Sunday, May 7, 2017 1:49 PM Local Time
A.J. Kelsall (pictured above) raises to 9,500 from under the gun and Maurice Hawkins three-bets to 25,000 from the cutoff. Action folds back around to Kelsall, who thinks for just under a minute before moving all in for about 160,000. Hawkins snap-calls.
Hawkins shows and is in great shape to win a massive pot against Kelsall's .
"Nice hand, Maurice," says Kelsall before the dealer begins to run out the board.
The board comes and Hawkins avoids running cards to put a straight on the board and chop the pot. Kelsall is eliminated and Hawkins (below) takes over the chip lead.
Maurice Hawkins - 450,000
A.J. Kelsall - Eliminated
Sunday, May 7, 2017 1:36 PM Local Time
Action folds to Kurt Jewell in the cutoff, and he raises to 8,500. Nick Bond, on the button, then raises to 23,000. The blinds quickly fold, and it's back to Jewell. Jewell thinks for a moment before announcing he is all in for more than 200,000. Bond snap-calls.
Bond tables and Jewell shows .
Bond is out in front, but he is at risk owning the shorter stack of the two players.
The flop is and both players improve to a pair of kings. The turn is the and that changes nothing. Jewell will need a queen on the river to eliminate Bond, but the river is the and Bond improves to two pair, aces and kings, to double up.
Nick Bond - 272,000
Kurt Jewell - 72,000
Sunday, May 7, 2017 1:26 PM Local Time
The action folds to Alan Cutler, in the hijack, and he raises to 8,000. Josh Lowing (pictured) calls from the button.
On the flop, Cutler bets 12,500. Lowing calls.
The turn is the and Cutler bets 21,000. Lowing calls again.
On the river, Cutler slows down and checks. Lowing quickly announces a bet of 36,000 and after a moment, Cutler folds.
Josh Lowing - 188,000
Alan Cutler - 115,000
Sunday, May 7, 2017 1:25 PM Local Time
Sunday, May 7, 2017 1:18 PM Local Time
David Aker raises to 9,000 from under the gun and John Richards moves all in on the button for 33,000. The blinds fold and Aker calls.
Aker shows and has Richards' dominated. The board comes and Richards flops trip tens to double up.
John Richards - 74,500
Sunday, May 7, 2017 1:17 PM Local Time
There is about 40,000 in the pot on the turn with the board reading and Nils Tolpingrud checks from the big blind. Jamie Sloat bets 17,500 from middle position and Tolpingrud check-raises to 45,000.
Sloat calls and the river is the . Tolpingrud pushes forward a stack of about 82,000 and Sloat quickly calls. Tolpingrud shows , giving him a missed flush draw, and Tolpingrud wins the pot with , giving him a flush and the pot.
Sloat wins the pot and has quickly become one of the bigger stacks in the room on Day 2.
Jamie Sloat - 380,000
Nils Tolpingrud - 186,000
Sunday, May 7, 2017 1:09 PM Local Time
Level: 17
Blinds: 2,000/4,000
Ante: 500
Sunday, May 7, 2017 1:07 PM Local Time
Dong Jun Ji raises to 6,500 from early position. Alex Queen, who is seated on Jun Ji's direct left, is the only player to call and it's heads up to the flop.
On the flop, Jun Ji bets 12,000 and Queen calls. The turn is the and Jun Ji bets 34,000. Queen calls.
The river is the and Jun Ji checks. Queen moves all in for 52,500 and Jun Ji takes about a minute before players at the table call for the clock. Shortly after the tournament supervisor arrives, Jun Ji calls and shows for a set of tens. But Queen flips for the ace-high flush.
After starting the day with only 53,000, Queen is now up over 200,000.
Alex Queen - 224,000
Dong Jun Ji - 215,000
Sunday, May 7, 2017 1:00 PM Local Time
The player on the button raises to 8,500 and Henry Meacham (pictured) defends his big blind. They are heads-up to a flop of and Meacham checks. The button bets 12,000 and Meacham calls.
Both players check the turn card and the comes on the river. Meacham bets 21,000 and the button doesn't waste much time before calling. Meacham shows , giving him a flush and the button mucks his hand.
Meacham was the chip leader coming into the day, but blinded off a bit after not showing up until about halfway through the first level. Even with his late arrival, he has continued his winning way and is the first player to cross the 400,000-chip threshold.
