WPT World Championship Bubble Looms; Lynn Gilmartin Still Standing
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Two days into the WPT World Championship and there are just 29 more spots left until the money bubble pops. Among the 399 players still in the mix is long-time World Poker Tour anchor Lynn Gilmartin, who bagged 62 big blinds.
Gilmartin, who resides in Australia and has been one of the most recognizable members of the WPT staff since 2013, is seeking her first ever WPT cash. She'll likely have to hang on for a couple hours on Friday to make it happen, but she's in a good spot.
Where the Tournament Stands
Day 2 of the $10,400 buy in tournament concluded at around 8:30 p.m. Thursday night at the Wynn Las Vegas. The field, which originally began with 2,960 entrants across three Day 1 starting flights, lost about two-thirds of the players who returned to action for Day 2.
With a smidge over $29 million in the prize pool and over $4 million going to the winner, the stress level for the remaining players will rise over the next couple of days, starting right off the bat at noon PT on Friday, especially for those with small stacks who will be sweating out that bubble.
In total, 370 players will be paid and a minimum cash is good for $17,400. Reaching the money in one of the largest poker tournaments ever is quite an accomplishment and will be a sigh of relief to those who make it that far. But there's potential life-changing money at stake coming in a couple days. All six players at the final table, which takes place Dec. 20, will have a guaranteed payday of over $1 million.
Who's in, Who's Out
A full list of chip counts weren't available at the time of publishing, but we do know the chip leader is Adrian Sorel State, who ended Day 2 with 2,400,000 chips (160 big blinds). Andrew Crookston is in second place at 2,200,000. The session was unkind to some big name pros and wonderful to others.
Among those who couldn't make it through the day include Phil Hellmuth, Darren Elias, Joe Cada, Ebony Kenney, David Williams, and Justin Bonomo.
There were a number of familiar faces who reached Day 3. That list includes Daniel Negreanu, a two-time WPT champion, who finished with 440,000 and said on Twitter that he was "focused" and played great.
Negreanu was once among the top World Poker Tour performers back in the day but only has one Main Tour cash since 2015. These days, he doesn't travel often outside Las Vegas to play poker.
Brad Owen, a WPT ambassador, is also hanging in there right around Negreanu's stack. The popular poker vlogger bagged about 30 big blinds and will head to Day 3 among the group of players who will be sweating out that money bubble.
WPT World Championship Day 2 Top Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Stack |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Adrian Sorel State | 2,400,000 |
| 2 | Andrew Crookston | 2,200,000 |
| 3 | Lucas Foster | 2,135,000 |
| 4 | Isaac Kempton | 2,100,000 |
| 5 | Adam Hendrix | 2,055,000 |
Did You Know the World Poker Tour is Online?
The launch of WPT Global means that poker players around the world now have the chance to win their way to WPT events, win prizes and enjoy exciting games such as Poker Flips. As one of the world's largest cash game poker networks, WPT Global is available in over 50 countries and territories around the world.
WPT Global offers a large deposit match bonus: 100% on deposits up to $1,200 (using any payment method). New players depositing a minimum of $20 automatically receive this match bonus which is unlocked in $5 increments (credited straight to the cashier) for every $20 of rake contribution.
Both tournaments and cash games count towards bonus unlocking; new players have 90 days from the date of first deposit to unlock and claim their full bonus amount.
*Images courtesy of WPT.
