WSOP Day 2C Update, GUKPT Walsall Kicks Off

Kroon Leads Pros on Day 2C

Day 2C of the WSOP Main Event came to a close earlier today and when the proverbial shutters had come down it was Mark Kroon who led the 953 survivors.

Having lined-up alongside 2,306 returning players, Kroon was able to maintain his chip lead and end the day with over 500,000 chips. That haul was enough to put him clear of the day’s other dominant players, who included: Vladimir Geshkenbein, Michael Mizrachi, Phil Ivey and Phil Hellmuth.

While Day 2C was kind to some, it was a veritable nightmare for a slew seasoned pros, including Sam Trickett, Tom Dwan, Matt Perrins and Jamie Gold as they all hit the rail before the close of play.

Having whittled down the final cohort, the Main Event will now resume tomorrow when all three starting groups will converge on the Rio.

Now set at just under 2,000 players, Day 3 will move a step closer to the 649^th place bubble before Day 4 sees the remaining players move into the money and towards the $8,359,531 top prize.

Thew Joins a Few at GUKPT Walsall

Despite the bright lights of Las Vegas still twinkling in the distance, the domestic poker scene in the UK has continued to shine and earlier today the GUKPT’s Walsall leg got underway.

So far the £500+£50 Main Event has welcomed over 50 runners for today’s first session and with late registration ongoing that number is expected to increase as the day wears on.

Among the early runners was former EPT champion Julian Thew and after two levels of play (at the time of writing) the three-time GUKPT winner was still going strong.

The same couldn’t be said for Paul Beard. The circuit regular fell foul of Martin Hogarty and his pocket kings. With a patch of felt now staring back at him instead of a stack of chips, Beard exercised his option to rebuy; thus giving himself the chance to continue the fight for the lion’s share of the £50,000 guarantee.

Today’s entrants are able to re-enter tomorrow’s second starting session if they lose their stacks before a winner is decided on Saturday.

To catch up with the live updates, click here.