WPT -- Doyle Brunson Classic Championship Day 2

Day 2 of the World Poker Tour Doyle Brunson Five-Diamond Wold Poker Classic $15,000 no-limit hold’em championship event took place today in Las Vegas. The field was scheduled to play five levels of poker, but in accordance with Bellagio tournament rules, registration was open until the end of the third level of play today. The official size of the field stood at 329 players when all was said and done. The total prize pool for the event is $4,761,450, and the first-place finisher will walk away with $1,428,430 in prize money. Here is a look at the full payout structure:

1st: $1,428,430
2nd: $952,290
3rd: $571,374
4th: $333,302
5th: $249,976
6th: $202,362
7th: $154,747
8th: $107,133
9th: $76,183
10th-12th: $57,137
13th-15th: $47,615
16th-18th: $38,092
19th-27th: $28,569

Of the 329 players who have entered the event during the past two days, 131 remained at the end of day 2. The chip leader at the end of play was Toto Leonidas, who ended the night with 355,000. The namesake of the tournament, Doyle Brunson (pictured above right), also entered the fray on day 2, and he ends the night with an impressive 283,000. Day 3 begins at noon PST tomorrow, and the field will return to play five more levels. Below is a look at all of the highlights from day 2, including a breakdown of the final stages of the 2009 Card Player Player of the Year race.

Day 2 Top 10 Chip Counts:

Toto Leonidas: 355,000
Faraz Jaka: 323,500
Chad Batista: 320,000
Eric Hershler: 314,800
Brent Hanks: 300,000
Doyle Brunson: 283,000
Hasan Habib: 270,000
Sorel Mizzi: 270,000
Antonio Esfandiari: 260,000
Jon Turner: 250,000

Notable Day 2 Eliminations: POY leader Eric Badlwin, and POY contenders Jason Mercier and Mike Leah, Kathy Liebert, Justin Young, J.C. Tran, Kevin Saul, Mark Newhouse, Marco Johnson, Kevin Schaffel, John Hennigan, Joe Cada, J.J. Liu, John Monnette, Justin Bonomo, Scott Fischman, Sam Farha, Robert Mizrachi, Ted Lawson, Tony Ma, OPOY leader Steve Gross, Nenad Medic, Men Nguyen, Peter Jetten, David Benyamine, David Williams, David Singer, David Sands, Adam Levy, Chau Giang, Isabelle Mercier, Jimmy Fricke, Jennifer Tilly, Eugene Katchalov, Gavin Griffin, and Freddy Deeb.

POY Watch

With Eric Baldwin now knocked out of the tournament and the final size of the field set, the final POY contenders left in the tournament know what to shoot for if they hope to pass Baldwin for the 2009 crown.

Here is a look at the top three point totals in the POY race:

Eric Baldwin: 6,994
Cornel Cimpan: 5,934 (pictured right)
Yevgeniy Timoshenko: 5,509

The POY points to be awarded at the final table of his event:

1: 1,980
2: 1,650
3: 1,320
4: 990
5: 825
6: 660

Cornel Cimpan needs a third-place finish or better here at Bellagio to pass Baldwin, and Yevgeniy Timoshenko needs a second-place finish or better to take over the top spot. Soheil Shamseddin can’t pass Baldwin with a win, but he can improve his final standing in the POY race.

Here is a look at where the top POY contenders left in the tournament stand in chips at the end of day 2:

Cornel Cimpan: 216,500
Soheil Shamseddin: 188,000
Yevgeniy Timoshenko: 103,700

Day 2 Big Hands:

Cornel Cimpan Quads Up to Double Up

Cornel Cimpan raised to 3,500, and Michael Watson reraised to 9,000 in the cutoff behind him. Cimpan thought it over before making the call, leaving himself with just 15,100.

The flop came down 10 4 4, and Cimpan checked to Watson, who put him all in. Cimpan instantly called with 4 4 for quads, and Watson showed A Q, drawing dead.

The inconsequential turn and river were the K and 7, and Cimpan doubled up to about 50,000 in chips. Watson is now on the short-stack with about 22,000.

Juanda Doubles Up, Marco Johnson Out, and Yevgeniy Timoshenko Takes a Hit

Marco Johnson moved all in for 10,600 under the gun, and John Juanda (pictured right) made the call from the cutoff. Yevgeniy Timoshenko reraised to 13,600, and Juanda reraised to 26,000. Timoshenko reraised all in, and Juanda made the all-in call. Their cards:

Timoshenko: J J
Juanda: K K
Johnson: 6 5

Board: A A 6 4 K

Juanda made a full house, and he doubled up on the hand to 150,000. Johnson was eliminated, and Timoshenko watched his chips fall to 45,000 on the hand.

Eric Baldwin Eliminated

On a flop of J 4 2, Tom Dwan bet 15,800, and Eric Baldwin (pictured left) raised to 37,000. Dwan made the call, and the turn fell 4. Dwan checked, and Baldwin moved all in for 60,000. Dwan made the call. Their cards:

Dwan: 7 4
Badlwin: A A

River: 6

Baldwin was eliminated on the hand, and Dwan grew his stack to 300,000.

Yevgeniy Timoshenko Doubles Up

Yevgeniy Timoshenko was all in preflop for 48,600, and John Juanda called him down. Their cards:

Timoshenko: A A
Juanda: A Q

Board: 10 9 2 J 9

Timoshenko doubled up on the hand to survive in the tournament.

Eric Hershler Takes the Chip Lead

On a flop of K J 4, Eric Hershler (pictured right) bet 10,000 from the big blind, and Darryll Fish raised an additional 16,200 from the hijack. Hershler called, and the 9 fell on the turn. Hershler checked, and Fish went into the tank before betting 38,800. Hershler made the call, and the 6 fell on the river.

Hershler checked, Fish bet 50,200, and Herhsler made the call. Fish turned over 2 2, and Hershler revealed K 10. Hershler won the hand, and he grew his stack to 350,000 to take the chip lead.

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