Welcome to the final day of the MSPT Iowa State Poker Championship Main Event in Riverside, Iowa. The field is set, the trophy is in sight, and players will battle down to a winner today.
A total of 979 players entrants took their shot at Main Event glory, but only 122 remain at the start of Day 2. The money bubble will be close with 99 players guaranteeing themselves a min-cash, the rest going home empty-handed.
There are plenty of big stacks around the room, but one stack stands out as gigantic among the rest. Dan Bekavac sits on 1,183,000 and has nearly 300 big blinds to work with to start the day. He has more than twice the amount of his closest opponent and seeks to finish his record-setting run on Thursday with a fifth MSPT Main Event title.
Day 2 Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dan Bekavac | 1,183,000 | 296 |
| 2 | Kevin Berthelsen | 490,000 | 123 |
| 3 | Cody Wells | 485,000 | 121 |
| 4 | Randy Perkins | 445,000 | 111 |
| 5 | Skyler Wynn | 398,000 | 100 |
| 6 | Sam Rothschild | 385,000 | 96 |
| 7 | Craig Trost | 373,000 | 93 |
| 8 | Donald Dukate | 371,000 | 93 |
| 9 | Mike Estes | 369,000 | 92 |
| 10 | Wesley Cannon | 369,000 | 92 |
Plenty of talented players look to stand in Bekavac's way. Kevin Berthelsen (490,000) and Cody Wells (485,000) both bagged very similar stacks yesterday and look to carry their deep-stack momentum into a win. Berthelsen has made three Main Event final tables but is still seeking his elusive first win. Wells cashed his first MSPT Main Event last year in Las Vegas and seeks to improve on that run with his big stack today.
Play will be nine-handed today with 40-minute levels. Players will restart in level 14 with 5:07 left on the clock, the earliest finishing time at which play ended in any of the three starting flights.
Keep it tuned right here to PokerNews to follow this one to its exciting finish as the newest Iowa State Poker Champion will be crowned before the day's end.