If it’s not one thing, it’s another. That’s a good thing at the World Series of Poker when referencing all of the poker action.
After four flights for the Housewarming tournament, that finally settled into a Day 2 to begin the playdown. But as that madness calmed down a bit, the WSOP kicked off the first of many $600 NLHE Deepstack tournaments, a Limit Hold’em event, and yet another High Roller. And three other tournaments played to conclusion, awarding bracelets to three first-time WSOP winners.
If it wasn’t one WSOP thing, it was another. And while there is sometimes chaos in the tournament rooms, the staff has become better quipped to handle it in the new space and with new parameters.
Event 5: $500 NLHE Housewarming
The second full day of play for Housewarming players started with nearly 900 players and wound its way down to just 12 by the end of the night. Payouts were already underway that day and increased as the day moved forward.
The end of the night saw Brandon Cantu bust in 13th place for $43,515, with a dozen survivors holding chips with which they will play another day.
Event 5: Day 2 of 3
$500 buy-in
NLHE Housewarming (1 RE)
Total players:
20,080
(12,973 in 2021 Reunion)
Players remaining:
12
Total prize pool:
$8,435,280
($5M GTD)
Players paid:
3,013
Minimum payout:
$801
Winner payout:
$330,600
Top chip counts:
#1
Christian Taylor (USA) 221.3M
#2
Isidro Martinez (USA) 155M
#3
Orez Mokedi (USA) 125.45M
#4
Henry Acain (USA) 108.425M
#5
Darnell White (USA) 76.975M
Event 7: $1,500 Omaha-8
What was supposed to be a three-day tournament ended its third day with two players remaining. Exhaustion prompted both of them to play one more day. And when they did, Amnon Filippi had the lead over Matt Vengrin.
The latter started strong and even took over the lead, but Filippi stayed aggressive and retook his original lead. He ground Vengrin down to a very short stack before Filippi took the final pot with two pair. Filippi said that it felt good to get his first bracelet after many of his friends – JC Tran, Quinn Do, etc. – had already done so.
An astounding 251 entries started this event, though only 15 made it to the third and final day. Justin Young was the first to exit, followed by Calvin Lee, Taylor von Kriegenbergh, Jesse Lonis, Byron Kaverman, and Reagen Silber. Dan Colpoys then busted in ninth place.
Chris Brewer led the official final table, with Josh Arieh and Chad Eveslage a distance away. Chad Eveslage busted Ognyan Dimov in eighth and LIevano in seventh to take over the lead. He then busted Koray Aldemir and Brek Schutten in a single hand. Josh Arieh doubled through Eveslage, and Arieh then busted Brewer. Jake Schindler then doubled through Eveslage and then through Arieh before eliminating Arieh in third.
Eveslage took a chip advantage into heads-up play and ran away with it. Schindler doubled in a few spots to stay alive, but Eveslage took it down in the end to capture his first bracelet. He told PokerNews that It was nice to win, especially that sum of $1.4M.
The final table was ready to go for the third day of Stud. Short-stacked John Evans was the first to hit the rail, but play slowed a bit as Livingston continued to accumulate chips. He then busted Brad Ruben and John Racener in the same hand. Livingston hurt Hsiung, and then Thomas Taylor busted him. Hojeong Lee departed at the hands of Livingston, who then also dispatched fellow Canadian tablemate Taylor.
Livingston had a massive chip lead going into heads-up. No matter the progress that Daniel Weinman made, Livingston kept hitting back until he won his first WSOP bracelet. He attributed some of the victory to rungood, admitting that stud isn’t his best game, but he credited himself for staying aggressive.
The second day of play set the field and a record, exceeding the same 2019 tournament by one entry. But by the end of the night, the championship-level tournament with 19 games in the mix whittled the field down to just 15 players.
