Event #10: $1,675 MAIN EVENT

From a starting field of 424 entries, just nine players remain in the WSOP Circuit Main Event at Horseshoe Southern Indiana.

Justin Boggs (pictured) began Day 2 with the chip lead, and he finished in the same spot at the conclusion of an up-and-down day. Ten levels after the day started, Boggs bagged up 1,780,000 chips to set the pace for the final table. His once-massive lead has been whittled down to almost nothing, though. Scott Montgomery is right on Boggs' heels, and there are two more players who are also over the million-chip mark.

Here's the remaining lineup:

Seat 1: Michael Foley - 300,000 (10 bb)
Seat 2: George Lusby - 1,255,000 (42 bb)
Seat 3: Hamid Izadi - 725,000 (24 bb)
Seat 4: Jerry Robinson - 505,000 (13 bb)
Seat 5: Wendy Freedman - 1,225,000 (41 bb)
Seat 6: Justin Boggs - 1,780,000 (59 bb)
Seat 7: Chris Carey - 210,000 (7 bb)
Seat 8: Al Hencheck - 770,000 (26 bb)
Seat 9: Scott Montgomery - 1,730,000 (58 bb)

Five of the remaining players have won Circuit rings in the past, and Montgomery has a WSOP bracelet in addition to his fifth-place finish in the 2008 WSOP Main Event. Things won't be easy for Boggs, to put it plainly.

They weren't easy throughout Day 2 either, for that matter.

Boggs began the day with one of the biggest Level 15 stacks the WSOP Circuit has ever seen, turning his 20,000 starting chips into well over a half million during Day 1B. By the time the bubble arrived on Day 2, though, the field had begun to close in on Boggs.

Kurt Jewell was one of the first players to make a run at the top. The five-time ring winner from Kentucky took the lead just after the bubble burst thanks to a big encounter against a bluffing Neal Harding.

With 16 players left, though, Jewell and Wendy Freedman flipped for an enormous pot and the former's tournament life — Jewell with ace-king suited against pocket queens. Freedman turned a set and rivered a full house, eliminating Jewell and surging into the chip lead for the first time. She was in and out of the top spot for the rest of the night, ending in fourth place with nine remaining.

Speaking of Freedman, her Day 2 effort was a particularly remarkable one. She entered the day well above the chip average with 64 players remaining, but by the time the bubble approached, she was sitting behind a starting stack of just 20,000 chips once again. The victory is hollow unless you're short-stacked at least once, though, and Freedman proceeded to run it all the way up to more than 100 times that amount. She ended the day with 1.225 million, a bit of a slide but still good for fourth place at the moment.

Maurice Hawkins, the Circuit's all-time winningest player, was another who posed a challenge to Boggs' throne throughout the day. The Florida pro found himself contending for the chip lead for a long while as he chased a record-extending 11th victory on this tour. The after-dinner session did not go well, though, and Hawkins eventually bowed out in 14th place.

Montgomery was the one who got Hawkins, putting him in the mix of the chip leaders, too. That knockout pot sparked a bit of a heater for the Canadian, and he was responsible for two of the next three knockouts. By the time the final 10 players redrew for the last time, Montgomery had moved within striking distance of the top spot. He ended the day in second place, less than two big blinds in trail of the leader.

It's Boggs who carries the overnight hammer once again, though; his count gives him about 60 big blinds heading into the final day. A long, late-night grind has shortened the average stack significantly, however, and any one of the final nine could end up as the winner.

They'll reconvene to settle the score on Monday, playing for a ring and a top prize of $139,920. Blinds will be 15,000/30,000 with a 5,000 ante when play resumes, putting the average stack just north of 30 big blinds.

Day 3 begins at 2 p.m.

Chris Carey opens to 100,000 in middle position, and action folds around to Jerry Robinson in the small blind. He takes a long look at things, then double-checks the raise. "A hundred, Chris?"

"Let's see," Carey feigns confusion. "Four blue chips, so... I'm not sure."

Robinson smirks, then three-bet shoves for 225,000 total, and Carey quickly calls to put him at risk.

Carey:   
Robinson:   

"Fair fight," says Wendy Freedman, the unofficial announcer for the final table. "Good luck to you both."

The     flop lets Robinson breathe a little easier with a full house right out of the gate. The   turn ends the hand one card early, and Carey pays off the debt as the   completes the board on the river.

