Published first on PokerNews.Com
The 2013 World Poker Tour bestbet Open continued Sunday with Day 2 from Jacksonville, Florida. The remaining 129 of a 351-player field were looking finish in the top 36 and secure part of the $1,123,204 prize pool. After nine levels of play, only 25 players remained with David Diaz best-positioned to capture the top prize of $321,521.
Day 2 Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | David Diaz | 1,705,000 |
| 2 | Michael Linster | 816,000 |
| 3 | Benjamin Zamani | 725,000 |
| 4 | David “Doc” Sands | 692,000 |
| 5 | Tim Reilly | 591,000 |
| 6 | John Dollinger | 537,000 |
| 7 | David Bell | 524,000 |
| 8 | Raj Vohra | 501,000 |
| 9 | Chad Deberry | 491,000 |
| 10 | Aaron Lucas | 477,000 |
Action recommenced in Level 11 with the blinds at 600/1,200/200, and it didn’t take long for the casualties to mount. Matt Glantz, Timothy Miles, Matt Ezrol, John Spadavecchia, David Simonini, Harrison Gimbel, Brian Hawkins and Allen Kessler were among those who fell in the early going.
According to the WPT Live Reporting Team, Kessler’s demise came in Level 12 (800/1,600/200) when he moved all in from the hijack for roughly 15,000 with the 
only to run into the 
of Steven McKoy in the cutoff. Kessler was in a bad spot, and according to the PokerNews Odds Calculator he had just a 28.19% chance of surviving the hand. The 
flop saw that number drop to 14.34%, and the 
knocked it down even further to 6.82%. Kessler needed an ace on the river to keep his tournament hopes alive, but it literally wasn’t in the cards as the 
blanked on the river.
In Level 14 (1,200/2,400/400) Ian O’Hara won a prize when Alan Percal was eliminated from the tournament. O’Hara, the last player under the age of 21 still standing after Percal busted, won a customized surfboard. He was, however, eliminated a short time later.
The eliminations continued to mount over the next few levels as Jonathan Little, Joe Serock, John Racener, Ben Hamnett, Brian Hastings, Aaron Massey, Will “The Thrill” Failla, Tommy Vedes, Shannon Shorr, Matt Waxman, Kevin Calenzo and Talesh Patel were among the notables who hit the rail.
Patel actually had the unfortunate distinction of being the bubble boy. With 37 players left in Level 19 (4,000/8,000/1,000), Patel got his last 11,000 in preflop and received four callers, and they all checked it down as the board ran out 
. Patel revealed the 
for a pair of jacks, but it was no good as Tim Reilly rolled over the 
for a straight. Patel left empty-handed, and the remaining 36 players were guaranteed at least $7,138.
It was in that same level that Diaz vaulted to the top of the chip counts. With the board reading 
, John Dollinger bet an unknown amount from the small blind and Diaz made it 142,000 more to go from the cutoff. Dollinger called, only to muck when Diaz rolled over the 
for a full house. With that, Dollinger relinquished the chip lead to Diaz.
Eleven more players busted in Level 19 before the night came to an end, including Bolivar Palacios (36th – $7,138), Ray Weaver (31st – $7,138), Hank Sitton (30th – $7,138), Ebony Kenney (29th – $7,138), David Tuthill (28th – $7,138) and Robert Sutliff (26th – $8,236).
Although many notables fell, quite a few remain in contention, including Matt Salsberg (405,000), the current WPT Season XI Player of the Year points leader and WPT Grand Prix de Paris champ. Others remaining include Barry Hutter (294,000), Matt Giannetti (275,000); Daniel Buzgon (235,000); Anthony Spinella (208,000); Sam Soverel (204,000); and Tony Cousineau (201,000).
Day 3 begins at 12 p.m. ET on Monday and the final 25 will play down to the final table of six. Stay tuned to PokerNews as we bring you daily recaps at the conclusion of each day in Jacksonville.
In the meantime, check out the following interview with David Diaz, who finished as the ClubWPT Player of the Day:
Photos courtesy of WorldPokerTour.com.
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