The first payouts of the WSOP Paradise Super Main Event highlighted an exciting Day 2A at the Atlantis Resort in The Bahamas, but not before another 303 last-minute entries joined the field over three final levels of registration.
The new total of 1,550 would see 233 players make the money, with a $50,000 min-cash up for grabs. In the end it was Czech star Martin Kabrhel with the Day 2A chip lead, carrying the standard for the flight's 109 players who will return for Day 3.
Before they would get to the money, though, there was plenty of drama for a pair of high-profile players.
Chip and a chair for Haxton
The old ‘leave one chip behind’ play brought some early excitement as Isaac Haxton found himself in that situation, down to a single 5,000 chip. He then displayed the benefits of that strategy with a series of timely double-ups, getting him back over 1,000,000 and nearly 30 big blinds.
After a hand that saw his two pair counterfeited on the river, leaving him again with a nub of just four big blinds, Haxton managed to rebuild again, this time, getting his stack to over 2,000,000 and 40 big blinds at the 25,000 / 50,000 (50,000) level.
But Haxton’s fortune would finally run out as at 40,000 / 80,000 (80,000), he got 1,200,000 in for 15 big blinds with 
from the lojack and was called by 
in the hijack. An ace on the flop and a clean runout from there brought the end of Haxton’s spin-up 20 players from the money.
Negreanu rides the roller coaster
Daniel Negreanu had an adventure of a day, which we chronicled from the beginning. After needing to fire two more bullets before registration closed, it appeared that Kid Poker was going to make the money and earn back some of the $200,000 that he had spent on his eight buy-ins.
Unfortunately, after an ace-king versus ace-ten confrontation left him short, he got his final five big blinds in with pocket eights, but ran into a pair of tens, which held up, sending Negreanu over to the $10,000 8-game tournament less than 20 spots from the money of the Super Main Event.
Bubble trouble for Foxen?
The bubble came soon after, and after a few hands were played before 8 pm, with three players still needing to bust, the remaining 236 players were sent on dinner break. About an hour of hand-for-hand play was still needed when they got back to get the players into the money, but not before some high drama for Kristen Foxen.
Foxen was down to just over one big blind on the stone bubble when she committed her final chips.
Fortunately, she had the goods with a pair of aces against her opponent’s king-queen and was able to hold, while another all-in was run at an adjacent table.
At that table, Manuel Pochat was all-in for a much bigger number with over 20 big blinds committed with 
versus Vladas Tamasauskas, who held 
. The board came 
, sending Pochat to the rail after the unfortunate cooler.
Casino Royale indeed!
From there, the short stacks got their chips in, and the $50,000 payouts began, including to Foxen and Ramin Hajiyev, the player who eliminated Negreanu.
Michael Mizrachi, Stephen Chidwick, Mustapha Kanit, Christoph Vogelsang, Patrick Antonius, and streamer Frankie C were also among those to fall, though they’ll have the opportunity to try again in the two remaining starting flights.
It was also the time for the chip leaders to continue accumulating, with several big names having built big throughout the day.
Kristen’s husband, and fellow high-stakes crusher Alex Foxen, and 2003 World Champion Chris Moneymaker maintained their top ten stacks by the next break, but it was five-time bracelet winner Martin Kabrhel who truly surged, sitting on 23,500,000 with 160 players remaining, over 8,000,000 more than his closest competitor.
It wasn't before the standard drama from Kabrhel, who squared off with Kanit earlier in the day after the tanking got out of hand. Kanit doubled through Kabrhel, loudly, after several members of the staff arrived to deescalate the confrontation:
Kabrhel would later go on to bag the chip lead with 22,675,000. Meanwhile, Foxen (10,425,000 - 23rd) and Moneymaker (5,550,000 - 67th) would slide out of the top ten, replaced by several other notables, including Day 1A chip leader Leonardo Song-Carrillo (16,300,000), and bracelet winner earlier in the series, Daniel Rezaei (13,850,000).
WSOP Paradise Super Main Event Day 2A chip leaders:
- Martin Kabrhel - 22,675,000
- Tomas Kubaliak - 19,100,000
- Evgenii Akimov - 18,450,000
- Ali Abdulzahra - 17,675,000
- Leonardo Song-Carrillo - 16,300,000
- Julian Lozano - 16,125,000
- Alexandros Theologis - 15,800,000
- Leonard Maue - 13,900,000
- Daniel Rezaei - 13,850,000
- Ryuta Nakai - 13,775,000
* - Complete Day 2A chip counts are available in the WSOP+ app
Back to the beginning
Just after 2 am ET, with the field down to its final 7%, bags were brought out for those final 109 players to advance their chips to Tuesday's Day 3, when they'll be joined by players competing over the next three days.
Day 1C runs tomorrow at noon, with Day 1D to follow on Sunday. Players surviving those days will move on to Day 2B on Monday, with a final three hours of registration available then. Across those flights, 850 more entries are needed to reach the $60,000,000 guarantee, and with what's been a tremendous first three days of the Super Main Event, that number is looking good to hit.
Images courtesy of Miguel Cortes/WSOP.