Henry Meacham - 462,000
Sunday, May 7, 2017 12:52 PM Local Time
It's a battle of the blinds between Justin Liberto in the small blind and his opponent in the big blind. On the river, there is about 25,000 in the pot with a completed board of .
Liberto checks and the big blind bets 10,000. Liberto check-raises all in for 51,000 and the big blind tanks for a couple minutes before folding the face-up. Liberto mucks his hand and takes the pot.
Justin Liberto - 86,000
Sunday, May 7, 2017 12:44 PM Local Time
Michael Anderson started the day with 230,000, but he's off to a good start on Day 2 and with a recent elimination of Kyle McCarthy, Anderson is nearing the 400,000 mark.
From under the gun, Richie Smith raises to 7,500. McCarthy, seated directly to Smith's left, moves all in for about 60,000. The action folds around to Anderson in the small blind and he moves all in. David Aker quickly folds from the big blind, as does Smith, leaving Anderson and McCarthy heads up.
Anderson:
McCarthy:
Anderson flops a full house on the flop. The turn is the and the river completes the board for Anderson to take the pot. As the dealer pushes the pot toward Anderson, Smith chimes in "This guy is on fire!"
Michael Anderson - 377,000
Richie Smith - 235,000
Kyle McCarthy - Eliminated
Sunday, May 7, 2017 12:34 PM Local Time
A player in middle position raises to 8,500 and action folds to Ryan Jones in the big blind, who moves all in for 51,500. The player in middle position immediately asks the dealer for a count and then calls after getting the answer.
It's a race for Jones' tournament with his up against his opponent's . The board runs out and Jones makes top two pair to win the flip and double up.
"When will it end?" asks Jones' opponent to his friend at a neighboring table.
"I'm running too good right now," says Jones.
Ryan Jones - 109,000
Sunday, May 7, 2017 12:27 PM Local Time
Tim Bishop entered Day 2 as one of the shorter stacks in the room and after building up from his 30,500 starting stack, Bishop was eliminated when he ran into Paul Fisher's pocket aces.
From early position, Bishop moves all in for about 45,000. The action folds around to Fisher, in the big blind, and he calls.
Fisher:
Bishop:
Bishop connects with the flop, but is still looking for help. The turn is the , giving Bishop additional chop outs to a straight, but the falls on the river and Bishop is eliminated.
Paul Fisher - 181,000
Tim Bishop - Eliminated
Sunday, May 7, 2017 12:16 PM Local Time
Dennis Phillips (pictured) raises to 6,500 on the button and A.J. Kelsall defends his big blind. They both check a flop of and the comes on the turn. Kelsall checks and Phillips bets 6,500. Kelsall calls.
The river is the . Kelsall leads out for 11,000 and Phillips calls. Kelsall shows and Phillips mucks his hand.
"Three hands, three pairs, three losses," says Phillips after the hand. "This is not looking good, guys. Give me something that I can just fold."
A.J. Kelsall - 220,000
Dennis Phillips - 150,000
Sunday, May 7, 2017 12:03 PM Local Time
Cards are in the air for Day 2.
Sunday, May 7, 2017 12:02 PM Local Time
Level: 16
Blinds: 1,500/3,000
Ante: 500
Saturday, May 6, 2017 11:54 PM Local Time
Henry Meachem enters Day 2 with the chip lead.
Day 2 of the Main Event at Horseshoe Baltimore will begin Sunday at noon with 81 players surviving the two starting flights.
Henry Meacham (357,500) will be out in front when play begins with Ritchie Smith (345,500) close behind. Rounding out the top five starting stacks are Dong Jun Ji (270,500), Josh Vizcarra (263,000), and Nils Tolpingrud (237,500).
Outside of the top five, the field remains filled with a number of previous Circuit Ring winners, including Maurice Hawkins (183,500), Kurt Jewell (210,000), Dennis Phillips (196,000), Justin Liberto (67,000), Alex Rocha (42,000), and others.
Remaining players are all chasing the $148,171 first place prize, which comes with a WSOP Circuit Ring and a seat in the WSOP Global Casino Championship in August. The top 45 finishers will make the money with a min-cash earning players $3,044. With only 81 players starting Day 2, the money bubble should burst relatively early in the day.
Levels on Day 2 will increase to 60 minutes and will remain that way through the remainder of the event. Players are scheduled to play 10 levels on Day 2 and then play down to a winner on Monday.
Be sure to follow WSOP.com for complete coverage of all of the Day 2 action.