Day 2 of $10K Manila begins with a mix of anticipation, excitement, uncertainty, and nerves. Past the groups of players huddled together discussing the latest strategies and Draft picks, you’d find players pairing up to calculate the odds of making the Top 8 with eight wins. Most of the players today are at 5-3, so it would probably come down to a case of tiebreakers. Still others are just sitting in their chairs, focusing on what they intend to do and paying no attention whatsoever to the milling crowds around them.

With the top prize in plain sight, nothing is going to deter these players from giving their best in the upcoming draft. Yet only eight will be able to overcome the odds and proceed to the next test of their abilities—the Top 8.