3M for 3K Recap Day 2: 45 players remaining, Mark Velasquez with the lead

PASAY CITY, Philippines—When the smoke cleared from the fireworks in Day 2 of Mikes Millionaire Maker, the action was halted at Level 21 (6,000/12,000 with 1k antes).

With 72 places paid, the short stacks made their desperate efforts to chip up. And while some fought their way back, many were waylaid and became confined to the sidelines for good as the wars on the felt raged on in this PhP3,000,000 guaranteed event.

At Level 19, the intensity reached fever-pitch as the bubble neared. It wasn’t long before Luke Pangan—the third placer in the inaugural 2M for 2K version—busted out in 73rd place and the rest of the field applauded as part of the tension was finally over.

Mark Velasquez amassed the biggest the biggest haul of the proceedings with 848,000 in chips—built well from his above average stack of 135,000 he brought in from the Day 1C “Regular” session.

BJ Perez locked up second with 615,000 while erstwhile chipleader Raymond Basto—who swept the Cebu qualifiers—still showed a marked improvement with 543,000 in chips.

Among the notable names still in the hunt are Alan Tsang of Hong Kong, former Philippine champion Martin Corpuz and Korea’s Myeong Hwa Park.

With the remaining players now guaranteed only PhP7,800, it will be a monumental struggle to inch closer to the bigger cash and realize their dreams of being the next poker millionaire.

Here is the complete list of the final 45 combatants for the 3M for 3K: