Triple Knockout Has Alexandru Cinca Near the Leaders on Day 2 of the Merit Poker Carmen Series $2,200 Warmup
Alexandru Cinca did his best to bring the field that much closer to the money near the end of Day 2 of the Merit Poker Carmen Series $2,200 Warmup.
With three players already all in, Cinca looked down at ace-king and called to put all three players at risk. He spiked an ace on the turn to beat three pocket pairs, reducing the field by three and rocketing his chip count up to 1,267,000 at the end of the night.
Cinca is looking up at Rabih Saad and Ran Ilani on the leaderboard. Ilani cracked kings to bust a player early in the day on his way to bagging up 1,366,000. Saad, though, is the man everyone will be chasing tomorrow. He began the day in the top 10 of the leaderboard and never stopped accumulating chips, ending the day with 1,738,000.
Day 2 Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rabih Saad | 1,738,000 | 174 |
| 2 | Ran Ilani | 1,366,000 | 137 |
| 3 | Fahredin Mustafov | 1,360,000 | 136 |
| 4 | Petr Skripka | 1,284,000 | 128 |
| 5 | Alexandru Cinca | 1,267,000 | 127 |
| 6 | Eduard Barsegian | 1,170,000 | 117 |
| 7 | Michael Uguccioni | 1,110,000 | 111 |
| 8 | Aliaksandr Hirs | 1,087,000 | 109 |
| 9 | Ali Moein | 1,031,000 | 103 |
| 10 | Saman Nakhjavani | 1,022,000 | 102 |
Aliaksandr Hirs (1,087,000), Day 1 chip leader Ali Moein (1,031,000), and Saman Nakhjavani (1,022,000) are also part of the million-chip club heading into Day 3. Other notables still in the mix include Gabi Livshitz (875,000), Recep Aydemir (577,000), and Yulian Bogdanov (573,000). [Removed:422], who was the first player to cross 1,000,000 chips earlier in the day, slid down the leaderboard as the day progressed and finished with 690,000.
Some players who saw their tournament come to an end on Day 2 include Maxime Chilaud, Jack Sinclair, and the always talkative Wael Sarkis.
Day 2 saw the field swell to 611 total entries by the time late registration closed at 5 p.m. local time. The $1,124,240 prize pool far exceeded the $700,000 guarantee, with the champion walking away with $206,800. The top 71 finishers will guarantee themselves at least $3,400. The day concluded with 126 players remaining, so more than 50 will head to the rail tomorrow with nothing.
The tournament resumes tomorrow at noon as players work their way toward the money bubble. Once it bursts, it��s on to the final table. PokerNews will be following all the action as players chase the title and top prize.