Steven Albini became a multiple bracelet winner on Day 18 of the 2022 WSOP. Many players won their first already this summer at the Las Vegas series, a few won their fourth bracelets, one won his fifth and another his sixth. Albini captured the second of his career.
With the halfway mark of the 2022 World Series of Poker (the USA version) approaching, players are stepping up their action.
Let’s see what happened on Day 18.
Event 32: $1,500 HORSE
The final day started with 22 players but fairly quickly dispatched players like Jason Bigelow and Shirley Rosario to the rail. After John Fahmy busted in tenth place, the final nine took seats at the last table. Kyle Loman had moved into the chip lead, followed by Richard Bai and Jason Daly. The day’s original chipleader, David Williams, was in the middle of the pack.
Williams suffered a tough beat rather quickly and then busted, courtesy of Eddy Vataru in Razz. Tamon Nakamura was the next one out, and Richard Bai took control to bust Vataru and Peter Brownstein next. A while later, Bai sent Loman out in fifth, though it was Jason Daly holding a massive lead by the dinner break.
When they returned, James Morgan busted Bai in fourth place, as Steven Albini kept surviving close calls. Albini soared to the top in the next few rounds, ultimately busting Daly in third and holding a huge lead going into heads-up. Morgan doubled more than once but couldn’t do it enough times. Albini won his second career WSOP bracelet.
A day that started with 158 players ended with just ten. It was a busy day that took some players into the money and then headed toward the final table by eliminating players like Kevin Tang and Dustin Crump. After Robert Barry busted in 11th place, they stopped play.
Event 34: Day 2 of 3
$1,500 buy-in
NLHE Freezeout
Total entries:
1,772
(1191 in 2021)
Players remaining:
10
Total prize pool:
$2,365,620
Players paid:
89
Minimum payout:
$4,259
Winner payout:
$364,899
Top chip counts:
#1
Samuel Bifarella (France) 10,455,000
#2
Maxime Parys (France) 8,370,000
#3
Justin Pechie (USA) 5,050,000
#4
Michel Leibgorin (France) 3,970,000
#5
Steve Zolotow (USA) 3,960,000
#6
Dwayne Sullivan (USA) 3,245,000
#7
David Dibernardi (USA) 2,985,000
#8
Kenny Robbins (USA) 2,765,000
#9
Jeremy Wien (USA) 2,265,000
#10
Orson Young (USA) 1,235,000
Event 35: $2,500 Mixed Big Bet
Dozens of players started the day, but going to the final break of the night, players like Daniel Weinman and Frank Kassela were out of the mix. Matt Vengrin and Sterling Savill were some of the last bustouts of the night before the final 17 bagged their chips. Andrew Robl, Richard Ashby, and Patrick Leonard remain in the running for this bracelet.
Event 35: Day 2 of 3
$2,500 buy-in
Mixed Big Bet (2 RE)
Total entries:
281
(218 in 2019, 212 in 2021)
Players remaining:
17
Total prize pool:
$625,225
Players paid:
43
Minimum payout:
$4,000
Winner payout:
$144,338
Top chip counts:
#1
Drew Scott (Canada) 1,340,000
#2
Galen Hall (USA) 1,127,000
#3
Christopher Smith (USA) 1,048,000
#4
Lok Chan (China) 909,500
#5
Ryan Moriarty (USA) 908,000
Event 36: $1,500 Seven-Card Stud-8
There were 152 players when Day 2 began, but players like Chris Bell and Dzmitry Urbanovich made the money but fell short of Day 3. Angelo Mancini, Michele Delange, Mary Jones, and Gary Benson were among the last eliminations before play stopped with 15 players left.
Event 36: Day 2 of 3
$1,500 buy-in
Seven-Card Stud-8
Total entries:
471
(460 in 2019, 372 in 2021)
Players remaining:
15
Total prize pool:
$628,785
Players paid:
59
Minimum payout:
$2,421
Winner payout:
$135,260
Top chip counts:
#1
Chris Papastratis (USA) 3,200,000
#2
Kenny Hsiung (USA) 1,560,000
#3
Jeff Madsen (USA) 1,340,000
#4
John Holley (USA) 1,030,000
#5
Jon Kyte (Norway) 825,000
Event 37: $1,500 NLHE Millionaire Maker
The first of two starting days brought in more than 3500 entries, putting the tournament on track to bust the participation of the last two years.
Event 37: Day 1A of 5
$1,500 buy-in
NLHE Millionaire Maker (1 RE/Flight)
Total 1A entries:
3,546
(8809 in 2019, 5326 in 2021)
Players remaining:
738
Total prize pool:
TBD
Players paid:
TBD
Minimum payout:
TBD
Winner payout:
TBD
($1M GTD)
Top chip counts:
#1
Rick Alvarado (USA) 466,500
#2
Anatoly Filatov (Russia) 429,500
#3
Federico Castaing (Argentina) 427,000
#4
Perry Johnson (USA) 413,500
#5
Stanislav Angelov (USA) 412,500
Event 38: $10K NL 2-7 Lowball Draw Championship
On the championship level, this event drew 110 entries on the first day, though only a handful took their seats when play began. Registration remains open until the start of Day 2, though, so the final numbers have yet to be determined.
Event 38: Day 1 of 3
$10K buy-in
NL 2-7 Lowball Draw Championship (1 RE)
Total entries:
110
(91 in 2019, 122 in 2021)
Players remaining:
41
Total prize pool:
TBD
Players paid:
TBD
Minimum payout:
TBD
Winner payout:
TBD
Top chip counts:
#1
Mark Johns (USA) 424,500
#2
Alex Livingston (Canada) 320,000
#3
Darren Elias (USA) 267,500
#4
Farzad Bonyadi (USA) 267,000
#5
Thomas Newton (USA) 265,500
Today’s Poker Menu
Event 34 will play its final table.
Event 35 will play its final table.
Event 36 will play its final table.
Event 37 welcomes the second flight of players to the NLHE Millionaire Maker tournament.
Event 38 will seek its final table setup.
Event 39 will kick off the $3K PLO four-day tournament.
Event 40 will start the Seven-Card Stud-8 Championship in the mid-afternoon.
