Kuzmin Kruising Into Day 3 as Chip Leader
Day 2 of Event #19: $2,500 Limit Hold'em / Six Handed is in the books, and going into the third and final day, Alexander Kuzmin is our chip leader with 412,500 chips. Kuzmin is looking to become the second bracelet winner from Russia at the 2011 World Series of Poker - his countryman and friend Viacheslav Zhukov won Event #11 just a few days ago.
Joining Zhukov on Day 3 will be a myriad of solid players including Andrey Zaichenko (315,500), Scott Stanko (290,500), Richard Lyndaker (248,000), and Gabriel Nassif (217,500)
Coming into the Day 2, Canadians Greg Mueller and Shawn Buchanan were in prime position to make a deep run. They both commanded top-twenty stacks, but failed to navigate through the field today and busted short of the money. Jennifer Harman and Marco Traniello - one of poker's more famous couples - both busted as well, and following them out the door were Ryan D'Angelo, Brandon Cantu, Ricky Fohrenbach and Terrence Chan.
Robert Thompson was our bubble boy when he got the rest of his stack in the middle with . Rep Porter looked up him with , and the board ran , eliminating Thompson from the tournament. Once the bubble burst, there was a flurry of eliminations, including Andrew Rosskamm, Justin Bonomo, Paul Rubin and Vladimir Shchemelev.
Shannon Shorr was among the chip leaders entering the day, and made the money before busting in 31st. His stack began to spiral after the dinner break, and could not best Jeffrey Neeman's on a board. Sam Grizzle tried to make a run at his sixth World Series of Poker final table - and first bracelet - but fell short, busting in 17th place for $8,786.
Stephanie Nguyen (221,000) is one of the more intriguing players returning for Day 3. Nguyen played very aggressively all day, and is looking to become the third woman to make a final table at the 2011 WSOP.
The action resumes tomorrow at 3 p.m. PST, where we will play down to a champion - unless it takes more than ten levels. Make sure to check back with us for all your up-to-the-minute updates as the remaining twelve players battle it out for the $213,431first-place prize, and the coveted WSOP gold bracelet.
Good night from the Rio!