The last break of Day 2 is underway, and another 3 levels lay ahead of the finalists in the WPT500. In a few minutes we will publish the top counts in play as the tournament heads into round 26.
Photographs from level 25:
Haitham Masri had a decision to make. When we joined the action, the board showed a 
and there was almost 20K in the pot. He had been raised 11,800 by his only remaining opponent, Yannick Gauthier, who had led the action most of the hand, betting when others checked.
Haitham took his time. If he called the bet and lost his night would be close to over, as he had slightly more than 15,000 chips left. However, after some intense thought and a careful mental review, he decided to call. It must have been quiet a relief to see Yannick’s 
, as Haitham flipped over his pair of 7s in relief, his set dominating Yannick’s King high.
With the field now down to the final ten 8-handed tables, it’s time to introduce the Action Clock into play. From here until the end of the tournament, players will have a 30-second time bank to make their decision whenever action is on them.
Players are also given 4 “time” chips which they can use to extend their time bank by an additional 30 seconds. Time bank chips will be replenished when the field reaches the final 3 tables, as well as on the final table.
Photographs from level 24:
Mike Leah was down to 325,000 chips when he decided to pull the trigger for his tournament life. Unfortunately for him it was ill-timed as his 
ran into a pair of 
. With no help on the 
board, he was send to the rail with a little bit more than the minimum cash.
While there were only 36 players at their seats when the WPT Main Event started at 4pm, the list of entrants has almost doubled to 71 at this point, halfway through today’s flight. Some notable recent entries are Shawn Buchanan, Ema Zajmovic and Rayan Chamas.
Rayan (pictured left) arrived fresh from his exit from the WPT500 Day 2, a tournament still being played on the other side of Playground Poker Club. He finished in the money, and clearly wants to continue his fine play during the WPT Main Event.
Shawn (middle) also recently joined the Main Event, a poker powerhouse from Vancouver. He is one to watch, and currently sits 9th in Canada on the All Time Money List. He had a productive summer, finishing in the money in the WSOP Main Event as well as finishing 6th in the $5,000 No Limit Hold’em Event.
Last but not certainly not least was Ema Zajmovic, who recently re-entered the WPT Main Event after busting earlier in the evening. She is a native of Quebec, and has had some great runs at Playground recently, making two final tables in the last couple of years, including a 1st place win at the $3,200 No Limit Hold’em WPT Main Event here in February 2017.
The WPT500 is now down to just 100 finalists at the start of level 24, and still includes several notable players such as Sorel Mizzi, Mike Leah, Mukul Pahuja, Eric Afriat and Guillaume Nolet.
Photographs from level 23:
