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HAFIZ KHAN LEADS DAY 2 OF THUNDER VALLEY MAIN EVENT
Khan leads 114 players remaining in the $1,675 no-limit hold'em main event
January 21, 2018 (Sacramento, CA) - Both starting flights of the World Series of Poker Circuit Thunder Valley $1,675 no-limit hold’em main event are complete and Hafiz Khan leads the way as the field heads to Day 2.
Day 1A drew 207 entries on Friday and Saturday attracted another 392 to bring the total field size to 599 and generate a prizepool of $898,500, which crushed the $500,000 guarantee that was put on it. There were 36 players that survived the first starting flight and another 78 that made it through 15 levels on Day 1B.
The 114 players who made it through their respective Day 1 are all chasing Khan, who finished Day 1B with 318,500 in chips. Before Black Friday, Khan was one of the most successful online tournament players on the planet. He’s showed why throughout the series at Thunder Valley with a third place finish in the opening re-entry event of the series for $35,543 and bagging the chip lead in the main event.
Sam Nagar bagged the Day 1A chip lead with 246,000 and will start Day 2 fourth in chips. Khoa Tran (297,000), Rowland Shen (271,500) and Garrett Gruener (234,000) round out the top five chip stacks heading into Sunday.
Other notables who will be returning include Michael Scott (219,000), Thomas Zanot (195,500), Charles "Woody" Moore (190,000), Ben Keeline (184,500), Sean Yu (158,000), Randy Gil (148,000), Kindah Sakkal (139,500), Alex Greenblatt (129,500), Jordan Meltzer (102,000), Craig Gold (81,000), Jeff Fielder (63,500), Lee Markholt (59,500), Kevin O'Donnell (59,000) and Jason Gooch (32,500).
Not everybody was lucky enough to make it through their respective starting flight. Last September’s champion Nick Pupillo, three-time bracelet winner Rep Porter, two-time bracelet winner Erick Lindgren, Andrew Moreno, two-time ring winner Brett Murray, two-time ring winner Gregory Armand, bracelet winner Chris Bell, Craig Varnell, Dan O’Brien, Neil Scott and two-time bracelet and ring winner JC Tran are among the well-known pros who will be on the proverbial sidelines for Day 2.
Tran, however, has a chance to defend his high roller title on Sunday when the $2,200 no-limit hold’em high roller gets underway at 4 p.m.
Cards get back in the air on Sunday at noon and they will play 10, 60-minute levels before wrapping up for the night. Making the money will be the first thing on everybody’s mind. With a 599-entry field, the top 63 spots will finish in the money. With 114 players remaining, the money bubble is expected to burst early in the day.
Everybody who finishes in the money will take home at least a min-cash of $2,938, but they all have their sights set on making it through the day and coming back on Monday to battle for the ring, the seat into the 2018 Global Casino Championship and the $188,686 first place money.
Top 10 Chip Counts:
- Hafiz Khan -318,500
- Khoa Tran - 297,000
- Roland Shen - 271,500
- Sam Nagar - 246,000
- Garrett Gruener - 234,000
- Michael Scott - 219,000
- Harun Begic - 213,500
- Ryan Leung - 210,500
- Mike Nelson - 201,000
- Nipun Ajmani - 197,000
Complete Chip Counts
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