2017 WSOP Main Event: Day 2ab Winners And Losers

The 2,219 players who survived starting Days 1a and b of this year’s WSOP Main Event returned to the action at the Rio Convention Centre on Day 2ab. At the end of 10 hours of action, just 1,023 players subsequently made it through to Day 3 scheduled to get underway on Thursday at 11:00 a.m.
Winners
Day 1a and b survivors played in separate fields on Day 2ab, with the USA’s Mickey Craft (1a) finishing atop of his field on a 608,100 stack, and the UK’s Lawrence Bayley (1b), who began the day on the third largest stack, doing likewise with 618,000 in chips. Commenting on his experience throughout the day, Bayley said:
“I got paid when I had nice hands basically. The structure is so amazing and I just look forward to idealizing my stack. I play deep a lot these days, and I just have to keep finding the right spots and make the most out of it.”
Amongst the notable pros progressing through the day on big stacks was Marvin Rettenmaier (359,100), Charlie Carrel (343,000), Mike Gorodinsky (340,000), Melanie Weisner (319,400), Jonathan Little (297,300), Doug Polk (287,500), Mike Matusow (228,200), Ryan D’Angelo (265,700) and Barry Shulman (108,400).
Furthermore, three past winners of the Main Event were also able to keep their WSOP dreams intact, namely Joe Hachem (134,700), Greg Raymer (106,400), and Tom McEvoy (29,600).
Losers
On the flip side, 2016 Main Event champion Qui Nguyen was eliminated after his Kc-Qh was beaten on the river by James Akenhead (Qs-7s) on a Ks-10s-7c8c-Js board. Nguyen was in good company, though, and was joined on the rail by prior champions Martin Jacobson (2014), Jonathan Duhamel (2010), and Robert Varkonyi (2002).
Amongst the other recognizable pros exiting the competition on Day 2ab was Christian Harder, Shannon Shorr, Layne Flack, Ronnie Bardah, Phil Laak, Ole Schemion and Gaelle Baumann.
Day 2c
The 4,262 players who made it through Day 1c will return to the action later today, with those competitors surviving the day then progressing through to a communal field on Day 3.