Johnny Landreth Leads 34 Players from Day 1b into Day 2 of the $2,000 Main Event at bestbet Jacksonville
Johnny Landreth of Lanett, Alabama leads a field of 34 from Day 1b into Day 2 of the $2,000 Main Event in the 2022 Winter Open at bestbet Jacksonville. The second and final opening flight attracted 239 entrants, which brings the final tally of the Main Event to 387 players for a total prize pool of $629,730.
The combined 55 players from Days 1a and 1b will meet on Sunday for Day 2, with the top 49 finishers guaranteed a min-cash of $3,566. Monday's big winner will take home $140,058.
Landreth is joined at the top of the leaderboard by Steve Idels, the Day 1a leader who built a commanding advantage in the late stages of Friday evening. Gavin Munroe, Adam Wells, Ben Scrogins, and Michael Scoma round out the top five chip counts from Day 1b.
Day 1b Top Ten Chip Counts
| Place | Name | Hometown | Chip Count | Day 2 Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Johnny Landreth | Lanett, Alabama | 464,000 | 93 |
| 2 | Gavin Munroe | Montgomery, Alabama | 368,000 | 74 |
| 3 | Adam Wells | Tallahassee, Florida | 314,000 | 63 |
| 4 | Ben Scrogins | Atlantic Beach, Florida | 297,000 | 59 |
| 5 | Michael Scoma | Clermont, Florida | 291,000 | 58 |
| 6 | Michael Melamed | Fort Washington, New York | 265,000 | 53 |
| 7 | Wilmer Chavira | Apopka, Florida | 249,000 | 50 |
| 8 | Jeff Klein | Savannah, Georgia | 242,000 | 48 |
| 9 | Mark Swain | Myrtle Beach, South Carolina | 236,000 | 47 |
| 10 | Carl Masters | Clarksville, Tennessee | 232,000 | 46 |
Day 1b Highlights
Cody Durden got the action started early when he made a gutsy call with pocket aces to leave Regina Hampton with crumbs. Hampton hung around for a while after she got some back in a clash with Kelly Slay, but she was unable to qualify for Day 2. Durden made a deep run in the day, but he bowed out near the end when he ran into the pocket jacks of Michael Scoma.
Scott Stewart returned to Day 1b to take another shot at defending his title, but he came up short when Zaw Ja Marip made a wheel to send him to the rail. Marip built a stack early, but also failed to qualify for Day 2.
Three-time WSOP bracelet winner John Cernuto made his way to the First Coast to take his shot. He didn't qualify for Day 2, but he did create some fireworks when he doubled through Thomas Jackson early in the day.
Toby Boas qualified for Day 2 after running well throughout the day. He took a pot from Andrew Brinkley with two pair. Boas will look to build on his impressive series that includes a win in Event #8: $1,000 NLH.
Other Day 2 qualifiers include Byron Kaverman, Greg Robinson, Joseph Scibelli, Cheryl "Tiger" Parker, and Jeffrey Trudeau.
Day 2 players will return at 12 p.m. on Sunday. Play will start in Level 15 with blinds at 3,000/5,000 with a 5,000 ante, and Levels will once again be 40 minutes long. The day will continue until eight players remain, and the Final Table will return on Monday night at 4 p.m. EST to play down to a winner on the bestbetLIVE stream.
Be sure to keep it with the PokerNews team all weekend long for live coverage the $2,000 Main Event from bestbet Jacksonville.