Day 2 of the Circuit Main Event at the luxurious Shinhwa World Hotel Jeju saw 60 hopefuls return from a field of 505 entries, all competing for a share of the generous $700,000 prize pool. After ten intense levels, Australia’s William Jia emerged as the chip leader, bagging an impressive 2,575,000 chips.
Jia is the only player above the two-million mark, but the competition remains fierce. Right behind him is American poker pro Stephen Song, who finished the day with 1,945,000 chips. Song, a seasoned player with over $9 million in live tournament winnings, said, “I fired six bullets in this one, but it finally paid off. I had a rough trip in Monte Carlo, so it’s nice… any final tables are always amazing.”
Final Table Lineup and Chip Counts
| Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huan Wen | China | 330,000 | 7 |
| 2 | Jiaming Zhao | China | 1,595,000 | 32 |
| 3 | Yiyu Zhou | China | 560,000 | 11 |
| 4 | Fangzhou Zhu | China | 1,850,000 | 37 |
| 5 | William Jia | Australia | 2,575,000 | 52 |
| 6 | Xuecong Wu | China | 1,820,000 | 36 |
| 7 | Weizheng Zhong | China | 1,350,000 | 27 |
| 8 | Jin Zeng | China | 605,000 | 12 |
| 9 | Stephen Song | United States | 1,945,000 | 39 |
Day 2 Highlights
The 60 players returning for Day 2 had already locked up at least double their buy-in, depending on their entry flight. With blinds reset to 2,500/5,000/5,000, there was plenty of room for maneuvering and deep runs.
Italian pro Raffaele Sorrentino started strong, tripling his stack early after winning a crucial race against WSOP bracelet winner Dong Chen and later knocking out Zehao Li. Not everyone had such fortune, though. Yunkyu Song, the WPT Player of the Year, suffered a tough beat to Huan Wen’s straight and was later eliminated after his ace-king couldn’t overcome Xuecong Wu’s pocket jacks.
Meanwhile, Stephen Song scored a vital double-up with queen-six, becoming the first player to cross the two-million chip threshold. However, his momentum was checked by Jia, who cracked Song’s pocket aces in a pivotal hand.
As Jia and Song traded big pots, notable players fell by the wayside, including Calvin Lee (40th, $2,400), Dong Chen (29th, $2,900), Renji Mao (27th, $2,900), Martin Sedlak (20th, $4,300), and Sorrentino (19th, $4,300), whose run ended when his queens lost to Weizheng Zhong’s aces.
With two tables left, Jia extended his lead by eliminating Yang Liu with a set of eights. Shortly after, Song made a sharp call with third pair to bust Nevan Chang, keeping himself firmly in contention.
Jia ultimately secured his top spot by knocking out circuit founder Quan Zhou on the final-table bubble. Jia’s five-four overcame Zhou’s queen-nine, finding a crucial four on the river to end the day’s play.
What’s Next
The final nine will return tomorrow (May 16) at noon local time to play down to a champion. Action resumes with 36:16 left on the clock at 25,000/50,000 blinds and a 50,000 big blind ante. Each finalist receives five extra time bank cards, and levels will last 40 minutes each.
With $120,000 up top and the prestigious title at stake, the remaining contenders are sure to bring their best game. Stay tuned for updates as the first-ever Circuit Main Event champion is crowned!
