Live Tournament Updates
Day 2: Late Registration Bumps Field Size to 329
Level 10: 1,000-2,000, 200 ante
NOTE: Scroll further down this page to find seating assignments for Day 3.
WPT Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic, Day 2 Recap
The WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic started with 292 players on Monday. Though technically, there were only about 200 players in the field when play began in Level 1. The rest signed up to play throughout the day, because registration remains open until about halfway through Day 2.
By the time registration closed at 5:00 pm, an additional 37 players had joined the field on Day 2, creating a total field size of 329 players. However, 44% of the field had already been eliminated by the time registration closed. There is an interesting debate as to which is a bigger advantage -- a very deep starting stack for the first eight levels, or entering the fray with a short stack when nearly half of the competition has already fallen. Both sides have valid arguments, and with so many factors within a poker tournament, there isn't nearly enough data to settle the debate.
Some of the players who skipped Day 1 entirely were Doyle Brunson (for whom this tournament is named), Todd Brunson, Eli Elezra, Andy Bloch, Howard Lederer, Mike Matusow, Vivek Rajkumar, Tom "Durrr" Dwan, Chris "Jesus" Ferguson, Freddy Deeb, Hoyt Corkins, Joe Cassidy, Nenad Medic, John Phan, Alec Torelli, and famous French singer Patrick Bruel. Five of those players didn't survive the day: Elezra, Deeb, Medic, Torelli, and Bruel. On the flip side, Doyle Brunson arrived late but put his time to good use, finishing with 283,000 in chips.
There were two notable absences from the tournament: Phil Ivey and Phil Hellmuth.
In the first major tournament after the WSOP November Nine played down to a winner, Ivey was expected to take to the felt. But while WSOP champion Joe Cada played, along with fellow November Niners Antoine Saout, Eric Buchman, and Kevin Schaffel, Ivey was here at Bellagio but never took a seat.
As for Hellmuth, he has said that 2009 is perhaps the worst year he has ever had as a professional poker player, and he is very disappointed with his results. He decided to skip this event and refocus himself for a fresh start in 2010.
There are 130 players remaining in the tournament, including 2009 Player of the Year contenders Cornel Andrew Cimpan (216,500 in chips) and Yevgeniy Timoshenko (103,700). The leader in the POY race, Eric "Basebaldy" Baldwin, busted today with a pretty comfortable points lead -- Cimpan will need to finish third or higher to pass him, and Timoshenko will need to finish second or higher. But as long as either of them has a chip and a chair, Baldwin can't begin the celebration.
Here are the top 10 chipleaders heading into Day 3:
1. Steven Landfish - 385,900
2. Brent Hanks - 383,000
3. Matthew Waxman - 377,500
4. Chad Batista - 355,000
5. Sorel Mizzi - 348,000
6. Toto Leonidas - 347,300
7. Faraz Jaka - 323,500
8. Yegor Tsurikov - 317,000
9. Eric Hershler - 314,800
10. Jean-Noel Thorel - 310,100
Return to WPT.com tomorrow (Wednesday) at 12:00 noon PT for continuing live coverage of all the action, including video interviews with Amanda Leatherman.
03:00 AM, 12/16/09
Day 3 Chipcounts and Seating Assignments
Level 10: 1,000-2,000, 200 ante
01:47 AM, 12/16/09
Blue Diamond Almonds Bold Player of the Day - Sorel Mizzi
Level 10: 1,000-2,000, 200 ante
09:23 PM, 12/15/09
Day 2 Comes to an End
Level 10: 1,000-2,000, 200 ante
Day Two action of the 2009 Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic has come to a close. There are approximately 131 players remaining with Toto Leonidas as the unofficial chip leader with 355,000.
A full list of chip counts will be posted later this evening when released by the tournament staff.
08:47 PM, 12/15/09
Tommy Vedes Aces Cracked by Sorel Mizzi
Level 10: 1,000-2,000, 200 ante
Tommy Vedes limps into the pot from early position and Sorel Mizzi raises to 5,600. Vedes raises to 18,000 and after thinking for a few moments Mizzi moves all in. Vedes snap calls all in for 80,000.
Vedes: A-A
Mizzi: Q-Q
Looking good to double up and make another deep run here at the Bellagio, Vedes hopes are dashed when a queen flashes in the window. Failing to catch up, Vedes is eliminated from the tournament.
Sorel Mizzi - 270,000
Tommy Vedes - eliminated
08:37 PM, 12/15/09
James "Mig.com" Mackey Doubles Up
Level 10: 1,000-2,000, 200 ante
A player in late position raises to 4,800 and the cutoff reraises to 20,000. James Mackey is on the button and moves all in for 84,200. The original raiser gets out of the way and the cutoff calls.
Cutoff: J
J
Mackey: Q
Q
The board comes AA
8K6 and Mackey doubles up to 175,000.
08:29 PM, 12/15/09
Chris Ferguson Doubles Through Cory Carroll
Level 10: 1,000-2,000, 200 ante
With the board showing Q329 on the turn and about 55,000 already in the pot, Cory Carroll bets 30,000 from the small blind, and Chris "Jesus" Ferguson moves all in from middle position for 63,200.
Carroll tanks for about a minute before he says something along the lines of, "I can't afford to call, but I can't afford to fold." Carroll calls.
Ferguson shows QQ for top set, and Carroll tosses his cards toward the muck without showing them. The dealer continues with procedure, burning a card and putting the 2 out on the river. Carroll doesn't blink, and the dealer pulls his cards into the muck (nobody asked to see them) and awards the pot to Ferguson.
Chris "Jesus" Ferguson - 180,000
Cory Carroll - 119,000
08:15 PM, 12/15/09
Sorel Mizzi Busts a Player On His Way to 330,000
Level 10: 1,000-2,000, 200 ante
Eric "Rizen" Lynch raises from late position to 5,700, Sorel Mizzi calls from the button, and the big blind moves all in for 54,000. Lynch folds, and Mizzi thinks for about a minute before he calls with A10. He's a dominant favorite over the big blind's A5.
The board comes KQQQJ, and Sorel Mizzi wins the pot with an ace-high straight to eliminate his opponent.
Sorel Mizzi was one of the players who shaved their heads yesterday to show support for fellow poker player Thuy Doan, who recently lost her hair to chemotherapy treatments.
Sorel Mizzi - 330,000
08:05 PM, 12/15/09
Matt Stout vs. Durrrr
Level 10: 1,000-2,000, 200 ante
Tom "Durrrr" Dwan raise to 5,500 from under the gun and Matt "Allinat420" Stout calls from middle position.
The flop comes AAK and Dwan checks. Stout bets 7,700 and Dwan calls.
The turn brings a third club with the 5. Dwan checks again and Stout continues to fire, this time for 18,000. Dwan calls.
The river is the 6 and Dwan checks for a third time. Stout bets 38,500, about 60% of the pot. Durrrr tanks for a few minutes and apologizes to the table for taking a while. He then makes the call.
Stout shows AQ for trip aces with a queen kicker. Durrrr mucks his hand and Stout takes it down.
Matt "Allinat420" Stout - 225,000
Tom "Durrrr" Dwan - 222,000
07:56 PM, 12/15/09
Former Chipleader John Hennigan Eliminated
Level 10: 1,000-2,000, 200 ante
Not too long ago, John Hennigan was the chipleader in this tournament. But it doesn't matter now, because Hennigan has just been eliminated.
Daniel Negreanu and Eli Elezra were waiting around in Bobby's Room for the Big Game to get going, and they may have just picked up another player.
07:37 PM, 12/15/09
