Aditya Agarwal Makes Day 2 of 2019 Borgata Winter Poker Open Championship Event; Joey Couden Takes Overall Chip Lead

The second flight of the $3 Million GTD WPT Borgata Winter Poker Open (WPO) Championship kicked off on January 28 gathering a massive field of 780 entries. The player pool has now reached 1,204 entries falling slightly short of the record 1,313 entries that was set at the 2011 WPT Borgata Poker Open. With late registration open till the first two levels of Day 2, there is still an outside chance that the attendance record will be overcome.

Day 1B saw several top pros in action including Indian poker stalwart and PokerStars Team pro Aditya Agarwal. The poker icon had a great start in the event and has made it through to Day 2 with a workable stack of 89,600.

Joey Couden, who recently finished fourth at the WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown for $251,523, emerged as the chip leader with 321,600 in chips. He is trailed by Michael Smith (254,000) and Alex Aqel (246,700), who are a distant second and third in chips on the Day 1B leaderboard.

Couden will lead a total of 665 survivors (219 from Day 1A and 446 from Day 1B) to Day 2 which takes place later today.

Over the next few days the event will play down to the final six players, and the televised final table will be held in Las Vegas on March 13 at the HyperX Esports Arena at Luxor.

Day 1B Recap

Day 1B culminated with 446 players left standing from a starting field of 780 runners. The two-day total field size is up to 1,204, creating a prize pool worth more than $3.85 Million.

India’s Aditya Agarwal was seen in action in the event and kept his rail back home updated about his run via constant tweets.

Playing borgata wpt 3500, 40k SS at 200-400-400

— Aditya Agarwal (@AdiAgarwal_int) January 28, 2019

65k at 300-600-600, 2 lvls left in the day

— Aditya Agarwal (@AdiAgarwal_int) January 28, 2019

89,600 to end day 1b, restart tomorrow at 500-1k-1k

— Aditya Agarwal (@AdiAgarwal_int) January 29, 2019

Agarwal’s previous best finish at the event was back in 2014 when he placed 35^th in the WPT Borgata Championship Re-Entry for $15,109 (₹10.69 Lakhs). Agarwal accumulated a stack of 89,600 for Day 2 and will be looking to make a deep run in the event.

The biggest stack of the day was bagged by Joey Couden who collected 321,600 in chips, also becoming the overall chip leader in the process.

When asked about his stack, Couden said, “I feel like I did my job today. I had a lot of big hands. I had kings like six or seven times. I made probably a dozen flushes.” As for Day 2, he said, “I’m just going to try and take what comes to me.”

Other notables who bagged big stacks on Day 1B include Ness Reilly (194,500), Eric Siegel (193,000), WSOP Main Event champion Joe McKeehen (126,800), Curt Kohlberg (119,000), and WPT Champions Club member Bobby Oboodi (142,200).

Top 10 Chip Counts At the End of Day 1B

1. Joey Couden – 321,600

2. Michael Smith – 254,000

3. Alex Aqel – 246,700

4. Ness Reilly – 194,500

5. Eric Siegel – 193,000

6. Brandon Hall – 157,200

7. Bobby Oboodi – 142,200

8. Andrew Kelsall – 130,000

9. Joe McKeehen – 126,800

10. Curt Kohlberg – 119,000

Content & Images courtesy: World Poker Tour/theborgata.com

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