Team Negreanu consists of Eric Wasserson, David Benyamine, Mark Gregorich, and Negreanu himself.
After two days of the WSOP Tag Team Poker Championship, Team Negreanu is the chip leaders. From a field of 102 different tag teams, only 6 teams remain in the event.
The $10,000 Tag Team No-Limit Hold’em Championship is Event #2 on the Wolrld Series of Poker schedule this year. It is also the first open event, as the first event is available only to Las Vegas casino employees.
Due to its novel rules, the Tag Team event is a fan favorite. Each team consists of 2 or more poker players, who can substitute turns gambling with their chip stack. Tag team events have become popular on the poker circuit, with established teams playing at multiple events.
WSOP Event 2: Standings to Begin Day 3
Team Negreanu includes Eric Wasserson, David Benyamine, Mark Gregorich, and team captain Daniel Negreanu. They’ll occupy Seat 6 at the final table on Friday, June 2. Team Negreanu holds 1,498,000 chips, which is good for 75 big blinds.
Team Ajlouny includes David Fong, Mike McClain, and team captain Anthony Ajlouny. The team occupies Seat 2 and holds 932,000 chips, which is good for 47 big blinds.
Team Boeree and Team Mandavia
Team Boeree is a close third place, holding 929,000 chips. Team Boeree is a two-person team, including Igor Kurganov and Liv Boeree. It occupies Seat 5, while its 929k chips are good for 46 big blinds.
Team Mandavia currently sits in 4th place with 800,000 chips exactly. Team captain Ankush Mandavia and Joe Kuether are the team members. Their chip stack would pay for 40 big blinds, while they occupy Seat 1.
Team Jacobson and Team Gomez
Team Jacobson consists of Martin Jacobson and Mark Radoja, and it sits in 5th place at the start of Day 3. Team Jacobson occupies Seat 3 and hold 632,000 chips, which is enough for 32 big blinds.
The team which is short-stacked is Team Gomez, which holds only 287,000 chips. Team Gomez consists of Lander Lijo and team captain Javier Gomez. The team occupied seat 4 and has enough chips to pay for only 14 big blinds.
Famous Teammates in 2017 WSOP
Several teams combined professional poker players with famous athletes and celebrities. Team Gross consisted of Jeff Gross, Antonio Esfandiari, Brian Rast, and Michael Phelps. In fact, the team has been active in team poker for much of the year. Jeff Gross and Michael Phelps, the 23-time Gold Medal winner in Olympic swimming, are old friends and onetime roommates.
Michael Phelps has been playing poker in live events since 2008. His first World Series of Poker was in 2013. Though Phelps and his team represented the most famous combine in the event, they busted out in Day 2.
Team Polk, Team Staatz, and Team Tran
Team Polk, which included Doug Polk, Ryan Fee, Jason Mo, and Michael Finstein, was the leader after Day One of the event. They were not able to parlay the Day 1 momentum into a final table appearance, though.
Team Staats was the 2nd-place team after Day 1. The team consisted of Christopher Staats, Orlando Romero, and Roland Israelashvili. Team Tran, which included J.C. Tran, Nam Le, and Antonio Gutierrez, was in third place after Day One. Team Chidwick, consisting of Stephen Chidwick and Dan Smith, was in 4th place after Day 1.
Rise and Fall in WSOP Events
As the turnover from the end of Day 1 to the end of Day 2 show, poker events have wild swings of fortune. None of the chip leaders after the first day of competition ended up in the final six teams.
As for the chip leaders at the moment, Team Negreanu holds a nice advantage, but it is not insurmountable by any means. Several teams still have the chip stacks to put Team Negreanu in danger on one flop of the cards. Stay tuned for further updates.
