WSOP Day 39 Recap: Bryn Kenney and David Peters Both Star on Day 2d of WSOP Main Event, Three Other Events in Progress

Day 2d of the WSOP Main Event closed with a near-record crowd taking part in the world’s biggest poker tournament, as 8,663 was the final number of players in the $10,000-entry No Limit Hold’em event that fulfils players' dreams and makes heroes of previous unknowns. Elsewhere on Day 39 of the 2022 World Series of Poker, there were three events in progress as players reached the latter stages and got one step closer to claiming gold in Vegas.

Main Event Sees Bumper Turnout on Day 2d

The Day 2d field of the 2022 WSOP Main Event brought with it drama, excitement and almost a brand-new attendance record. When the dust settled, the 2022 WSOP Main Event ended with 8,663 entries in total, 110 short of the record, but Bally’s and Paris were full to the brim as Muhammad Abdel-Rahim was confirmed as the day’s chip leader by the close of play with 936,500 chips.

Others to bag big chips included some star names, with all-time money list boss Bryn Kenney, bagging up 665,000 chips. He fell behind Justin Bonomo in that list overnight, but anywhere near the win in the Main Event would surely make the race to be the first player to solidify their position as the best tournament poker player ended for some time.

Another rival for that lofty leaderboard reputation is David Peters who totalled 552,500 chips by the close of play, with last year’s WSOP Main Event winner Koray Aldemir also doing very well, bagging 255,000 chips on the day. Other big names to cruise through the last Day 2 flight to conclude included Massoud Eskandari (475,000), John Juanda (374,500), Chino Rheem (366,000), Adrian Mateos (339,500), and the 2003 Main Event winner Chris Moneymaker (297,500).

Some heroes did not make Day 2, with former WSOP Main Event champions Johnny Chan and Joe Hachem both bidding farewell to their chances of another Main Event bracelet. Also saying goodbye on Day 2d were Lodge Championship supremo Doug Polk, the 2019 WSOP Player of the Year Robert Campbell, Daniel ‘Jungleman’ Cates, Jeremy Ausmus, Alex Livingston, David Tuchman and Vanessa Kade.

With an $80 million prize pool and the first-place prize of $10 million now official, just 1300 players will cash from around 3,073 Day 3 players, with the bubble expected not to burst until Day 4. It is still anyone’s Main Event, but some very big players laid down markers on Day 2d.

One Drop Day 1b Crowd Exceeds Day 1a Attendance

There was an even bigger turnout on Day 1b as there was the previous day, as 1,471 players took on the $1,111-entry event that donates to charity as part of its format. Only around 500 players survived the penultimate Day 1 flight, with Andre Cohen from Portugal top dog on 456,000 chips.

He was followed in the chipcounts by players such as Dylan Cechowski (426,500), Lilly Kiletto (290,000), Selim Oulmekki (272,000), Joao Simao (227,500), David Lappin (177,000), Sonny Franco (142,000), Christina Gollins (129,000), David Pham (119,500), Jason Wheeler (105,000), Michael Mizrachi (100,000) and Brett Apter (46,000).

Players who failed to bag included two-time WSOP bracelet winner Martin Kabrhel, Andrew Mackenzie, Victoria Goulder and Dominic Ricciardi.

Erickson and Boatman Dial-in Danger for Opponents

From the 223 players who began Day 2 of Event #72, the $1,500-entry Mixed Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better event, just 23 made the seat draw for the third – and final – day of action, with Mark Erickson (2,580,000) and Barny Boatman (2,480,000) chief amongst them.

There are some very big names that hover beneath the chip leader, who won his stack in one massive hand at the close of play, with Men ‘The Master’ Nguyen (1,630,000), Adam Friedman (1,190,000), Scott Abrams (890,000) and Mel Judah (815,000) all in the top 10.

Overnight, Kate Krickl had the chip lead, but she couldn’t maintain that level of domaintion, losing her stack in 95^th place for a result worth $2,639. Others to be eliminated included Brandon Shack-Harris (72^nd for $3,016), WSOP and WPT champion Chance Kornuth (45^th for $4,113), and Nathan Gamble (38^th for $4,713) all busted before the final 23 started filling bags with chips.

Anderson, Korn and Strelitz Survive Razz Day 1

Finally, Event #73, the $1,500-entry Razz event saw 383 players reduced to 123 survivors, and after 15 levels of play, Calvin Anderson (336,000) has the chip lead. Anderson has history in this format, with a WSOP bracelet win in the game four years ago in 2018, courtesy of victory in the $10,000 Razz Championship.

Also rivalling Calvin Anderson are Nicolas Milgrom (283,500), Vincent Griboski (223,000), and Daniel Tafur (202,500), with three other bracelet winners close by in the form of Andres Korn (196,000), Ismael Bojang (192,500), Daniel Strelitz (177,000), and Yuri Dzivielevski (160,000) all making the top dozen players. Poker Hall of Fame nominee Matt Savage (175,000) will be a hugely popular player for fans to root for, the award-winning tournament director being a much-loved member of the industry who is famed for his work on the other side of the felt.

Plenty of big names left the action without making the next day’s play, with last year’s event winner Brad Ruben unable to put himself in a position to win his fifth bracelet. He was joined on the rail before the close of play by Daniel Negreanu, Shaun Deeb, Phil Hellmuth, and Dan Zack.

Connect with PokerGO.com on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok. Watch daily poker clips on the PokerGO YouTube channel. Join the conversation on the PokerGO Discord server.