Day 2 of the Season XVI WPT Montreal Main Event is in the books, and what a day it was. When it was all said and done, after the dust had settled, just 43 players remained with David Peters (pictured) on top.
Peters bagged a field-leading stack of 1.614 million in chips and is in pole position in the quest for his first World Poker Tour title.
“The day went very well,” Peters told WPT.com. “I was able to chip up well on the bubble, take advantage of some people that were trying to slide into the money. I was able to pick up a lot of pots, and make some hands. Everything went very smooth today.”
With minutes to go in Day 2, 45 players remained and there was a flop of 
in the middle between Peters and Christian Harder, another longtime successful pro who has yet to win his first WPT title. A betting and raising war broke out between the two, and before long it was Harder that was all in with for top pair. Peters had flopped a straight with the 
, and no help came for Harder on the turn or river.
That pot was a big one and vaulted Peters into the chip lead, surpassing Feizal Satchu on the leaderboard. Satchu went on to bag the second largest stack with 1.521 million in chips.
“[I’m going] to just play my game,” Peters said of his plan for Day 3. “See how the table is, feel everyone out, just try to do what I do.”
Although Peters has yet to earn a World Poker Tour title, he is no stranger to success. With live cashes that date back to 2006, according to his profile from HendonMob.com, Peters has amassed more than $18 million in live tournament earnings. Add another $5.232 million in online winnings, according to PocketFives.com, and Peters has built a bank of more than $23.232 million in poker winnings.
Peters’ best finish in a World Poker Tour event came in 2013, when he placed sixth in the Season XI WPT World Championship for $173,993.
When Day 2 began, 234 players returned from the field of 606 entries. Only 76 of those would get paid, and Eric Danis would become the tournament’s “bubble boy” when he busted in 77th place.
After the money bubble burst, notables Sam Chartier (44th), Marc-Andre Ladouceur (47th), Kevin MacPhee (63rd), and Robert Rose (66th) were eliminated in the money. Rose entered Day 2 as the chip leader.
For a good chunk of Day 2, two-time WPT Champions Club member Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi held the chip lead. As it turned out, Mizrachi’s day took a turn for the worse and he ended as the shortest stack to advance with just 88,000.
In addition to Mizrachi, Eric Afriat (532,000) and Chanracy Khun (149,000) were the other WPT Champions Club members to advance to Day 3.
Mike Sexton was one of the players to bust on Day 2, falling short of the money. Sexton’s elimination was notable because he was the event’s reigning champion. With his elimination, the path has been paved for a new WPT Montreal champion to emerge.
Day 3 begins on Tuesday at 12 p.m. ET from Playground Poker Club, and each of the remaining 43 players has locked up C$9,170. First place is worth C$403,570, which includes a $15,000 seat into the season-ending WPT Tournament of Champions. The winner will also take home a luxurious Hublot Big Bang Steel watch and earn 1,000 points in the Season XVI Hublot WPT Player of the Year race.
We’ll see you back here on Tuesday for Day 3 of the Season XVI WPT Montreal Main Event, starting at 12 p.m. ET from Playground Poker Club!
Photography by Joe Giron / PokerPhotoArchive.com
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