The energy at Aspers Casino just kept building on Saturday, as PartyPoker’s return to the live scene continued to deliver in a big way. Day 2 of the Main Event was packed with action, bringing bigger fields, bigger prizes, and bigger moments. When the dust settled, the prize pool had ballooned to a massive £216,703 — with £38,408 waiting up top for the eventual winner.
A total of 124 players came back for Day 2, and the tournament didn’t waste any time getting into gear. Eliminations came fast and furious, especially in the early levels, and the feature table livestream added even more excitement as players rotated in and out throughout the day.
Fast and Furious Start
Coverage picked up right from the jump as players barreled toward the bubble. Despite a 4 PM start (giving everyone a little recovery time after Friday night’s players party), the action was relentless. Aleks was the first to bust on the stream, coming in short-stacked and finding no miracle to save him.
At the feature table, Will Kassouf wasted no time making noise. Starting with under 100K, he pulled out his classic speech play and savvy moves to chip up, finding a big double after chasing down a gutshot straight.
Drama Around the Bubble
As the money bubble crept closer, the pace slowed, but the tension ramped up. Danilo Sato made a huge river call to double with a full house, and John Friel survived a brutal queens-versus-aces cooler thanks to a miracle queen on the turn, drawing gasps from the room.
Cassandra Yong was another standout, winning a massive hand at the feature table when her flopped two pair held up against pocket jacks. After Yuet Wong busted, the bubble officially burst, locking up a £1,000 min-cash for the survivors.
Big Moves, Big Stacks
From there, it was a sprint to the finish. Alina Costea scored a dramatic double with ace-king against jacks, while Ben Miller crossed the million-chip mark heading into the final break.
As play wound down, players scrapped hard to make it to Day 3. Tristan Chaplin tripled up late but fell just short, while Kassouf, Getnet Kassa, and Aleks Georgiev bagged some of the biggest stacks in the room.
When the bags finally came out, just 27 players remained.
Top of the Counts Heading into Day 3
William Kassouf leads the way after a huge Day 2 run, bagging up 1,988,000 and 83 big blinds. Right behind him are some big stacks and even bigger storylines, with several players poised to make a deep run at the £38,408 top prize.
Here’s how the top of the leaderboard shapes up:
| Player | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|
| William Kassouf | 1,988,000 | 83 |
| Annon Annon | 1,603,000 | 67 |
| Huseyin Houssein | 1,535,000 | 64 |
| Getnet Kassa | 1,486,000 | 62 |
| Annon Annon | 1,477,000 | 62 |
| Matthew Staple | 1,476,000 | 62 |
| Yong Cassandra | 1,228,000 | 51 |
| Georgiev Aleksandar | 1,207,000 | 50 |
| Cosmin Staicu | 1,171,000 | 49 |
| Adam Wright | 1,037,000 | 43 |
Play will resume midway through Level 21 with blinds at 12,000/24,000 and a 24,000 big blind ante.
We’ll be back bringing you all the action live starting at 2 PM — and by the end of the day, we’ll crown a brand new PartyPoker LIVE Main Event champion. Stay tuned!
