JIM NAIFEH LEADS TUNICA MAIN EVENT GOING INTO FINAL DAY

 Final eight battle it out for the $198,451 first place prize, Johnny Landreth tries to take down another Tunica Main Event

January 28, 2019 (Tunica) - The second day of the World Series of Poker Circuit Main Event at Tunica has now come to an end, and the 639 field has winnowed down to just eight runners. Leading the way into the final day of the tournament is Jim Naifeh (pictured).

Day 3 will begin Monday at noon, with the final eight players battling it out for a shot at the $198,451 first place prize. Each player will be guaranteed at least a cash of $23,389 for their efforts. The eventual winner will also be adding a gold WSOP circuit ring to their resume and will automatically book a seat into the 2019 Global Casino Championship.

Naifeh ended the day with 5,375,000 in chips, and right on his heels in second is Steve Klein with 5,370,000, falling just short of the lead. Kyle Cartwright will be starting the day in third with a healthy stack size of 2,575,000 and will be the only other person besides the chip leaders that has over two million.

Johnny Landreth (1,700,000), is someone who has great experience in this particular tournament, winning it in the 2014/15 season. He is boasting almost $400,000 in WSOP cashes and has three rings to his name. Landreth will be looking to add his second main event win as well as fourth ring to his respected resume tomorrow in the final day of the tournament.

Day 2 started with 77 runners who advanced from the Day 1A (Friday) and Day 1B (Saturday) starting flights. The bubble popped during the first level of play, when Michael Sanders calls the all in of Robert Pound, beating his pair of ladies with big slick and filling the whole room with excitement as everyone was now in the money for a guaranteed cash of $2,711.

There were some well-known players to cash the tournament but fail to have a Day 3 birth and that list includes two-time ring winner Timothy Miles (48th - $3,233), two-time ring winner Cary Marshall (49th - $3,233), two-time ring winner Stanislav Angelov (51st - $3,233), bracelet winner Kevin Eyster (53rd - $3,233), and last years Tunica Main Event Champion Sam Washburn (60th - $2,953).

The final day of the tournament begins Monday at noon, with play continuing until a new circuit main event champion has been crowned.

Click here for results so far, or here for live updates from the event.

Here are the chip counts heading into the final day:

1 - Jim Naifeh - 5,375,000
2 - Steve Klein - 5,370,000
3 - Kyle Cartwright - 2,575,000
4 - Darren Martin - 1,965,000
5 - Johnny Landreth - 1,700,000
6 - Jon Bennett - 1,000,000
7 - Joseph Hebert - 680,000
8 - Damjan Radanov - 485,000