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Day 2a of the 2011 WSOP Main Event is currently underway. The Day 1a and 1c fields combined to make a field of 2,031 players that returned to the Rio earlier today.

Lisa Hamilton (left) currently leads all women during Day 2a of the 2011 WSOP Main Event.

One of those players that started the day just barely above her initial starting stack was Lisa Hamilton.

Since that point, Hamilton has been on a monster tear and is currently sitting with 188,000 in chip at the time I write this blog.

Lisa Hamilton

Earlier in the year, I made the prediction that a lady would make the WSOP Main Event final table and so far in the early going, Hamilton seems to fit that bill.

Of course, my prediction was that the lady that made the final table would not be a household name.

To say that Hamilton is not a household name may hold true for casual “TV poker” fans, but for those of us in the know Hamilton has been on our radar for a couple of years.

Hamilton first burst onto the scene in 2009 when she took down the $1,000 Ladies Event at the 2009 WSOP.

She made headlines in January of 2010 when she finished 5th in the $25,000 High Roller Hold’em Event at the PokerStars Caribbean Advntture, taking down $133,770.

Hamilton has four WSOP cashes to her credit including her bracelet win and has over $363,758 in tournament winnings.

Sarah Bilney

Of course, another lady that is sitting pretty in chips is Australia’s Sarah Bilney.

Bilney currently has 150,300. She started a bit better than Hamilton in chips on Day 2a with 85,000 but chipped up nicely by taking a nice 50k pot with pocket aces.

Bilney has been around the live poker scene since 2005 and has over $260,000 in professional cashes.

Bilney’s biggest claim to fame is her finish in the 2005 WSOP Main Event. She finished 63rd that year and took home $145,875.

Her strongest year in the WSOP performance-wise was in 2008 when she finished in the money in 5 WSOP events.

However, 2008 was also the last time she cashed in a live tournament, so maybe she will be the relative unknown that I referred to.

Granted, this is just Day 2a and there is still plenty of time for other ladies to move their way up the leaderboard.

However, these two ladies should command some attention as they try to cash in the event and become the “Last Woman Standing” of the 2011 WSOP Main Event.

For daily recaps of all the action at the 2011 World Series of Poker, check our WSOP news section.