On Day 2 of the tournament series, team 888poker, Nick Eastwood, Vivian Saliba, Aaron Barone, and Lucia Navarro, returned to the tables at the Horseshoe and Paris casinos in Las Vegas. From brutal cooler eliminations to massive stack-building manoeuvres, Day 2 provided a raw look into what it truly takes to survive the most prestigious tournament on Earth.
Outlasting thousands of runners each day takes more than waiting for premium hands. It requires emotional fortitude, a sharp, analytical mind, and the guts to make bold plays under pressure.
Check out how Team888 fared on Day 1 of the WSOP Main Event in the video below:
The Early Grind: Developing a Rhythm on Day 2
Entering Day 2, our players arrived with vastly different chip stacks and mindsets. For some, the day represents an opportunity to play aggressively and build on their already accumulated chips. For others, it’s a gruelling battle of the short-stack, in which every decision could mean the difference between surviving to the next level and an early exit.
Aaron Barone entered Day 2 with a calm, disciplined approach. Describing Day 2 as relatively "chill" compared to the stressful environment of Day 1. Aaron focused on taking calculated shots and grinding it out, while steadily increasing his chip stack. Early on, he managed to build his Day 2 starting stack of 76,000 up to 108,000 by picking up small pots and playing solid post-flop poker.
Meanwhile, Nick Eastwood started the day with 56,300 chips, a workable stack that called for careful, controlled play. Unfortunately, Nick encountered immediate resistance. During the opening levels, he encountered relentless 3-bets every time he attempted to open a pot, forcing him to fold repeatedly and bleeding his stack down to 41,000 chips.
Lucia Navarro and Vivian Saliba experienced similar swings.
- Vivi, starting with below-average stack, managed to climb up to 60,000 early on before taking hits that reduced her stack to 24,000.
- Lucia started strong by winning a juicy 3-bet pot, only to suffer a downward slide that left her floating around 60 big blinds for much of the afternoon.
Strategic Adjustments and High-Stakes Bluffs
When facing aggressive opponents or a cold run of cards, players must rely on creativity in hands rather than waiting for pocket Aces.
During a break at the end of Level 6, Nick sought advice from team ambassador Aaron Barone after feeling frustrated by his table's aggressive dynamics. Aaron reminded him that around 40 big blinds is still a powerful position in a deep-stacked tournament like the Main Event, giving him plenty of manoeuvrability to call 3-bets, double-barrel, or execute post-flop bluffs.
Aaron put that exact advice into practice during Level 7. Facing a pre-flop raise while holding J♠️10♠️, Aaron called to see a flop of 9♣️8♦️ 3♣️, flopping an open-ended straight draw. After a check-check on the flop and calling a small turn bet on the 2♠️, the river brought the A♣️, completing a potential flush.
Recognising that his opponent's betting line was capped, Aaron converted his Jack-high into a strong-looking river bluff raise. His opponent folded quickly, propelling Aaron’s stack up to 97,300 chips.
The Agony of the Cooler: Heartbreak for Eastwood and Saliba
No matter how well a player executes their strategy, tournament poker is unforgiving: the cards don't always cooperate. Day 2 proved to be the end of the road for both Nick Eastwood and Vivian Saliba in heartbreaking fashion.
Nick’s elimination occurred in Level 8 in a live-or-die hand. Holding A♠️A♥️, Nick 3-bet an aggressive opener to 8,400. After a call, the flop came out 9♣️8♦️6♦️. Nick fired a 9,000 continuation bet, planning to commit the rest of his stack on safe turns.
His opponent called, and the turn brought a 7♣️, completing straight combinations. Eastwood moved all-in with his overpair, only to be looked up by 7♦️7♠️, a player who had flopped an open-ended straight draw with a backdoor flush draw and hit a set on the turn.
The 6♣️ river brought no relief, eliminating Nick in devastating fashion. Reflecting on the hand, Nick shared the intense emotion of being knocked out:
"The difference between having no chips and having 100K on that table is worth so much. It's really, really tough... but if I have to give an interview saying how much it sucks, that's the job. Now my job is to support the rest of my team." – Nick Eastwood
Shortly after the dinner break on Level 9, Vivian Saliba met a similar fate. Down to 21 big blinds, Vivi moved her remaining stack into the middle holding A♥️Q♠️, only to run headlong into A♠️K♣️. The two kings on the flop sealed her fate, ending her Main Event run.
Despite the exit, Saliba maintained a remarkably positive outlook:
"In the end, it's just a poker tournament. We bust more than we don't. It's a tournament with almost 10,000 runners. I did what I could... but there is always more poker to be played." – Vivi Saliba
Bagging for Day 3: Barone and Navarro Move Forward
While two team members departed, Aaron Barone and Lucia Navarro survived the final levels of the night with grit.
Barone endured a wild, swingy Level 8 where he bluffed off 25,000 chips before clawing it all back with a dramatic hero call. Refocused for the final level, Aaron went on an absolute tear, increasing his chip stack to an impressive 237,000 chips by the time the final bag-and-tag was announced.
Entering Day 3 with nearly a quarter of a million chips put Aaron in a comfortable, commanding position.
Lucia’s late-night surge was also impressive. Sitting at 70,000 chips heading into Level 9, Lucia picked up a set of sevens in a critical spot right before the final break. Over the final two hours, she nearly doubled her stack to a peak of 133,000 before finishing the night with 94,000 chips for Day 3.
Looking Forward to Day 3
As Day 2 ended, the contrast of tournament poker was on full display: the pain of bustouts mitigated alongside the thrill of surviving to fight another day.
With Aaron Barone sitting on 237,000 chips and Lucia Navarro comfortably bagging 94,000, Team 888poker entered Day 3 in a strong position to continue their deep tournament run.
As Aaron summarised his mindset heading into the next stage: "The goal, as always, is one day deeper."
- Aaron Barone: 237,000 (Advanced to Day 3)
- Lucia Navarro: 94,000 (Advanced to Day 3)
- Nick Eastwood: Eliminated
- Vivian Saliba: Eliminated
