Event #6 – Day 2 Archives | MILLIONS North America 2018

18 to return for Day 3

2018/05/02 - 0:21 by Shawn McCrory

Day 2 of the MILLIONS Finale brought 55 new entries into the field to bring the total up to 126 before the late registration and re-entry period closed at the end of level 12. Many players took advantage of the slow structure and unlimited re-entries to take a few shots at the $1,260,000 prize pool. This field had no shortage of star power with the likes of Martin Jacobson, Ami Alibay, Roberto Romanello, Darren Elias, Kristen Bicknell and Jeff Gross each taking a shot at the Finale.

Day 2 was characterized by deep stacks and sharp, disciplined play from all involved. We saw numerous examples of four, five and even six-bets, as the players used the huge number of blinds at their disposal to try to instill fear in their opponents. But the world-class players in this field are not the type to be intimidated, and there was no shortage of bluff-catching and thin calls.

The chip leader to start the day, Philippe D’auteuil, maintained one of the larger stacks in play for a good portion of the day and will remain a force to contend with on Day 3. Chance Kornuth climbed steadily up the leaderboard throughout the day to hold the chip lead for much of the late stages.

First Name \| Prénom	Last Name \| Nom	Stack \| Tapis
Chance	Kornuth	14,960,000
Jonathan	Vanfleet	14,470,000
Timothy	Reilly	13,345,000
Philippe	D'auteuil	11,250,000
Anatolly	Filatov	9,200,000
David	Lopez	8,030,000
Jonathan	Duhamel	7,270,000
Michael	Sklenicka	6,430,000
Manig	Loeser	6,250,000
Josue	Sauvageau	6,145,000
Aaron	Mermelstein	5,470,000
Joey	Weissman	4,310,000
Louis	Boutin	4,055,000
Victor	Ramdin	3,875,000
Arkadiy	Tsinis	3,190,000
Nik	Khan	2,725,000
Samuel	Chartier	1,895,000
Matas	Cimbolas	1,110,000

Vanfleet wins battle of the blinds

Level: 18
Small Blind: 50K
Big Blind: 100K
Button Ante: 100K
Chip Average: 7M
Remaining: 18
Entries: 126

2018/05/01 - 23:23 by Shawn McCrory

It came down to a battle of the blinds between Jonathan Vanfleet and Qi Hu.

Vanfleet raised Hu’s 80K big blind to 200k from the small blind. Hu was the short stack at the table and saw an opportunity to possibly steal some chips, moved all in for 1.3M and Vanfleet made the call.

Hu:

Vanfleet:

Board:

Deep stacks, disciplined play

Level: 17
Small Blind: 40K
Big Blind: 80K
Button Ante: 80K
Chip Average: 6.6M
Remaining: 19
Entries: 126

2018/05/01 - 23:05 by Shawn McCrory

Play continues near the end of level 17, and the Finale is still four spots from the money.

Although the action clock is keeping the hands moving at a steady pace, the chip average now provides over 80 big blinds, and the players are showing their determination through disciplined play so it comes as no surprise that the 19 players still in contention at the last break are still in the field.

Chance Kornuth and Timothy Reilly still have the biggest stacks in play, and the only player to pick up a caller when all in since the break, Qi Hu, managed to double up his short stack.

Four from the money

Level: 17
Small Blind: 40K
Big Blind: 80K
Button Ante: 80K
Chip Average: 6.6M
Remaining: 19
Entries: 126

2018/05/01 - 22:10 by Shawn McCrory

After the field had remained stagnant at 22 players for nearly two levels, three bustouts in short succession have brought the field down to 19. The action clock was introduced following the elimination of Zachary Donovan, and within the next orbit both Darren Elias and Jeff Gross followed suit.

The players will be returning from their latest break in a few minutes for the last two levels of the day with Chance Kornuth at the head of the pack.

Here is the complete leaderboard:

First Name \| Prénom	Last Name \| Nom	Stack \| Tapis
Chance	Kornuth	16,525,000
Timothy	Reilly	12,195,000
Jonathan	Vanfleet	10,900,000
Nik	Khan	9,450,000
Philippe	D'Auteuil	9,245,000
Jonathan	Duhamel	8,785,000
David	Lopez	8,565,000
Anatolly	Filatov	7,585,000
Aaron	Mermelstein	6,775,000
Victor	Ramdin	6,205,000
Louis	Boutin	5,060,000
Michael	Sklenicka	4,730,000
Arkadiy	Tsinis	4,405,000
Manig	Loeser	4,400,000
Samuel	Chartier	4,100,000
Matas	Cimbolas	2,295,000
Joey	Weissman	1,740,000
Qi	Hu	1,670,000
Josue	Sauvageau	1,435,000

Donovan’s elimination brings out the action clock

Level: 16
Small Blind: 35K
Big Blind: 70K
Button Ante: 70K
Chip Average: 6.6M
Remaining: 21
Entries:

2018/05/01 - 21:47 by Shawn McCrory

The Finale is now down to 21 players, following the elimination of Zachary Donovan.

With the blinds at 35/70K, Nik Khan limped in from early position. The action folded to Donovan who put in a raise to 300K. Louis Boutin and Victor Ramdin followed along before it came back to Khan who put in a big raise to 1.5M. Donovan then moved all in, chasing Boutin and Ramdin out of the pot before Khan made the snap call. It was aces for Khan and big slick for Donovan.

Khan:

Donovan:

Board:

The action clock has been introduced, putting the players on an automatic 30-second countdown, as they approach the money bubble.

Here are some more photos from level 16:

Big call, big pot for Reilly

Level: 15
Small Blind: 30K
Big Blind: 60K
Button Ante: 60K
Chip Average: 5.7M
Remaining: 22
Entries: 126

2018/05/01 - 20:35 by Shawn McCrory

Timothy Reilly has just eliminated Joao Simao after a big call on the river.

The two had built a big pot following a flop of . Simao led out for 650K on the turn, which Reilly quickly called. When the fell on the river, Simao moved all-in for 2.1M, putting Reilly to the test. In the end, Reilly made the call after a few minutes in the tank, and Simao opened . Reilly’s instincts were right, and he rolled over to take down the huge pot and send Simao to the rail.