We’ve been saying for weeks that this 2022 World Series of Poker is the return to normalcy. It is the first year in several that the participation will be free of variables pertaining to vaccine mandates and travel restrictions due to Covid-19.
Not true.
Covid-19 also came to the 2022 WSOP and is having its way with many players. From the first week, Covid-19 has been spreading amongst players, dealers, and probably everyone in the casinos. That means some players, those who are being transparent and responsible, are sitting out of the tournaments until they test negative. This is likely keeping some of the tournament registration numbers lower than they could have been.
Oh, Covid.
Event 21: $1,500 NLHE Monster Stack
It’s getting there. The tournament that started with more than 6K entries played down to just 39 on Monday. Players like Max Steinberg and Jessica Teusl remain in contention.
Event 21: Day 3 of 5
$1,500 buy-in
NLHE Monster Stack (1 RE)
Total entries:
6,501
(3520 in 2021, 6035 in 2019)
Players remaining:
39
Total prize pool:
$8,678,835
Players paid:
976
Minimum payout:
$2,400
Winner payout:
$966,577
Top chip counts:
#1
Yoshiya Agata (Japan) 19,475,000
#2
Frank Lagodich (USA) 16,450,000
#3
Anthony Spinella (USA) 15,850,000
#4
Andrej Senic (Austria) 15,375,000
#5
Francis Anderson (USA) 15,300,000
Event 23: $3K 6-Handed Limit Hold’em
Nine players started the day, but only six made the final table, which happened when Jeremy Ausmus busted Robert Como in seventh place. Ausmus and Michael Rocco were neck-and-neck for the lead, though Gabe Ramos eliminated the first to players from the official final table. All four players traded chips for quite some time, though Rocco finally busted Zachary Grech in fourth place.
Ausmus sent Ramos home in third to take 6.12M chips into heads-up play. Rocco came close to catching his opponent, but Ausmus was on fire and took the title. This was Ausmus’ fourth career bracelet.
The second and final day of this event eventually set a final table with Natural8 ambassador Pete Chen in the lead and Mike Matusow on the short stack. Chen took out Matusow quickly, and he then eliminated Georgios Sotiropoulos. Tyler Willse busted Zach Cheatum in seventh and helped Christopher Chatman eliminate Austin Apicella in sixth. Chen lost ground, though, and Chatman sent him home in fifth place and then Ian Steinman in fourth.
Chatman was on a roll and busted Willse in third, taking 12M chips into heads-up action. Rafi Elharar put up a fight, but it was a short one, as Chatman couldn’t be stopped. He won his first WSOP bracelet.
The fast-paced two-day Deepstack started Day 2 with 240 players still holding chips. But play moved quickly, enough so that the final table was ready to go in little more than 12 hours. Fabrizio Petroni busted in tenth place to set the final table. Rob Wazwaz took control right away and busted the ninth, seventh, and fifth-place finishers. Robert Crow took over the chip lead and busted Sean Legendre in fourth, but Wazwaz climbed again by ousting Terrence Reid in third.
Crow risked his chips with K-3 on an A-9-7-6-2 board, so Wazwaz won with a call holding 603. He claimed his first bracelet, saying that the table was tough, his rail was fun, and his run was pure.
It was a surprisingly long day, but they did whittle the field down to just nine players. Chad Eveslage will be going for his second bracelet in as many weeks, while Matthew Schreiber and Joey Couden will each chase their second.
Event 26: Day 2 of 3
$10K buy-in
Limit Hold'em Championship
Total entries:
92
(92 in 2021, 118 in 2019)
Players remaining:
9
Total prize pool:
$857,900
Players paid:
14
Minimum payout:
$16,920
Winner payout:
$245,678
Final table counts:
#1
Chad Eveslage (USA) 1,080,000
#2
Matthew Schreiber (USA) 970,000
#3
Joey Couden (USA) 830,000
#4
Kyle Dilschneider (USA) 705,000
#5
Jonathan Cohen (USA) 605,000
#6
Matt Woodward (USA) 530,000
#7
Matthew Gonzales (USA) 435,000
#8
David Litt (USA) 190,000
#9
Amir Shayesteh (USA) 175,000
Event 27: $1,500 NLHE Shootout
It was the tournament of SNGs. The field capped at 1,000 players, all tables playing ten-handed. The person who won his or her table won their way to a min-cash. The ten tables will then play today, with the winners of each going on to the final table.
Event 27: Day 1 of 3
$1,500 buy-in
NLHE Shootout
Total entries:
1,000
(800 in 2021, 917 in 2019)
Players remaining:
100
Total prize pool:
$1,335,000
Players paid:
100
Minimum payout:
$5,835
Winner payout:
$240,480
Top chip counts:
all players near 250K
Event 28: $50K PLO High Roller
More than 100 entries showed that high-stakes is in fashion, as is Pot Limit Omaha. The prize pool exceeded $5M, though the field thinned down to just 36 by the end of the night.
Event 28: Day 1 of 3
$50K buy-in
PLO High Roller (2 RE)
Total entries:
106
(85 in 2021)
Players remaining:
36
Total prize pool:
$5,074,750
Players paid:
16
Minimum payout:
$83,960
Winner payout:
$1,393,816
Top chip counts:
#1
Joni Jouhkimainen (Finland) 2,935,000
#2
Aaron Mermelstein (USA) 2,375,000
#3
Scott Seiver (USA) 1,835,000
#4
Josh Arieh (USA) 1,825,000
#5
Michael Heritsch (USA) 1,795,000
Event 29: $1,500 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw
Another tournament, another record set, this one in the NL 2-7 Lowball Draw category. Hundreds of players wanted in on the action, and the top 66 of them will receive payouts for their work.
Event 29: Day 1 of 3
$1,500 buy-in
NL 2-7 Lowball Draw (2 RE)
Total entries:
437
(272 in 2021, 296 in 2019)
Players remaining:
122
Total prize pool:
$583,395
Players paid:
66
Minimum payout:
$2,417
Winner payout:
$127,809
Top chip counts:
#1
Ian O'Hara (USA) 294,500
#2
Brandon Shack-Harris (USA) 235,500
#3
Jon Kyte (Norway) 213,500
#4
Tom Schneider (USA) 207,500
#5
Gabe Paul (USA) 189,500
Today’s Poker Menu
Event 21 will play down to a final table and presumably to a winner.
Event 26 will play its final table.
Event 27 will play another round of SNGs to determine the final table of ten.
Event 28 will play down to a final table.
Event 29 will attempt to find its final table.
Event 30 gives a $1K PLO option with eight-handed tables.
Event 31 starts the $10K Limit 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw Championship.
https://twitter.com/MattStoutPoker/status/1536523465938718720?s=20&t=FZ3JwU02cMNHICgfkrhF0w
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