The World Series of Poker got underway on May 30 with a few bracelet events. The 2023 WSOP quickly swelled to numerous events per day at various stages of play.
Thus, a roundup of each week can keep you up to date on the happenings for one week as poker fans and players head into another of grander proportions.
Event 1: Thai Takes It
The Casino Employees tournament has been the first bracelet event of the summer for years. It is a low $500 buy-in event reserved for people who qualify as employees in the gambling and/or poker industries. This year, it didn’t set a record but ranked quite high with its 1,015 entries, more than the 832 entries in 2022 and far more than in the two prior WSOPs.
In the end, Peter Thai took it down. He admitted that the final table was tough, but his years of experience came into play. “I never expected to win,” he told PokerNews after his victory. “I just came here wanting to have fun, and one thing led to another. It was an unforgettable experience.”
This was the first gold bracelet for the table games dealer at Parkwest Casino 580 in Livermore, California.
The second event was a high roller, immediately giving high-stakes players something to play on Day 1. It was a $25K buy-in Hold’em that played six-handed and was a new event on the WSOP schedule. The field delivered a diverse lineup as the event moved forward
And it was Alexandre Vuilleumier of Switzerland who ultimately defeated Chance Kornuth to grab his first bracelet and $1.2M. In a post-game interview, he said that this was the top year of his poker career. “I’m really happy with everything that’s happened.”
The International Chess Master collected his first WSOP bracelet and did it at the start of Pride month. He said that he is now a part of a select group of LGBTQ+ bracelet winners and proudly represented a minority community in poker.
At the end of the first week of the WSOP, the Mystery Millions tournament was still growing. There were four starting days for the $1K buy-in event, with one reentry allowed per flight. The number of entries was already substantial, but a final number will not be released until Sunday, June 4.
Event 4: A Day to Remember
The WSOP Tournament of Champions is a freeroll…with a $1M prize pool. It was a chance for players from around the world who have won WSOP Circuit events, 2022 WSOP bracelets, and other qualifying events to compete for pieces of this freeroll. Out of 989 people who qualified to play in the TOC, there were 741 who showed up.
Ronnie Day was one of those players. He had just picked up his first WSOP Circuit ring within the past month and qualified to play the TOC. His performance could serve as a class in patience and short-stack play, as he was one of the shortest stacks going into every day of the tournament. It wasn’t until the final table that he rose to the top for the win.
Day said that he viewed the tournament as good practice for the Main Event but went on to win. “It’s so surreal right now; it’s unbelievable,” he said. “I don’t even know how to explain it.”
The Dealer’s Choice tournament is a favorite for mixed game players, one with 20 variations and only a $1,500 buy-in. It always draws some of the biggest players in the game.
Chad Eveslage was one of those players. In just the last few years, he has accumulated everything from a WSOP bracelet to a WPT title, the latter leading to the WPT Player of the Year honor. He then started the 2023 WSOP by nabbing his second bracelet and $131K.
Upon claiming the victory, he admitted to being skilled in a wide variety of games, though he felt he had an edge in No Limit Hold’em. And he had fun doing it. “The mixed (game) atmosphere is much, much more laid back. We were joking around heads-up.”
One mixed game that is immensely popular at the World Series is the simple mix of No Limit Hold’em and Pot Limit Omaha. The structure is fast but the buy-in is $5K, so the field ends up being an elite group of players. Just in the final run-up to the final table, players like Martin Zamani and Yuval Bronshtein made deep runs.
The final table brought in players like Kristen Foxen, Christian Harder, and Alex Livingston. But it was Michael Moncek who emerged victorious to claim his second WSOP gold bracelet after just winning his first last year. He was especially excited to win it in the first week of the WSOP.
“It means a lot,” Moncek said, “and now I have a decent shot at going for Player of the Year.”
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