Mohamed Iche Grabs Chip Lead for Day 3 of WSOP-C Main Event
A frantic and thrilling day of poker in Day 2 of the �1,200 WSOP-C Paris Main Event has just concluded here at Stade Jean-Bouin, with only 88 players left standing for a shot at the remainder of the huge �1,064,448 prize pool.
Mohamed Iche of France (1,890,000) has bagged the chip lead heading into Day 3, closely followed by Dutch crusher David Hu (1,605,000) and Day 1c chip leader Sabare Atmani.
Iche is already guaranteed his biggest live score and will be hoping for a fairytale first major title, while David Hu will be seeking his second WSOP-C ring after his triumph in the �2,000 High Roller at WSOP-C Netherlands in 2022. Atmani will be hoping to add a second six-figure score to his resume.
End of Day 2 Top 10 Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mohamed Iche | France | 1,890,000 | 126 |
| 2 | David Hu | Netherlands | 1,605,000 | 107 |
| 3 | Sabare Atmani | France | 1,600,000 | 106 |
| 4 | Benoit Grobocopatel | France | 1,530,000 | 102 |
| 5 | Mikael Ifergan | France | 1,500,000 | 100 |
| 6 | Youcef Benzerfa | France | 1,500,000 | 100 |
| 7 | Samy Barka | France | 1,425,00 | 95 |
| 8 | Mallory Frere | Belgium | 1,270,000 | 84 |
| 9 | [Removed:467] | Netherlands | 1,217,000 | 84 |
| 10 | Nicolas Noguera | France | 1,200,000 | 80 |
329 players were in the list of runners at the start of Day 2, and there were 126 further buy-ins before late registration closed two hours into the day, taking the total Day 2 field to 455 and the total number of entrants to 1,056.
The prize pool and payouts were announced shortly thereafter, with 151 places paid and a minimum cash good for �2,450. The champion meanwhile will be taking home the tidy sum of �150,000.
�1,200 WSOP-C Main Event Remaining Payouts
| Place | Prize | Place | Prize | Place | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | �150,000 | 9 | �15,100 | 48-55 | �4,350 |
| 2 | �93,248 | 10-11 | �12,050 | 56-63 | �3,950 |
| 3 | �66,400 | 12-13 | �9,750 | 64-79 | �3,650 |
| 4 | �51,100 | 14-17 | �8,050 | 80-88 | �3,350 |
| 5 | �39,700 | 18-23 | �6,850 | ||
| 6 | �31,000 | 24-31 | �5,950 | ||
| 7 | �24,300 | 32-39 | �5,250 | ||
| 8 | �19,100 | 40-47 | �4,750 |
Day 2 Action
Notable names such as Mathieu Rabalison, Luigi Andrea Shehadeh and Mathieu Di Meglio all began Day 2 but departed before the money, Rabalison being particularly unfortunate as he ran kings into aces, while Shehadeh jammed the river with pocket kings only to find himself against the nut flush.
Action started to slow down towards the dinner break, where 171 players remained. The bubble arrived shortly thereafter and tension filled the air for around 90 minutes as short-stacks doubled, including Kully Sidhu's kings holding.
Isabel Baltazar then busted Jean-Jacques Ben Oliel in a flush-over-flush cooler on the soft bubble, before Alexis Riera became the unfortunate bubble boy when he was forced all-in in the big blind but woke up with, and ended with, eight-high.
The knockouts came quickly after the bubble burst, with numerous short stacks busting. Notable names such as Samuel Fournier, Lucien Cohen and Tobias Peters all made the money but failed to make the Day 3 cut, while Kully Sidhu and Michel Bouskila were the last players to depart before the conclusion of the day.
Iche passed the one million mark shortly before the dinner break and continued to build steadily thereafter, while Hu rose towards the top of the standings after eliminating Victor Dubrulle.
Day 3 gets underway on May 27 at 1 p.m. local time, with the players returning to 75-minute levels. Be sure to stay tuned to PokerNews for all your coverage as we get to the nitty gritty of the event and move towards crowning a champion here in Paris.