It was damn close. They needed 111 more players to create the largest World Series of Poker Main Event of all time.
However, that should not take away from the fact that the turnout for the 2022 WSOP Main Event was stupendous. Late registration for Day 2 (both of them) opened the window for many more players to join. Day 2ABC saw 148 new players in the mix, but Day 2D had an unprecedented (and rather unexpected) 454 new players. That added up to the following numbers:
Personally, I didn’t think they would beat the second-highest Main Event total of 8,569 players in 2019, but this year did beat that number. And they only fell short of creating a new record by 111 players.
Considering that Covid-19 is still making people sick en masse and the global economy is not in great shape, the WSOP attracted 8,663 players to put up $10K each to play the Main Event.
That is certainly an accomplishment of which to be proud. Very proud.
Event 70: $10K NLHE Main Event
The last of the original days’ survivors gathered on Friday to play down. Day 2ABC had done it the day before, starting with 2,641 players, adding 148 new ones, and ending with 1,262. Day 2D followed with a massive 3,295 players returning from Day 1D, and another 454 players joined the fun. The night ended with approximately 1,757 players.
That means there are still more than 3K players still in the running.
And with the announcement of the payouts last night, they know that they will need to make it to the top 1,300 finalists to earn a payday. The money bubble could happen late tonight or early tomorrow. Everything hinges on the speed of play today.
Event 70: Day 2D
$10K buy-in
NLHE World Championship Main Event
Total entries:
8,663
(8569 in 2019, 6650 in 2021)
Players remaining:
3,019
Total prize pool:
$80,782,475
Players paid:
1,300
Minimum payout:
$15,000
Winner payout:
$10,000,000
Top chip counts:
#1
Muhammad Abdel Rahim (USA) 936,500
#2
Marsel Backa (USA) 738,000
#3
Ryan Torgersen (USA) 738,000
#4
Bryn Kenney (USA) 665,000
#5
Jared Hyman (USA) 661,500
Event 71: $1K NLHE One More for One Drop
The second of three starting days brought in nearly 1500 new entries, putting the total at 2,312 thus far. There will be one more flight today – still with unlimited entries – before the WSOP announces the final numbers.
Event 71: Day 1B of 5
$1,111 buy-in
One More for One Drop NLHE (unlimited RE)
Total Day 1A entries:
841
(6248 in 2019, 3797 in 2021)
Total Day 1B entries:
1,471
Players remaining:
530
Total prize pool:
TBD
Players paid:
TBD
Minimum payout:
TBD
Winner payout:
TBD
Top chip counts:
#1:
Andre Cohen (Portugal) 456,000
#2:
Remmei Liu (Canada) 445,500
#3:
Justin Fawcett (USA) 438,500
#4:
Dylan Cechowski (France) 426,500
#5:
Damian Kucharski (Poland) 416,500
Event 72: $1,500 Mixed Omaha
The Mixed Omaha tournament attracted more experienced and new players alike, all with a love for Omaha. Day 2 of this event played that field into the money and down to just 23 finalists. The older portion of the field includes Mel Juda, Barny Boatman, and Men “The Master” Nguyen. The younger crowd includes Adam Friedman, Peter Neff, and Paul Sokoloff. It will be a battle for the ages today.
Event 72: Day 2 of 3
$1,500 buy-in
Mixed Omaha (2 RE)
Total entries:
771
(717 in 2019, 640 in 2021)
Players remaining:
23
Total prize pool:
$1,029,285
Players paid:
116
Minimum payout:
$2,413
Winner payout:
$195,565
Top chip counts:
#1:
Mark Erickson (USA) 2.58M
#2:
Barny Boatman (UK) 2.48M
#3:
Men Nguyen (USA) 1.63M
#4:
Stanley Krimerman (USA) 1.62M
#5:
William Slaught (USA) 1.565M
Event 73: $1,500 Razz
Players who love and hate razz signed up to play this low buy-in version of it. Nearly 400 of them did so, but only 123 of them survived to play more razz today. They will play into the money and try to find a final table on Saturday.
Event 73: Day 1 of 3
$1,500 buy-in
Razz
Total entries:
383
(363 in 2019, 311 in 2021)
Players remaining:
123
Total prize pool:
$511,305
Players paid:
58
Minimum payout:
$2,413
Winner payout:
$115,723
Top chip counts:
#1:
Calvin Anderson (USA) 336,000
#2:
Nicolas Milgrom (USA) 283,500
#3:
Vincent Griboski (USA) 223,000
#4:
Daniel Tafur (Spain) 202,500
#5:
Andres Korn (Argentina) 196,000
Today’s Poker Menu
Event 70 combines the Main Event Day 2 survivors and plays toward the money bubble.
Event 71 plays the third and final flight of One More for One Drop tournament with unlimited reentries.
Event 72 plays to and through the final table of the Mixed Omaha tournament.
Event 73 continues with Razz madness.
Event 74 starts a $1,500 PLO Bounty 8-Handed tournament with $500 bounties.