Event 10: Day 1 of 3
$10K buy-in
Dealers Choice 6-Handed Championship
Total entries:
123
(93 in 2021, 122 in 2019)
Players remaining:
15
Total prize pool:
$1,146,975
Players paid:
19
Minimum payout:
$16,264
Winner payout:
$299,488
Top chip counts:
#1
Randy Ohel (USA) 1,101,000
#2
Naoya Kihara (Japan) 927,000
#3
Nick Schulman (USA) 904,000
#4
Tuan Le (USA) 635,000
#5
Brian Rast (USA) 574,000
Event 11: $600 NLHE Deepstack
This first NLHE Deepstack of the series attracted thousands of players, many of whom wanted another chance after busting from the Housewarming. The final total of 5,715 entries surpassed that of last year’s equivalent but didn’t match the big number from 2019.
Even so, the field created a prize pool that stopped short of $3M and reserved $335K for the winner. The final 289 players are in the money and playing for final table seats.
Event 11: Day 1 of 2
$600 buy-in
NLHE Deepstack (1 RE)
Total entries:
5,715
(4527 in 2021, 6150 in 2019)
Players remaining:
289
Total prize pool:
$2,914,650
Players paid:
858
Minimum payout:
$960
Winner payout:
$335,286
Top chip counts:
#1
Femi Fashakin (USA) 3,215,000
#2
Roberto Bendeck (USA) 2,235,000
#3
Ryan Dodd (USA) 1,890,000
#4
Junxiu Zhang (USA) 1,775,000
#5
Stanislav Snitsar (USA) 1,725,000
Event 12: $50K NLHE High Roller
Another very high buy-in event brought dozens of players into action. The 23 who survived the day and anyone who registered before the start of Day 2 will compete for the money and the gold.
Event 12: Day 1 of 3
$50K buy-in
NLHE 8-Handed High Roller
Total entries:
85 (not final)
(113 in 2021, 123 in 2019)
Players remaining:
23
Total prize pool:
TBD
Players paid:
TBD
Minimum payout:
TBD
Winner payout:
TBD
Top chip counts:
#1
Dan Smith (USA) 2,035,000
#2
Michael Rocco (USA) 1,990,000
#3
David Peters (USA) 1,910,000
#4
Dario Sammartino (Italy) 1,890,000
#5
Mikita Badziakouski (Belarus) 1,780,000
Event 13: $1,500 Limit Hold’em
A lot of Limit Hold’em players wanted a shot at a bracelet in this one. There were 522 entries, quite a few more than the 422 in 2021 but a little less than the 541 in 2019. Of the 160 players remaining, several of the ones with the larger stacks had been at a LHE final table before and knew what it would take to get there.
Event 13: Day 1 of 3
$1,500 buy-in
Limit Hold'em
Total entries:
522
(422 in 2021, 541 in 2019)
Players remaining:
160
Total prize pool:
$696,000
Players paid:
79
Minimum payout:
$2,405
Winner payout:
$145,856
Top chip counts:
#1
Kenny Hsiung (USA) 248,500
#2
Venkata Tayi (USA) 238,000
#3
unknown (USA) 208,000
#4
David Gee (USA) 188,000
#5
Frank Yakubson (USA) 173,000
Today’s Poker Menu
Event 5 will return with just 12 players and possibly play to a Housewarming winner..
Event 10 will play down from 15 players to a winner in the $10K Dealers Choice Championship.
Event 11 is supposed to be a two-day event, but Day 2 starts today with 289 players still in. It is unclear if the structure will force a result today or allow a third day to move forward.
Event 12 will play its second day of $50K High Roller action.
Event 13 will try to thin the Limit Hold’em field from 160 down to a final table.
Event 14 offers a 6-Handed NLHE tournament for $1,500.
Event 15 will start its Omaha-8 Championship tournament at 3pm, with a $10K buy-in and four days to play it out.
https://twitter.com/MGMGrandPoker/status/1533950534666702849?s=20&t=2i27idYB_KbWmlLAEQMeAw
