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WSOP Main Event Day 2B Recap
LAS VEGAS — The 2,490 players who spent Monday away from the WSOP main event entered play Tuesday with plans of dominating anyone who would stand in their way. From the moment play began, the shouts of “all-in and a call” were heard throughout both the Pavilion and Amazon rooms. Dealers were constantly counting stacks of chips and pushing monster pots across the tables as aggressive play dominated. Blinds may not have exceeded 600/1,200 on the day, but many players with stacks under 100,000 felt the need to play fast, and the result was either a major double or a surprising elimination.
More than 1,400 players were eliminated on Day 2B and as the busted players headed to the rail with shouts of “Seat Open!” behind them, the victors sat in their chairs, stacking chips and thinking to themselves that this might just be their time. On Day 1B the story was all about Ben Lamb. Three days later and thousands more players added to the mix, the story didn’t change. Lamb was among the first players to eclipse the 300,000-, 400,000- and 500,000-chip marks, and with a simple smirk to the rest of his table, the great wall of Lamb’s chips continued to grow. His lead became comical at times as opponents at his table (and from other tables) glimpsed and laughed with jealousy as they passed by his castle. His level-headed nature shines through at the tables and on Twitter as well, where his end of the day post was simple: “551,600 to end the day 
”
During Lamb’s run in 2009 he was in 60th place after Day 2 with 178,900 in chips. He finished that event in 14th with more than three times that stack and, with two more years of experience, his incredible 2011 run may reach new heights.
Right behind Lamb is Kevin Saul and it might be the right time to forget about the alias “BeL0WaB0Ve.” Under that screen name, Saul was ranked the No. 1 online poker player in the world. He dominated the largest multi-table tournaments available online to become one of the game’s original superstars. However, times have changed and the problem is that online poker, his livelihood, is no longer available. The live game is now his profession and it’s a good thing he’s rather good at it.
Saul captured a World Poker Tour title in 2007 to earn his first live seven-figure score and would love nothing more than to bring another one home in November. That said, he knows it’s only Day 2.
“It’s a long, long journey,” Saul said. “I’m just taking it one hand at a time and one day at a time, keep making the next level.”
From the start of the day, Saul’s stack headed in one direction despite his admission that his table, which would finally break with less than an hour left in the night, wasn’t an easy one.
“My table was actually really tough,” he said. “My table on Day 1 was probably the easiest main event table they’ve ever put together, besides myself, but I got payback for Day 2 and I had to be focused for every hand and not make any mistakes.”
A mistake-free day is nearly impossible and except for a short moment or two, Saul played perfect poker to end the day with 542,600.
A few other standouts can be found at the top of the chip counts in Ryan “g0lfa” D’Angelo (third) and Patrik Antonius (seventh). D’Angelo spent the day with Jean-Robert Bellande and while Bellande’s presence as the table captain was clear, D’Angelo quietly built his stack. For the majority of the day, Antonius sat with 2005 WSOP main event champion Joe Hachem, Sam Trickett and Marvin Rettenmaier. He didn’t say much, if anything, and that quiet focus resulted in another great main event day for the Finnish pro. Antonius finished 601st in the 2010 main event.
With more than 1,400 eliminations, it was inevitable that many of the industry’s familiar faces walked out of the Rio in disappointment. Here are some of the other storylines from the day:
After the elimination of Matt Jarvis, only two members of the 2010 final table — Joseph Cheong and John Racener — still have hopes of making back-to-back runs.
Hachem and Jamie Gold were the only former main event champions eliminated during Day 2B. Huck Seed, Berry Johnston and Carlos Mortensen join Day 2A survivors Joe Cada, Tom McEvoy, Robert Varkonyi and Phil Hellmuth as those looking for a second main event title.
Mike Matusow, J.C. Tran, Brandon Adams, Mike Sexton, Andy Frankenberger, Phil Laak, Chau Giang, Darvin Moon, Paul Wasicka, Barry Greenstein, Phil Galfond, Liv Boeree, Eugene Katchalov and Shannon Elizabeth were all eliminated.
Erick Lindgren built his starting stack of 3,700 to 170,300 on Day 2B. He played a patient game early, then opened up at the right time to put himself in great position for Day 3. He said on Twitter he was going to channel his inner Phil Hellmuth. Looks like he was successful.
After all four brothers made the money in 2010, there’s only one Mizrachi left. Donny Mizrachi will begin Day 3 with a very short stack and is the last brother standing after Eric was eliminated during the last level of play.
Due to the keen eye of a player, no hands were played when a deck at a table had 44 cards.
All players have Wednesday off while the members of the media takes their shot at WSOP glory in the annual media freeroll. Action will resume Thursday at 3 p.m. ET and you can watch all the action live on ESPN2 and ESPN3.
Here’s a look at the Day 2B chip leaders:
1. Ben Lamb ($551,600) 2. Kevin Saul ($542,200) 3. Ryan D’Angelo ($462,300) 4. Narendra Banwari ($404,800) 5. Nicolas Fierro ($403,000) 6. Martin Torheim ($385,000) 7. Patrik Antonius ($361,000) 8. Josh Gibson ($355,000) 9. Josh Weizer ($349,600) 10. Ryan Rinker ($340,000)
This recap gives a broader picture of the day’s action. For more detailed coverage, here are the level breakdowns: Level 1/2, Level 3, Level 4.
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