The World Poker Tour is in Florida this week as the WPT Lucky Hearts Poker Open Main Event is underway at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood. Day 2 is already in the books (there were two Day 1 flights) with Ben Yu going into Monday’s action as the chip leader with 1.382 million chips.
A total of 911 entries were paid during the two starting flights, bringing the prize pool for the $3,300 + $200 event to $2.915 million. Payouts go down to 114th place and the eventual winner will cash for more than half a million dollars. There are just 53 players remaining after Day 2, so everyone still in the tournament has made the money.
Yu began yesterday with 103,700 chips, a solid stack for that point in the tournament, but he clearly did some work Sunday, multiplying his stack ten-fold.
It took a long time for Yu to make a move, as well after the dinner break, with an average stack over 400,000, he was still only in the 100,000 chips range. But climb he did, not just staying alive, but thriving as others fell by the wayside. He completed his rise to the top of the chip counts late in the night when he was up against Sean Winter and Winter’s last 250,000 chips. All-in pre-flop, Winter had 5-5 while Yu had A-J. Yu found a Jack on the flop and that was it for Winter, while Yu’s stack elevated to 1.380 million.
Yu currently ranks 327th on the Global Poker Index. He is no stranger to deep tournament runs, as he has nearly $2.3 million in live tournament earnings. His largest cash was for more than $600,000 when he finished third in the 2015 WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic Main Event. Yu also has two World Series of Poker bracelets in his trophy case. The first was won in 2015 (not a bad year for him), when he took the title in the $10,000 Limit Hold’em Championship, good for almost $300,000. He won his second bracelet at last year’s WSOP in the $10,000 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw Championship; that paycheck was for more than $230,000.
Yu doesn’t have much breathing room at the top. Joseph Couden is nearly tied with him, holding 1.339 million chips. Qasem Jamhour is close behind with 1.284 million. And after him, there are three more players all around a million: Andjelko Andrejevic (1.023 million), Mike Chiappetta (1.021 million), and Nick Schwarmann (1.017 million). Two more players have more than 900,000 chips. Should setup for a competitive Monday as players jockey for position as the final table nears.
2018 World Poker Tour Lucky Hearts Poker Open Main Event – Day 2 Chip Leaders
1. Ben Yu – 1,382,000
2. Joseph Couden – 1,339,000
3. Qasem Jamhour – 1,284,000
4. Andjelko Andrejevic – 1,023,000
5. Mike Chiappetta – 1,021,000
6. Nick Schwarmann – 1,017,000
7. Ness Reilly – 973,000
8. John Richards – 910,000
9. Ardit Kurshumi – 843,000
10. Rainer Kempe – 793,000
