Brian Lerner Leads the Final Table of the Bar Poker Open Championship After Day 2
The 2023 Bar Poker Open Championship has reached the final table and a Bar Poker stalwart has navigated his stack to be top of the pile when the eight remaining players return. Brian Lerner came back to Day 2 with 445,000 and successfully ran his stack into the chip lead for Day 3, where the remaining players will return with eyes on the mouth-watering $100,000 first prize.
Hot on Lerner's heels are Ryan Surdi, representing No Limit New York, and Edward Holt, who qualified for this event by winning a package in the King of the Felt tournament only four weeks prior.
Final Table Seat Draw
| Seat | Player | League | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Saverio Biancardi | Kontenders | 1,585,000 | 13 |
| 2 | Dawna Blyleven | Sunshine PL | 3,965,000 | 33 |
| 3 | Anthony Lundy | New York FP | 2,820,000 | 24 |
| 4 | Brian Lerner | Deepstacks | 6,310,000 | 53 |
| 6 | Edward Holt | EPT | 4,755,000 | 39 |
| 7 | Jeffrey Bowden | EPT | 1,875,000 | 16 |
| 8 | Ryan Surdi | No Limit NY | 5,925,000 | 49 |
| 9 | John Carr | No Limit PPT | 470,000 | 4 |
Day 2 Action
There were 54 players who returned to their seats from the combined Day 1 flights, from a total of 1,053 entrants, which generated a total prize pool of $315,900 with a guaranteed first-place prize of $100,000, a staggering amount considering the lion's share of the players that entered did so by qualifying through their respective local leagues.
The field shrank quickly as players looked to spin their stacks and the tournament was quickly down to its final 27 players, at which time a live stream table was introduced so that club members, not at the Golden Nugget, could rail their teammates from the comfort of their own homes.
It wasn't too long before those 27 became 9 and the unofficial final table began, and it was Jan Kirk who ran her pair of kings into the two pair of Edward Holt, that was the unfortunate bubble, taking home $4,542 for her efforts.
The remaining eight players have locked up $5,788 but it's the first-place prize of $100,000 that is everyone's mind.
Final Table Results and Payouts
| Rank | Prize |
|---|---|
| 1st | $100,000 |
| 2nd | $50,000 |
| 3rd | $25,000 |
| 4th | $15,000 |
| 5th | $11,555 |
| 6th | $10,008 |
| 7th | $7,307 |
| 8th | $5,788 |
The final eight players will return to the felt at the Golden Nugget feature table, where the action will be live-streamed on the Bar Poker Open YouTube channel. The cards will go in the air at 2 p.m local time where the stream will be on a 30-minute delay. There are 27 minutes remaining in Level 25 with the blinds at 60,000/120,000 with a 120,000 big blind ante. The levels will continue to be 45 minutes in length and play will continue until a champion is crowned.
The PokerNews team will be here, every step of the way, to bring you live updates in time with the live stream, to avoid spoilers, so be sure to tune in.