Robinson doubles up.

Jerry Robinson - 510,000 (21 bb)
Chris Carey - 255,000 (11 bb)

Folds come from around the table, leaving two players to go blind vs. blind. Justin Boggs makes it 55,000. To his left, in the big blind, is Garry Simms. Simms moves all in and Boggs calls immediately. The two move to a showdown.

Boggs:   
Simms:   

The board runs out      . Simms pairs his ten, but it is not good enough to overtake Boggs' pocket kings and the local poker pro goes out in 10th.

Justin Boggs - 1,528,000
Garry Simms - Eliminated

Action folds around to the blinds where George Lusby raises to 140,000 in the small. Hamid Izadi has just 147,000 in the big blind, and he moves all in. Lusby adds the remainder to put Izadi at risk.

Lusby:   
Izadi:   

The board runs out      , and Izadi's high cards play to earn him a double-up.

"Thought that was a pair in there," Lusby smirks across the table. He can easily afford to be applying that sort of pressure on the table, still the overall leader despite that little setback.

Hamid Izadi - 334,000 (14 bb)
George Lusby - 1,705,000 (71 bb)

In a battle of the blinds, Shannon Shepherd completes in the small blind, and Scott Montgomery checks his option in the big.

Both players check through the     flop, and the turn is another  . Shepherd checks, Montgomery bets 30,000, and Shepherd moves all in for about 300,000. Montgomery calls, and Shepherd is already drawing dead.

Montgomery:   
Shepherd:   

The river is irrelevant, and Shepherd bids farewell in 11th place.

The final 10 players are drawing for new seats around the last table left in play.

Scott Montgomery - 1,475,000 (61 bb)
Shannon Shepherd - Eliminated

Hamid Izadi opens the cutoff to 50,000, and George Lusby calls on the button. From the small blind, Chris Carey squeezes all in for 182,000 total, and Izadi eventually re-shoves with the largest stack. Lusby folds, and Carey is heads-up for his tournament life.

Izadi:   
Carey:   

The board runs out      , and Carey's kicker plays to earn him a double-up (and then some).

Chris Carey - 462,000 (19 bb)
Hamid Izadi - 175,000 (7 bb)

Al Hencheck moves all in for 125,000 in middle position, and Hamid Izadi re-shoves, isolating himself against Hencheck as he seeks the knockout.

Hencheck:   
Izadi:   

"Well, I'm live," Hencheck notes. That's all you need sometimes; the board runs out      , and he pairs one of his live cards to double up.

Al Hencheck - 295,000 (15 bb)
Hamid Izadi - 353,000 (18 bb)

Justin Boggs opens the button to 46,000, and Greg Masters three-bets to 150,000 in the small blind. Boggs shoves, and Masters calls all in for about 400,000 or so, putting himself at risk. It's a flip that's been shown down a number of times this evening.

Boggs:   
Masters:   

"Once again," Wendy Freedman says.

The     flop is a disaster for Masters, and he's unable to catch back up. The   turn and   river complete the board to seal his elimination in 12th place.

Boggs and George Lusby continue to leapfrog each other atop the chip counts; Boggs is back in front for now.

Justin Boggs - 2,100,000 (105 bb)
Greg Masters - Eliminated

Hamid Izadi raises to 50,000 in the small blind. George Lusby defends his big blind with a call.

The flop comes    . Izadi bets 55,000 and Lusby calls.

The turn is the  . Izadi checks this street. Lusby bets 100,000 and Izadi calls.

The river is the  . Izadi checks again. Lusby flings out a bet worth 250,000. Izadi contemplates a decision and then ultimately calls. Lusby quickly flips over    for trip sevens. Izadi looks defeated, but still shows his   . The generous pot puts Lusby right on the two million mark.

George Lusby - 2,000,000 (100 bb)
Hamid Izadi - 765,000 (38 bb)

Scott Montgomery opens to 42,000 under the gun, and Joshua Snodgrass three-bet shoves for 111,000 in the big blind. Montgomery calls the remainder to put Snodgrass at risk.

Snodgrass:   
Montgomery:   

The board runs out blanks for Snodgrass, coming      . He's eliminated in unlucky 13th place, while Montgomery moves right up to the seven-figure milestone with that knockout.

Scott Montgomery - 1,000,000 (50 bb)
Joshua Snodgrass - Eliminated