Thailand Leads Multi-National Macau Main Event Field

Yesterday, we mentioned how the second flight of the PokerStars Championship Macau Main Event pushed the field over the 500-player mark and with late registration open at the start of Day 2, that field got even bigger earlier today. When the final numbers were calculated, 536 players had put down HK$42,400, or close to $5,000, to compete and an over HK$20,000,000 prize pool was up for grabs.

Day 2 started with 370 players in action but when the dust settled, just 151 remained. Those players are still not in the money, as only 103 players will cash but Pakinai Lisawad looks like he’s in a good spot to make the money.

The Thai professional, who has just under $1,000,000 in career tournament earnings, bagged a chip leading 301,200 to pace the Day 2 field, just hours after losing the lead on Thailand’s all-time money list. That honor now sits with Phanlert Sukonthachartnant, who cashed in the HK$82K event to move ahead of Lisawad but he could regain that lead with a deep run in the Main Event.

Thailand leads the way but the rest of Asia is well represented in the top ten. Hong Kong’s Chuanshu Chen sits second with 272,200, while Yan Li, the Chinese player responsible for Steve O’Dwyer’s lucky mango earlier in the PokerStars Championship Macau series, holds 241,700.

The foreigners have continued to succeed though, as many big-name players from around the globe have advanced to Day 3. France’s Fabrice Soulier (243,000) held the chip lead for a portion of play, while Spanish High Roller Sergio Aido (197,200) comfortably advanced. Sweden’s Sofia Lovgren (132,900), Americans Dan Smith (76,900) and David Peters (35,900) also moved themselves through, albeit at very different ends of the chip count spectrum.

Those named players and many more will resume play tomorrow and the field will play into the money and down near the final few tables. In total, just over $2,500,000 is up for grabs and the eventual champion of the PokerStars Championship Macau Main Event will earn just over $400,000. Updates from Day 3 and the rest of the tournament can be found on PokerStarsBlog.com.