Faraz Jaka Leads WPT World Championship Heading Into Day 3

Published on April 20th, 2010 3:23 am EST

Faraz Jaka, also known as "The-Toilet 0" on Full Tilt Poker and Pokerstars, is leading the WPT World Championship after two full days of play.

Jaka managed to finish Day 2 with nearly 600k in chips, edging out Day 1 chip leader Shawn Buchanan for the chip lead heading into Tuesday's action.

Only 198 players decided to participate in the WPT World Championship this year, meaning that the final prize pool is dramatically lower than in previous years.

In 2007, a total of 639 players turned up to play in this event, creating a prize pool of nearly $15.5 million that paid the eventual winner (Carlos Mortensen) nearly $4 million. Three years later and the total number of entrants is down to 198, with the first place winner receiving $1.53 million.

There are currently 98 players left in the event after Day 2. The top 18 spots will pay, meaning that we are still a long ways off from bursting the money bubble.

Here are the top five stacks heading into Day 3 on Tuesday:

Faraz Jaka - 597,100
Shawn Buchanan - 596,600
Brandon Cantu - 520,000
Justin Bonomo - 503,600
Joshua Gould - 500,000

Some of the well-known players who are also still alive in this event include:

David Benyamine - 230,000
Carlos Mortensen - 210,000
Phil Hellmuth - 210,000
Scotty Nguyen - 115,000
John Juanda - 110,000
Erik Seidel - 95,000
Howard Lederer - 95,000

Some of the names that busted on Day 2:

Tom Dwan
Phil Ivey
Paul Wasicka
Sorel Mizzi

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A few notes:

-Carlos Mortensen would set the record for most WPT titles (4) with a victory in this event

-Carlos Mortensen would also become the first ever player to win two WPT World Championship titles if he were to win this event

-Phil Hellmuth is still alive in this tournament and is looking for his first ever victory in a WPT event

Day 3 will get under way on Tuesday afternoon (local time).


Photo: GreasieWheels.com

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Filed Under: Tournament Results