Photo Recap: Day 2 of WPT Southern Poker Championship

By BJ Nemeth

Day 2 of the WPT Southern Poker Championship began with 144 players, and after five levels, the field had reached 66. The top 27 players will finish in the money, and the money bubble will burst on Tuesday.

There were five players who finished the day with more than 200,000 in chips to top the leaderboard:

1. Kevin Elias – 229,900
2. Jordan Smith – 217,000
3. Ryan Hughes – 211,400
4. Lee Markholt – 210,800
5. Vitor Coelho – 209,900

A few notables finished near the top, including Gavin Smith (8th in chips with 190,100), and defending champion Hoyt Corkins (11th in chips with 166,900). For the rest of the story, check out our photographic look back at Day 2 of the WPT Southern Poker Championship:

Jason Mercier grinded through Day 2 without ever amassing many chips, though he still survived to Day 3 with a little less than 20 big blinds.

Mike Sexton (standing left) and Gavin Smith check out the field early on Day 2. Gavin entered the day second in chips, and he finished the day in the top 10. Sexton didn’t play in this event due to a scheduling conflict, though he did play in the $2,500 heads-up no-limit hold’em event that started today.

Jonathan Little began the day ninth in chips, but lost momentum early when he ran pocket kings into aces. During play, Little wrote this on Twitter: "This might be the most depressing day of poker I’ve played in a while." But Little won a race in the last level to double his short stack, and finished with a respectable-but-still-below-average 63,600. At the end of the day, Little wrote, "I suppose I am happy with the day, all things considered."

Royal Flush Girl Melanie Iglesias mocks her own banner in the tournament area by jokingly picking her nose. In the time since our last stop on the World Poker Tour, Melanie was voted by fans as Maxim Magazine’s Hometown Hottie. Though they probably weren’t voting on pictures like this one.

Brent Roberts (left) studies Ben Klier after Klier bet the rivrer on a board of [QhQs4s5s6s]. Roberts tanked for a few minutes before folding, and Klier took the pot. Klier was one of the big stories of the day, beginning in 142nd place out of 144 players with just 5,350 in chips, but catching a rush early to contend for the chip lead most of the day. As for Roberts, he was eliminated in the last level of the day.

Kara Scott had a rough day, treading water with a very short stack and never able to get much going.

Why are there only two players at this table? Well, it isn’t the WPT Southern Poker Championship, but one of the matches in the $2,500 heads-up no-limit hold’em event that began on Monday. Tom Braband (left), who final tabled the WPT Legends of Poker back in August, asked Mike Sexton (right) if the episode (which hasn’t aired yet) looks good. Sexton said it did, and seemed genuinely excited about the new format changes for the World Poker Tour on television this season.

ClubWPT qualifier Terry Hammock records an exit interview after his elimination in the middle of Day 2. Hammock was short-stacked when he shoved with pocket queens, and found himself in a race against A-K. A king on the turn ended his tournament, but he said he had a great time in his first major tournament.

Ben Klier (right) was having a great day until this moment, when he flopped two pair with [As8s], only to watch Rusty Moorer (standing, left) catch a queen on the turn to beat him with [AdQs]. This pot knocked Klier down to just 6,500 in chips, but as another player pointed out, "Well, at least you’ve got more than you started with." Klier bounced back a bit to finish with 23,300 (60th in chips with 66 players left).

It took a while for Rusty Moorer to stack his chips after doubling up through Ben Klier, but it’s a task he seemed to enjoy. Moorer finished the day with 161,100, good for 12th in chips.

Lee Markholt (right) had the highest recorded chip count of the day, building up to 269,000 in the second-to-last level. Markholt gave some of those chips back to the table, finishing the day fourth in chips with 210,800. Jordan Smith (left) passed Markholt in the final level after winning a huge pot (three-way all-in). Smith enters Day 3 ranked second in chips with 217,000. The chipleader is Kevin Elias (not pictured) with 229,900.

Kara Scott hung onto her chips as long as she could, but was eliminated late in the day. But even a tough day at the table isn’t enough to dampen her overall mood. 

Day 3 begins tomorrow (Tuesday) at 12:00 pm CT. Return to WorldPokerTour.com for continuing live coverage, including hand updates, frequent chip counts, video interviews with Kimberly Lansing, and the daily recap show starring Jessica Welman and BJ Nemeth.