Mulders Leads Final Eight, Hutter a Close Second After Day 2 of MSPT Venetian $1,600 Main Event
The final day roster is now set after Day 2 began with 166 hopefuls looking to make a deep run in the Mid-States Poker Tour (MSPT) Venetian $1,600 Main Event but, by the end of the night, only eight remained.
Leading the charge is Daan Mulders who bagged 8,565,000 at the end of the night.
Mulders had a rollercoaster of a day, making an incredible call on the money bubble to take an early chip lead, only to become the short stack when 27 players remained. From there he comes back with a hot streak to end the night as the chip leader for the final eight players.
Hot on Mulders' tail is WSOP bracelet winner Barry Hutter who ended the night as the only other player to bag north of seven million (7,170,000).
MSPT Venetian $1,600 Main Event Final Eight
| Seat | Player | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gediminas Uselis | 6,900,000 |
| 2 | David McGowan | 4,500,000 |
| 3 | Gennaro Proscia | 4,790,000 |
| 4 | Barry Hutter | 7,170,000 |
| 5 | Fabian Bernhauser | 6,285,000 |
| 6 | Daan Mulders | 8,565,000 |
| 7 | Raul Martinez | 1,520,000 |
| 8 | Benjamin Underwood | 3,035,000 |
With 166 slated to get paid, 31 hopefuls needed to exit before racing the money. There wasn't hesitation for players to start putting their chips in the middle and that was evident after defending champ Chance Kornuth's departure in just the second hand of the day.
Among those to leave empty-handed before the end of the first level were newly crowned WSOP bracelet winner Dylan Linde, MSPT champ Saad Ghanem, and three-time WSOP bracelet winner Adrian Mateos, to name a few.
Bodies continued to fall rapidly and by the time the second level started, Oliver Bithell found himself on the wrong end of cooler after Andres Gonzalez hit a four-card straight, ending his tournament on the money bubble.
Afterward, a sew of eliminations began. Among those to fall albeit with a payday, were Victor Canaple (9th - $32,486), Alex Mazzola (10th - $26,753), Aaron Massey (15th - $21,020), Brock Wilson (33rd - $8,026), Season 11 MSPT Venetian Champ Landon Tice (78th - $4,395), and MSPT Hall of Famer Rich Alsup (93rd - $4,013).
The remaining eight players have all secured $40,129, but all eyes will be on the $325,428 first-place prize that the eventual champion will be taking home, along with an MSPT Venetian title.
MSPT Venetian $1,600 Main Event Final Table Payouts
| Place | Prize | MSPT POY Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $325,428 | 1,900 |
| 2 | $210,202 | 1,700 |
| 3 | $152,874 | 1,600 |
| 4 | $116,758 | 1,500 |
| 5 | $97,903 | 1,400 |
| 6 | $66,882 | 1,300 |
| 7 | $51,595 | 1,200 |
| 8 | $40,129 | 1,100 |
Cards will be in the air at 11 a.m. local time with action picking up from level 31 where blinds are 100,000/200,000 with a 200,000 big blind ante. Blinds will remain 40-minutes in length and PokerNews will be back on hand for tomorrow for Day 3, so make sure to come back and see who is crowned Champion!