UKIPT London – Shocking Day 2 Exits

Day 2 started and finished in a day that saw how poker’s swings in odds and probability can be just so unpredictable.

There are 49 players remaining from the original 1,099 collected from the first three Day 1 events and the average chip stack has also zoomed up from 66,500 to 336,000, nearly 5 times the average stack when the players went into Day 2. The bubble was burst in 144th place with Jack Salter taking the first pay check from the tournament and from there things continued with what was a dramatic day of poker in London’s Grosvenor Casino in Victoria.

The most notable exit of the day was Barzantny who started the day as chip leader after a massively successful Day 1C where he built a stack of 275,900 to come into Day 2. However, he lost them all crashing out of the tournament in 138th place with £1,200 back for his run. What a disappointment it must have been as he has already been triumphant twice on the tour and could have made history making it three in one season.

Local boy Ben Jackson also crashed, but in a more respectable 63rd place. He started the day with 197,700 chips not far off the leader, but was another player who just couldn’t hold on in a day that was full of surprises, so had to settle for a £1,870 pay out. Another local lad who had 213,400, Weideng Wang, also crashed in 71st place with £1,640; a shocking turn of events for three players that all started the day in the top 5 chip lead.

Out of the 49 still remaining there is some notable talent looking to take down the first prize pay-out, which stands at £156,800. What is interesting in fact is that once this tournament gets down to heads up the heat will be turned up with £104,600 being paid out for second place meaning the loser of the heads up challenge will forfeit a massive £52,200.

Those who are looking hot in the running for a final table appearance are Day 2’s risers including Sergio Aido Espina of Spain with 946,000 chips on the table heading the chase, and Georgios Zisimopoulos from Greece who is currently in second place with 816,000. Both these players will be checking back carefully as pros such as Olivier Busquet creeps up the leader board with 741,000. Also, joining in on the race is the new Jason Duval from Canada up there with 624,000.

In fact the top of the chip count is fairly evenly stack with talent. Duval has around $150k in career earnings as does Espina and they are both relatively new to the tournament poker scene on the pro circuit plus there is Georgios Zisimopoulos who first appeared around 2010 and has slowly been building his way up to a decent sized bankroll.

Despite this mix of talent there is another player that really does stand out here by way of Olivier Busquet from New York. He has every one covered with experience and he has amassed career winning of up to $3.2 million since his arrival on the scene in 2008. If anyone was odds on favourite this is the man the bookies will be backing.

UKIPT Chip Leaders after Day 2

1st Sergio AidoEspina 946,000

2nd Georgios Zisimopoulos 816,000

3rd Olivier Busquet 741,000

4th Jonathon Prested 660,000

5th Jason Duval 624,000

6th Daniel Rudd 542,000

7th Thomas Ward 490,000

8th Diego Ivan Arbuello 490,000

9th Gary Fisher 474,000

10th Richard Trigg 473,000