Anand RathiChip CountsDay 2Level 22 · 10,000/20,000 (20,000)9 of 359 left
Natural8 Open Main Event Final 9 Players
From 359 entries, just nine players remain in the hunt for the Natural8 Open Main Event title after Day 2 brought another round of coolers, swings, eliminations, and deep runs. The finalists are now one step away from the NT$ 845,504 top prize, the biggest cut of the NT$ 5,117,904 prize pool.
TableReporter estimates
Payouts
1—NT$845,504
2—NT$597,000
3—NT$390,000
4—NT$280,000
5—NT$211,800
6—NT$179,000
7—NT$150,000
8—NT$123,000
9—NT$100,000
With the final 9 players established, Day 2 of the Natural8 Open Main Event concluded. The players return tomorrow, Monday, August 24 at 11:00 AM for the last dash to victory.
Relive some of the day's highlights via the livestream on the Players Series YouTube channel or scroll down for the stories.
For the payouts, click here.
Day 2 Recap
Zhan Xi Guo emerged as the massive chip leader after a late takedown sent him soaring to the top of the counts.
Already third in chips entering Day 2, Zhan made his move as the field approached the final two tables, eliminating Kossonogi Ori in 17th place to take command before sending Chia Lin Huang out in 14th.
Kossonogi OriNot done yet, Zhan's biggest boost came at the final table bubble. He eliminated Yi Chang Ho in 10th place after turning the higher two pair to bag a towering 140 big blinds. He takes pole position into the final title race with a 56 big blind cushion against his closest rival.
Before Zhan's late takeover, the lead changed hands numerous times throughout the day. Do Yun Ku entered with the largest stack and immediately picked up where he left off, extending his advantage early with a string of eliminations. He closed with 78 big blinds, third in the pecking order just below Kai Hung Hu with 84 big blinds.
Other big stories came from players who took very different routes to the final table. Anand Rathi, who qualified through a NT$ 4,000 buy-in satellite, continued to stretch his small investment into an increasingly valuable run. At one point he was down to 11 big blinds when he found a timely double with pocket queens.
One of Rathi's biggest scares came when he shoved with top pair, only for Xiang Sheng Tham to tank and eventually fold top pair top kicker. Rathi then eliminated Anton Widjaya in 11th place with a flopped straight over trips to bag up 59 big blinds.
Anton Widjaya
Then there's Kazuki Fukuda whose run nearly ended before Day 2 even began. During the Flight C bubble, Fukuda was reduced to just three big blinds and had to fight his way back to survive the flight. Tonight, that near-bubble exit has turned into a seat at the final table and a shot at the title. One of his takedowns was when he squeezed out Rathi to isolate and rail Ng Ren-Xian .
Ng Ren-XianUndisputedly the most active player at the final two tables was Po Yu Chen, who entered multiple pots every orbit. Sometimes he had the goods, other times a bluff cost him chips. His last boost came from eliminating Dicky Siu Hang Tsang in 12th place on a shocking brutal catch.
Day 2 Fallouts
Among the Day 2 fallouts were several notable players. Tung Wing Wong's hot streak - High Roller Megastack champion and N8 Open Super High Roller runner up - was stopped abruptly, falling on the first deal of the day.
Hon Leung Ip - PSC III Natural8 Open Main Event runner-up - could not find his way out of the short stack zone and met his end in 36th place.
Natural8 Open Super High Roller champion, Cherkashin Andrei, nosedived in a hand against Kossonogi to eventually exit in 29th place. For Man Hin Cheung he ran into a cooler with 9♦9♣ overpair dominated by Ku's J♦J♣ higher pocket pair to fall in 23rd place.
Cherkashin AndreiMore action below, scroll down for some of the day's highlights
Filed by Tricia David
