Jonathan Strange Leads Final 59 Players In CPPT Bestbet Main Event
May 11, '19
With two starting flights of the $1,100 no-limit hold’em Card Player Poker Tour bestbet Jacksonville main event in the books, Jonathan Strange leads the remaining 59 players that will return on Sunday at noon for Day 2.
After 140 entries on Friday’s Day 1A, there were another 189 entries on Saturday’s Day 1B. That brought the total field size to 329 players and prize pool of $319,130, well surpassing the $200,000 guarantee.
There were 24 players that survived the first starting flight and another 35 that made it through Day 1B. The top 42 spots will finish in the money and guarantee themselves a cash of at least $1,640, but they will all have their sights set on the $68,562 first place money.
Strange finished Day 1B with the chip lead and 354,000 in chips. He will take the overall chip lead into Day 2, surpassing Day 1A chip leader John O’Neal, who finished Day 1A with 303,000.
Joining Strange at the top of the Day 1B chip counts are Danny Kaminsky (273,000), Men Nguyen (253,000), Mark Hodge (238,000), John Sanchez (237,000) and Damian Radanov (234,000). Other notables to survive the second flight include Dylan Drazen, defending Champion Ben Diebold, Eddy Mroczkowski and Andy Pokrivnak.
Diebold, who took home $75,665 for winning this event last year, scored a knockout with A-10 against 10-8 just before the end of the night to finish with a healthy 128,000 and will come into Sunday with a healthy 128,000.
Over the day’s scheduled 14 levels of play, plenty of familiar faces hit the rail. Jeffrey Trudeau, Hunter Cichy, TK Miles, Nicholas Raio and Peter Le were among the notable Day 1B casualties.
When cards get int the air on Sunday, the money bubble will be the first thing on the players’ minds, just 17 spots away from guaranteeing themselves a payday. The next step will be making the final table. Day 2 will continue with 40-minute levels until the final table is reached.
At that point, play will conclude for the day and the final nine players will put chips in a bag for the night. Those players that make it through Sunday’s action will come back on Monday at 2 p.m. to play down to a winner on the live streamed final table.
Here is a look at the complete Day 2 chip counts:
| Rank |
Player |
Chip Count |
| 1 |
Jonathan Strange |
354,000 |
| 2 |
John O’Neal |
303,000 |
| 3 |
Danny Kaminsky |
273,000 |
| 4 |
Men Nguyen |
253,000 |
| 5 |
Mark Hodge |
238,000 |
| 6 |
John Sanchez |
237,000 |
| 7 |
Damian Radanov |
234,000 |
| 8 |
Shawn Bowen |
233,000 |
| 9 |
Thad McNulty |
226,000 |
| 10 |
Dale James |
202,000 |
| 11 |
Joshua Gerjevic |
198,000 |
| 12 |
Dustin Nelson |
193,000 |
| 13 |
Dylan Drazen |
193,000 |
| 14 |
James Brown |
189,000 |
| 15 |
Ken Baker |
189,000 |
| 16 |
Ronald Parker |
182,500 |
| 17 |
Jose De La Cruz |
182,000 |
| 18 |
Derek Bowers |
177,500 |
| 19 |
Maurice Hawkins |
177,500 |
| 20 |
Ben Diebold |
171,000 |
| 21 |
Yi Li |
167,000 |
| 22 |
Matthew Wright |
165,000 |
| 23 |
Henry Hull |
161,000 |
| 24 |
Tan Nguyen |
150,000 |
| 25 |
Phuong Ta |
143,000 |
| 26 |
Michael Booth |
141,000 |
| 27 |
Maheshwar Linga |
138,000 |
| 28 |
Mac Johnson |
132,000 |
| 29 |
Matthew Zimmerman |
130,000 |
| 30 |
Brett Bader |
121,000 |
| 31 |
Gary Allen |
121,000 |
| 32 |
Tyler Phillips |
114,500 |
| 33 |
Diane Casino |
111,800 |
| 34 |
Ben Scrogins |
111,000 |
| 35 |
Eddy Mroczkowski |
111,000 |
| 36 |
Jason Like |
110,000 |
| 37 |
Brenda Miller |
108,000 |
| 38 |
Alan Phillips |
103,000 |
| 39 |
Andy Pokrivnak |
103,000 |
| 40 |
Ronnie Givens |
100,000 |
| 41 |
Perry Johnston |
95,000 |
| 42 |
Juwan Colbert |
94,000 |
| 43 |
Nestor Aguilero |
93,000 |
| 44 |
Mark Wiser |
92,000 |
| 45 |
TJ Doty |
86,000 |
| 46 |
William O’Neal |
84,000 |
| 47 |
Mark Linsenbergler |
83,000 |
| 48 |
Larry St. John |
77,800 |
| 49 |
Manuel Lopez |
77,000 |
| 50 |
Marvin Kizgin |
70,000 |
| 51 |
Ken Taffaro |
64,000 |
| 52 |
Timothy Forsberg |
58,000 |
| 53 |
Bennie Hoover |
54,000 |
| 54 |
Jonah Miller |
50,000 |
| 55 |
Robert Rini |
49,000 |
| 56 |
Talesh Patel |
47,000 |
| 57 |
David DiBernardi |
46,000 |
| 58 |
Marlon Nonales |
37,000 |
| 59 |
Harry Rosenblum |
30,000 |
Player Tags: Jonathan Strange
Jonathan Strange Pulling Away From The Pack
May 11, '19
Jonathan Strange raised from early position and the player in the big blind moved all in for about 40,000. Strange called.
Strange showed A
A
and was on the right side of a cold deck against the big blind’s AK.
The board ran out 998
33 and Strange didn’t have any sort of a sweat to win the pot and eliminate a player. He’s the runaway chip leader at this point and the only player with more than 200,000 at this point.
Jonathan Strange – 265,000
Player Tags: Jonathan Strange
Mac Johnson Eliminated By Jonathan Strange
May 11, '19
Five players took a flop of J22. The player in early position checked, as did the player in middle position before Mac Johnson bet 2,200 from the lojack.
Jonathan Strange raised to 5,200 from the hijack, the cutoff, folded, so did the first two players that checked, and Johnson called.
The turn was the 9
and Johnson checked. Strange bet 13,000 and Johnson took a few minutes in the tank before calling all in for slightly less. Strange turned over QQ and Johnson cringed before tabling J-9.
Both players had two pair, but Strange’s was bigger. The river was the A and Strange won the pot to eliminate Johnson just before the end of the level. Johnson still has plenty of time to re-enter if he chooses to.
Jonathan Strange – 48,000
Mac Johnson – Eliminated
Player Tags: Jonathan Strange
Jonathan Strange Eliminated In 37th Place ($1,640)
May 12, '19
Jonathan Strange got his last chips in with the AQ up against Talesh Patel’s QQ.
The board came down J9984 and STrange was knocked out in 37th pllce ($1,640).
Patel chipped up to 315,000 after the hand.
Player Tags: Jonathan Strange
