The biggest bubble in poker burst late last night. It was the money bubble in the Main Event.
For many years, the money bubble didn’t come into play until Day 4, but last year and again this year, it happened on Day 3. It was late into the evening when some players were busting in very tough spots…before that bubble. The bubble itself is somewhat less painful, only in that the WSOP has been giving that bubble player a seat into next year’s Main Event.
Last night, it happened a bit differently. Three players busted on the bubble, which meant that the three split the 1300th-place payout of $15K. Each of the men walked away with $5K. It is unclear, but doubtful, that anyone received a complimentary $10K seat into next year’s event, considering there was no stone bubble player.
The 1,299 players who bagged chips last night didn’t much care about that. They were each guaranteed at least $15K, and their dreams lived for another day.
Event 70: $10K NLHE Main Event
As mentioned, the money bubble burst late into the night. Three players – Robert Lipkin, Tom McCormick, and Ognjen Sekularac – split the 1300th-place prize money of $15K, so each took home $5K. It could’ve been worse.
It should also be noted that Kevin Campbell, who famously busted on the money bubble at the 2021 WSOP Main Event, freerolled into this year’s tournament. And he is now in the money.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=770qzXgFJEU
Notably, last year’s Main Event champion, Koray Aldemir, remains in contention to defend his title. Previous champions Damian Salas, John Cynn, Greg Merson, and Ryan Riess bagged chips last night as well.
The field will drastically diminish today. After a flurry of bustouts early in the day, play should settle down and move along at a normal clip.
Event 70: Day 3
$10K buy-in
NLHE World Championship Main Event
Total entries:
8,663
(8569 in 2019, 6650 in 2021)
Players remaining:
1,299
Total prize pool:
$80,782,475
Players paid:
1,300
Minimum payout:
$15,000
Winner payout:
$10,000,000
Top chip counts:
#1
Aaron Mermelstein (USA) 2,059,000
#2
Nick Howard (USA) 1,850,000
#3
Gabi Livshitz (Israel) 1,835,000
#4
Moshe Refaelowitz (Israel) 1,700,000
#5
Brandon Lulov (USA) 1,679,000
Event 71: $1K NLHE One More for One Drop
Attendance for this year’s One Drop charity tournament appears to be down significantly from 2019. If numbers are to be believed – since there is still no official word as to field and prize pool totals – there were little more than 5K entries this year. That is well beyond the 3,797 of last year but not even close to the 6,248 of 2019.
Event 71: Day 1C 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
Total Day 1C entries:
2,713
Players remaining:
1,271
Total prize pool:
TBD
Players paid:
TBD
Minimum payout:
TBD
Winner payout:
TBD
Top chip counts:
#1:
Mauricio Parodi (Argentina) 521,000
#2:
Shouyi Cao (USA) 450,000
#3:
Carlo Sciannameo (USA) 400,000
#4:
Vito DeStefano (USA) 377,500
#5:
Huy Nguyen (USA) 375,000
Event 72: $1,500 Mixed Omaha
Starting with 23 players, Paul Sokoloff led the exits from the field. Mel Judah finished in 20th place, Michelle Roth in 19th, and eventually Adam Friedman in ninth. The final eight took positions at one table, with Mark Erickson as the chipleader and Shawn Carter on the short stack. When the latter exited in eighth place, the official final table of seven began.
Play continued for a long time before Jarod Minghini departed in seventh place. Scott Abrams had taken over as the chipleader, and he finally busted Mark Erickson in sixth place. Peter Neff took out Men “The Master” Nguyen in fifth, but Neff himself had a tough time going forward. Bradley Anderson finally busted him in fourth. Anderson soared into an overwhelming chip lead and busted Barny Boatman in third place.
Anderson took 16M chips into heads-up battle against Abrams and his 3.2M. Abrams tried repeatedly to chip up, but Anderson finally got the best of him to win his first WSOP bracelet.
This field worked its way from 123 players at the start of the day to just nine. After Colton Blomberg busted in tenth place, the final nine took a seat at one table but failed to eliminate another player before the night ended. The nine will return to play for the win on Sunday.
Event 73: Day 2 of 3
$1,500 buy-in
Razz
Total entries:
383
(363 in 2019, 311 in 2021)
Players remaining:
9
Total prize pool:
$511,305
Players paid:
58
Minimum payout:
$2,413
Winner payout:
$115,723
Final table counts:
#1:
Daniel Strelitz (USA) 2,215,000
#2:
Kijoon Park (USA) 1,740,000
#3:
Frank Kassela (USA) 1,630,000
#4:
Calvin Anderson (USA) 1,360,000
#5:
Sergio Braga (Brazil) 1,150,000
#6
Andres Korn (Argentina) 575,000
#7
Mark Gerencher (USA) 510,000
#8
Timothy Dalessandro (USA) 215,000
#9
Phuong Tran (USA) 180,000
Event 74: $1,500 PLO Bounty
The WSOP tried this event out last year and found great interest that totaled 860 entries. This year, the number of entries climbed to 1,390. And out of those players, many claimed $500 bounties but only 124 players bagged chips at the end of the night.
Event 74: Day 1 of 3
$1,500 buy-in
PLO Bounty 8-Handed (2 RE)
Total entries:
1,390
(860 in 2021)
Players remaining:
124
Total prize pool:
$1,855,650
Players paid:
209
Minimum payout:
$1,504
Winner payout:
$190,219
Top chip counts:
#1:
Tamer Kamel (UK) 1,064,000
#2:
Amir Amini (Canada) 930,000
#3:
Michael Thomas (USA) 760,000
#4:
Alex Livingston (Canada) 615,000
#5:
Anderson Ireland (USA) 570,000
Today’s Poker Menu
Event 70 is in the money, and the Main Event plays forward.
Event 71 combines first-flight survivors in the One More for One Drop tournament.
Event 73 plays through the Razz final table.
Event 74 continues the PLO Bounty tournament.
Event 75 starts the first of three flights of the $777 buy-in Lucky 7s Seven-Handed tournament.
Event 76 kicks off the Poker Hall of Fame Bounty tournament with bounties on Hall of Fame members and the announcement of this year’s HOF inductee.
https://twitter.com/Dubness23/status/1546019488088219648?s=20&t=YRNkwH4fQDLBDIfeGsmxhg
