing money from them with no intention of ever paying it back. Will Molson, Joseph “subiime” Cheong, and Ben “benba” Lamb were among those owed tens of thousands of dollars each by Rheem. As part of his probation, the Epic Poker League required Rheem to use any future winnings to repay his creditors.
Day 2 is already underway in Cyprus as the remaining competitors position themselves for deep runs into the money.
2012 World Poker Tour Merit Cyprus Classic – Day 1B Chip Leaders
1. David “Chino” Rheem – 291,500
2. Husnu Sincar – 247,500
3. Sam El Sayed – 214,300
4. Giuseppe Pantaleo – 191,300
5. Ran Azor – 181,500
6. Samuel Jonatan – 177,400
7. Robert Mizrachi – 158,300
8. George Chehadeh – 129,600
9. Vyacheslav Stoyanov – 115,200
10. Eddy Maksoud – 114,500
2012 World Poker Tour Merit Cyprus Classic – Combined Day 1 Chip Leaders
1. David “Chino” Rheem – 291,500
2. Maxim Panyak – 255,800
3. Husnu Sincar – 247,500
4. Sam El Sayed – 214,300
5. Atzlan Gil – 207,100
6. Giuseppe Pantaleo – 191,300
7. Ran Azor – 181,500
8. Samuel Jonatan – 177,400
9. Oleksandr Kozyr – 163,200
10. Robert Mizrachi – 158,300
