2015 WPT Canadian Spring Championship Day 2: Ari Engel Charges to Lead with 45 Left
Day 2 of the 2015 partypoker.net World Poker Tour Canadian Spring Championship was a quick one, playing down from 151 players to 45 and in the money after eight levels at Playground Poker Club in Montreal, Quebec, on Sunday.
Canadian Mike Leah came in with a big chip lead, but it didn't take long for that story to change as he lost a massive pot to Nicholas Palma and his set of aces, before dusting the rest off shoving with a flush draw against Kevin Singh's pocket aces and failing to get there. Day 1b chip leader and 2014 WPT Seminole Hard Rock Showdown champ Eric Afriat chipped up early and grabbed the lead at one point, but the day truly belonged to Ari Engel.
Engel has been killing poker's minor leagues for years with multiple World Series of Poker Circuit wins and a Heartland Poker Tour title, but has yet to capture a true major. Today, he moved at least one step closer to a WPT win, becoming the only player to crest the 1 million-chip mark and buiding a sizable lead.
Top 10 Day 2 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ari Engel | 1,014,000 |
| 2 | Trevor Delaney | 804,000 |
| 3 | Eric Afriat | 570,000 |
| 4 | Jonathan Karamalikis | 538,000 |
| 5 | Gary Lucci | 473,500 |
| 6 | Dylan Wilkerson | 424,000 |
| 7 | Noeung Troeung | 418,500 |
| 8 | Senthuran Vijayaratnam | 409,500 |
| 9 | Benoit Jean | 390,500 |
| 10 | Shaan Siddiqui | 362,500 |
In fact, only Canadian Trevor Delaney, who knocked out Daniel Leduc on the bubble with a miracle river card, is truly close.
While names like Scott Montgomery, Matt Marafioti, and Marc-Etienne McLaughlin joined Leah on the rail, Afriat, Palma, Singh, Jonathan Karamalikis, and local WSOP bracelet winner Pascal LeFrancois were among those who bagged what should be considered contending stacks.
The 45 survivors will return to Playground Poker Club for Day 3 on Monday beginning at 12 p.m. local time with the $237,390 first-place prize within sight and at least a $6,330 min-cash guaranteed.
The PokerNews Live Reporting team will be on hand for all the action from beginning to end, so keep it locked right here.
In the meantime, PokerNews' Caitlyn Howe spent part of a beautiful Spring day getting a taste of Montreal. Check out the video evidence below:
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