The $1,500 Main Event of Brasil Poker Live Presents: WPT Argentina continued on Friday from Casino Iguazú. After 161 players from the 327-entry field returned to action, just 38 remained to close out Day 2. It was a day that saw the money bubble burst and Argentinian Pedro Claus (pictured) bag the chip lead with a stack of 816,000.
First place in the WPT Argentina Main Event is worth $84,992, and the final 38 players are guaranteed $2,495.
Claus entered this event with a poker career that boasted more than $130,000 in live tournament earnings, according to his HendonMob.com profile. His biggest and best result to date was a victory on the Latin American Poker Tour for $90,630. That win came in September 2016.
One of the hands that helped propel Claus to the lead took place right after the money bubble burst, when Claus busted fellow Argentinian Gustavo Muddolom in 41st place. According to the event coverage from our friends at Codigo Poker, Muddolom was all in with the best of it, holding the 
to Claus’ 
. A king and a ten hit the flop and Claus’ two pair held from there to knock out Muddolom and move to more than 800,000.
Joining Claus at the top of the leaderboard to finish Day 2 were Brazilian José Carlos Domingues Latorraca in second place with 744,000 and Argentinian Alejandro Rodriguez in third place with 691,000.
WPT Argentina Day 2 Top 10
1. Pedro Claus – 816,000
2. José Latorraca – 744,000
3. Alejandro Rodriguez – 691,000
4. Oscar Ferreyra – 542,000
5. Jonathan Damaceno – 535,000
6. Emiliano Pierella – 508,000
7. Luiz Montagna – 456,000
8. Joao Dauer – 437,000
9. Andres Korn – 378,000
10. Vanderlei Esquarcini – 348,000
Sitting in ninth place overall heading into Day 3 was Andres Korn. Korn boasted career live tournament earnings of $1.375 million entering this event and is no stranger to the winner’s circle of a World Poker Tour event. In December 2016, Korn won the first-ever WPT National Thailand Main Event. In 2017, Korn won a WSOP bracelet in the $5,000 No-Limit Hold’em event and $618,285 in prize money. Korn is currently eighth on Argentina’s all-time money list for live poker tournaments. While he may not be the chip leader, Korn’s experience on the felt speaks for itself and he will be one of the toughest competitors remaining in the quest for the WPT Argentina title.
Others remaining include Martín Piñeiro (339,000), Hugo Zanotti (182,000), Bruno Foster (68,000), and Daniel Larizzate (38,000). In a remaining field filled with Argentinian and Brazilian players, Zanotti is the lone Paraguayan left. Larizzate is coming off a 31st-place finish in the Brasil Poker Live Presents: WPT Uruguay Main Event.
With 161 players returning to action on Day 2 and only 41 reaching the money, the majority of the field would go home empty handed. Francisco Russo was the final player to bust before the money, earning the unwanted title of “bubble boy” when he went out in 42nd place. Russo was all in with the 
and up against the 
for Jonathan Damaceno. A 
flop didn’t look promising for Russo, and the 
on the turn sealed his fate before the 
completed the board on the river. Damaceno went on to finish with 535,000, good for fifth place overall.
Jose Ignacio “Nacho” Barbero and Damian Salas, both representatives of Aconcagua Poker, the parent network of Brasil Poker Live, busted short of the money on Day 2. Barbero’s fall came after he finished Day 1b with the chip lead.
In addition to the aforementioned elimination of Muddolom in 41st place, Marcelo Cudos and Eduardo Della Costa busted in the money before Day 2 came to a close. Cudos followed Muddolom to the payout desk in 40th place, then Della Costa went out in 39th. Della Costa was the final player to bust before last 38 players bagged their chips for Day 3.
Day 3 will see the remaining field of 38 entries return to play down to the final table of eight. Action will start at 2 p.m. local time from Casino Iguazú, located in the northeast tip of Argentina that borders Paraguay and Brazil and is just a 30-minute drive from the breathtaking Iguazú Falls. There will be 36 minutes and 59 seconds remaining in Level 20 with the blinds at 5,000-10,000 with a 1,000 ante.
For continued coverage of the WPT Argentina $1,500 Main event, head to Codigo Poker.
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