This is when the World Series of Poker gets complicated. Seven tournaments ran at some point on Day 6. Several were playing their final tables, one was trying to reach its final, others were trying to burst money bubbles, and heads-up players were moving through rounds. It was one of those all-hands-on-deck days.
Realistically speaking, most days for the rest of the 2021 WSOP will be those kinds of days. But those days are good. They signal the return of live poker, the health of the game and its players.
Also, realistically speaking, the 2021 WSOP has been very American thus far. It has been more than a little difficult for people from other countries to navigate Covid-19 protocols to make it into the US. But Canadians were there and ready to make their marks. One of them grabbed a bracelet to show it.
Let’s get to the results of Tuesday’s action.
Event 4: $500 The Reunion
The largest field of the 2021 WSOP cleared out, with just one player holding the bracelet. Long Ma is a tournament specialist from Dallas, Texas. He had been on a two-month downswing before this event, though he still has his day job as the manager of an electronics company. He told PokerNews:
“Almost 13,000 players. Lots of good players, some lucky players and maybe me the luckiest one.”
Event 4: Day 4 of 4
$500 buy-in
NLHE Reunion (1 RE/flight)
Total entries:
12,975
Total prize pool:
$5,449,500
Players paid:
639
Minimum payout:
$1,540
Final table results:
1st place:
Long Ma (USA) $513,604
2nd place:
Giuliano Lentini (USA) $317,352
3rd place:
Max Tavepholjalern (USA) $241,766
4th place:
Alex Vasquez (USA) $185,281
5th place:
Michael Eddy (USA) $142,847
6th place:
Anthony Cass (USA) $110,794
7th place:
Jugal Daterao (USA) $86,462
8th place:
Derrick Stoebe (USA) $67,886
9th place:
Adrian Buckley (USA) $53,625
Event 7: $1,500 Dealer’s Choice
Canadian Jaswinder “Jesse” Lally represented for his country as well as the 50-somethings (hello!). In Vancouver, he plays cash games and loves switching poker variants. While some like Badacey were new to him before this tournament, he beat a very tough field to take a gold bracelet home to his wife of 37 years and two grown children. He told PN about balancing his business in the liquor store industry, family time, and poker passion:
“I do get away for 10 days to play. … I was so excited to make the final table first of all, but now that my dream has come true, it’s just an amazing feeling.”
Event 7: Day 3 of 3
$1,500 buy-in
Dealers Choice 6-Handed (1 RE)
Total entries:
307
Total prize pool:
$409,845
Players paid:
47
Minimum payout:
$2,400
Final table results:
1st place:
Jesse Lally (Canada) $97,915
2nd place:
Andrew Kelsall (USA) $60,514
3rd place:
Ray Henson (USA) $40,062
4th place:
Ian O'Hara (USA) $27,147
5th place:
Adam Kipnis (USA) $18,839
6th place:
Christopher Lindner (USA) $13,396
Event 8: $600 NLHE Deepstack
It started with 216 on Tuesday and finished with just five, all seeking a first WSOP win. Those five bagged their chips on purpose to play today on the PokerGO livestream for the bracelet.
The second day of this championship event closed registration, set the prize pool, and broke through the money bubble. Ryan Laplante was the first player to cash, with Ben Yu and Mark Gregorich following him to the payout line. Two tables remain.
Event 9: Day 2 of 4
$10K buy-in
Omaha Hi-Lo 8-or-Better Championship
Total entries:
134
Registration still open?
no
Total prize pool:
$1,193,600
Players paid:
21
Minimum payout:
$16,000
Winner payout:
$317,076
Chip leader:
Andrew Yeh
Players remaining:
18
Restart:
3pm Wednesday
Event 10: $1K Super Turbo Bounty
It is possible to play a WSOP tournament in one day and win it, so knows Michael Perrone. He played 16 hours in the WSOP turbo – with bounties – and snagged a bracelet for it. He mentioned to PokerNews that he was going to need time to process the win because of how fast it played out. And to think he wasn’t even going to play the tournament.
“It feels incredible. I wasn’t even going to play this event; I was going to go to the Wynn today to play the $1,600 Day 1A.”
There were big names but a small turnout for the championship version of the heads-up bracelet. Last year, this event was a $10K buy-in and brought in 112 players. This year, the focus was on the high-stakes, high-profile players, 16 of whom will play today for seats in the quarter-finals. Among those still in action are Jason Koon, Cary Katz, Galen Hall, David Peters, and Mikita Badziakouski.
Two rounds will play today with the final four reserved for livestreaming by PokerGO on Thursday.
Event 11: Day 1 of 3
$25K
NLHE Heads-Up Championship
Total entries:
57
Registration still open?
no
Total prize pool:
$409,845
Players paid:
8
Minimum payout:
$36,820
Winner payout:
$243,981
Chip leader:
n/a
Players remaining:
16
Restart:
2pm Wednesday
Event 12: $1,500 Limit Hold’em
Limit poker aficionados turned out in strong numbers for this one, ultimately setting the field and closing registration. The corresponding 2019 event played out much later in the series and drew more players, but this year’s turnout was only down 22%.
Event 12: Day 1 of 3
$1,500 buy-in
Limit Hold'em
Total entries:
422
Registration still open?
no
Total prize pool:
$563,370
Players paid:
64
Minimum payout:
$2,406
Winner payout:
$124,374
Chip leader:
Jeremy Maher
Players remaining:
135
Restart:
2pm Wednesday
Highlight of the Day
For the record, PokerNews is providing live updates on bracelet events, not the daily deepstacks. Someone found out the hard way.
https://twitter.com/PokerNews/status/1445441414288973829?s=20
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