Day 1 saw the field whittled down to 75, Day 2 saw that number reduced to 27
Thursday 27th March 2008
The opening day of the WPT World Poker Challenge was something of a slow burner, with play going on long into the evening before seventy-five players bagged their chips. When they came back on Day 2, they were treated to a mixed day, with the pace swinging between frenetic and pedestrian in equal measure.
One player who brought his sense of humour to the table was Jordan Rich, who decided he’d need some reading material while tackling his table. Not too exceptional you might think, except he had Erick Lindgren on his table. Of course, Rich knew this and his choice of E-Dog’s ‘World Poker Tour: Making the Final Table’ got a wry smile from the Full Tilt pro.
Many players who came back with a short stack strived to remedy the situation sooner rather than later. Those who were eliminated in the first level Eugene Todd, Tom Schneider, and Brandon Cantu. Cantu was knocked out by Michael Mizrachi after he ran his pocket eights into The Grinder’s pocket jacks. That pot propelled Mizrachi to the 135,000 mark, still a far cry away from the early chip leader, Phil Ivey, who had moved on to 274,000.
The first break saw 55 players remaining, and the action didn’t abate when the tournament was down to its final five tables by the end of the second level. Those who didn’t make on of those tables were Huck Seed, Bob Stupak, Steve Sung and Bill Edler.
The third level saw the begin of the poker slow down, and it wasn’t until two hours later that five tables became four. The play down to the final 27 was testing for many, but there are some major names in contention: Ivey, Mizrachi, Seidel, Chau Giang and David ‘The Dragon’ Pham all still with chips. It will be hard to pick a winner, but as for final tablists, Ivey seems as close to a sure thing as we’ve ever seen. The man has chips, and has reached a WPT final table every time he has cashed.
