Late Bloomers on Day 2

Level 24: 12,000-24,000, 4,000 ante

At the end of the night last night, two players finished on a particularly high note -- Amanda Musumeci and chipleader Jeff Gross.



Amanda Musumeci put in a gritty performance all day long on Day 2, grinding thru the levels with a short stack as the field burst the money bubble and beyond.

But Musumeci won a key three-way all-in in the final minutes of the day to catapult up to 1,000,000 in chips, putting her in a strong position here at the start of Day 3.



Jeff Gross had a very different day than Amanda Musumeci, as he was slowly building his stack all day long. But he switched to a higher gear about halfway thru the day, really increasing his stack until he busted a player (pictured above) in the final half hour to reach 2.4 million in chips.



Phil Laak (standing, right) stopped by to check on Jeff Gross, and was shocked to see the mountain of chips in front of him. It took Gross several minutes to finish stacking his chips.

Level 24 Begins

Level 24: 12,000-24,000, 4,000 ante

Level 23 comes to an end (there were only 10 minutes left when play began today), and Level 24 begins with increased blinds of 12,000-24,000 and a 4,000 ante. Action continues without a break.

There are still 45 players remaining, with an average chip count around 782,000.

Day 3: Shuffle Up and Deal

Level 23: 10,000-20,000, 3,000 ante

The final 45 players have taken their seats and are ready to go, so it's time to shuffle up and deal!

There are about 10 minutes left in Level 23, with blinds at 10,000-20,000 and a 3,000 ante.

Day 3: Official Seating & Chip Counts

Level 23: 10,000-20,000, 3,000 ante

TABLE 29
1.  Pascal Lefrancois  -  616,000
2.  Jonathan Roy  -  1,431,000
3.  Patrick St-Onge  -  562,000
4.  Gavin Smith  -  1,247,000
5.  Anesti Kocini  -  636,000
6.  Jean Roy  -  320,000
7.  Patrick Lelievre  -  1,401,000
8.  Josue Sauvageau  -  900,000
9.  Barry Middlebrook  -  613,000

TABLE 30
1.  Antoine Teti  -  198,000
2.  Mike McDonald  -  1,598,000
3.  Evan Sparling  -  182,000
4.  Jason Koon  -  1,546,000
5.  Ben Armstrong  -  850,000
6.  Mark Winship  -  351,000
7. Thanih Phong  -  249,000
8.  Deron Noksana  -  897,000
9.  Kuong Chhe Kuoch  -  1,000,000

TABLE 33
1.  Diana Shamshoum  -  725,000
2.  Paul Apotstols  -  556,000
3.  Bruce Buffer  -  538,000
4.  Jeff Gross  -  2,422,000
5.  Francois Billard  -  1,174,000
6.  Hugo Dumoulin  -  309,000
7.  Amichai Barer  -  1,235,000
8.  Gabriel Fernandes  -  358,000
9.  Tommy Velliama  -  590,000

TABLE 34
1.  Martin Raus  -  403,000
2.  Timothy Adams  -  1,095,000
3.  Serge Cantin  -  420,000
4.  Yannick Guerin  -  1,119,000
5.  Patrick Dattilo  -  392,000
6.  Mathieu Gagniere  -  315,000
7.  Sylvain Siebert  -  1,325,000
8.  Todd Siislev  -  505,000
9.  Ahmed Fares  -  725,000

TABLE 35
1.  Christian Harder  -  1,472,000
2.  Dean Murphy  -  241,000
3.  Ashton Griffin  -  455,000
4.  Dan Smith  -  306,000
5.  Kalpesh Raichura  -  518,000
6.  Amanda Musumeci  -  999,000
7.  Peter Kaemmerlen  -  1,333,000
8.  Cory Bath  -  486,000
9.  Danny Thanh Nguyen  -  590,000

Day 2 Ends with 45 Final Players; Noon ET Start on Monday

Level 23: 10,000-20,000, 3,000 ante

 Day 2 has come to a close at the World Poker Tour Montreal Main Event at the Playground Poker Club and the final 45 players are set for Day 3. Play will begin again at noon ET on Monday when those final players return to vie for one of the six coveted spots at the WPT final table that will guarantee a six-figure payday.

The chip leader at the end of the night is Jeff Gross with 2,422,000. Gross already held 2 million when he played one of the largest pots of the day late in the night to eliminate Josh Kimmel and get a stranglehold on the chip lead.

Other top stacks include Michael McDonald (1,598,000), Jason Koon (1,546,000), and Christian Harder (1,472,000). The additional notables that have made a deep run in the event are Gavin Smith, Amanda Musumeci, Bruce Buffer, Ashton Griffin, and Timothy Adams.

It was a very fast day when you consider that there were 360 players that began Day 2. The only real slowdown in play came right before the money bubble, when 118 players remained and hand-for-hand play lasted a little less than 20 minutes. Check out the chip counts tab to see which players busted in the money from places 117 to 46 throughout the day.

We reached 45 players just after 1 a.m. ET and that brought the tournament day to close. Day 3 is truly right around the corner so tune back in at noon ET for all of the action in live updates, chip counts, photos, and videos from the WPT Live Updates team. 

One More Hand

Level 23: 10,000-20,000, 3,000 ante

The tournament clock has been stopped and the field was informed that they will play one more hand. There are 45 players that have survived according to the tournament clock.

Stay tuned as we will be collecting chip count information from the bag and tag and catching the final hands of the night, which will be posted soon.  

Jeff Gross Crushing

Level 23: 10,000-20,000, 3,000 ante

Josh Kimmel raises to 46,000 preflop from the hi-jack and Jeff Gross reraises to 105,000 on the button. Kimmel thinks for a minute and moves all in for 347,000 more. Gross calls after a few moments and they flip over their cards in one of the largest pots of the tournament:

Gross: AQ
Kimmel: AJ

Board: 75459

Kimmel is eliminated on the hand and Gross is a massive chip leader with close to 2.5 million.

Jeff Gross - 2,480,000 (125 bb)

Level 23 Begins; 58 Players Left

Level 23: 10,000-20,000, 3,000 ante

The players return from break to begin Level 23, with increased blinds of 10,000-20,000 and a 3,000 ante. With 58 players remaining, the average chip stack is about 607,000.

Action will continue tonight until the field is down to 45 players.

Verkaik Has a Message For Players He Swapped Pieces With

Level 21: 6,000-12,000, 2,000 ante

Busted! Eat it swaps! #wptmontreal

— Nicholas Verkaik (@TheNoctus) November 26, 2012

Garen Galanti Eliminated

Level 21: 6,000-12,000, 2,000 ante

After a flop of 864 and more than 150,000 already in the pot, Garen Galanti moves all in from the big blind for about 89,000. His opponent (UTG) tanks for a while before he calls with AK for two overcards. Galanti turns over K9 for a flush draw.

The ace high is ahead, and Galanti needs to catch a nine, a heart, or a runner-runner straight to stay alive.

The turn is the A, the river is the Q, and the UTG players wins the pot with a pair of aces to eliminate Garen Galanti from the tournament in roughtly 64th place.

Garen Galanti  -  Eliminated