The World Series of Poker is open to players from around the world. Few are barred from participating, as only a few people have ever been banned from Caesars Entertainment properties.
Poker players accused of cheating in one venue are unlikely to be barred from participating in the WSOP unless overwhelming evidence is in the public sphere. That means players recently accused - Jake Schindler, Ali Imsirovic, Bryn Kenney - may play in any WSOP events they choose. The European Poker Tour (EPT) appears to have banned them but will not make a public statement about it. Triton appears to have banned them as well. And partypoker LIVE may ban then from their live events. The World Series of Poker has yet to take a stand.
So, when Schindler won a bracelet, he did so alone. No friends supported him. No one congratulated him. He granted no interview.
It puts a dark cloud over his victory and, some believe, the WSOP.
Only two players remained for an extra day of this championship-level event. Ben Diebold had a significant chip lead over Mike Gorodinsky. They started in No Limit Hold’em and Badeucey, where Gorodinsky failed to gain traction. He gained a bit in 5-Card Draw, but Diebold couldn’t be stopped.
Gorodinsky doubled through his opponent during NLHE, but that same game then put him at risk again. He jammed with Q-J, but Diebold had pocket sevens. Gorodinsky failed to improve, and Diebold won his first WSOP gold bracelet.
Diebold even told PokerNews that he won the bracelet because of Gorodinsky, a good friend and one who helped Diebold improve his mixed game prowess.
The final six gathered for a livestreamed final affair. It didn’t take long for short-stacked Andrew Lichtenberger to push all-in, and Brek Schutten was the winner of that hand. Shannon Shorr doubled early and then ousted David Peters. Shorr was the chip leader for some time, but Schutten and Schindler both doubled through him. Schindler then ousted Shorr in fourth. Schutten sent Punsri out in third.
Schutten took a substantial chip lead into the heads-up match, but Schindler took a massive pot in a double-up to take over the lead. Schindler then busted Schutten to grab the win.
While cheating allegations continue to linger, Schindler continued to refuse to address them. In fact, he did not give any interview after his win.
From the two tables that started the day, the final table was a tough one that included former WSOP Main Event champion Joe McKeehen. But Michael Moncek stepped in to largely control the action, starting with the elimination of Lee Markholt in ninth place. McKeehen did oust Nick Pupillo in eighth and Lavassani in seventh, but Moncek picked his spots carefully. McKeehen left in fifth place, as Moncek dominated the rest of the table.
Ultimately, Moncek took out Yueqi Zhu in third and took the lead into heads-up. Ben Ross wasn’t in the worst position, and he was able to take over the lead. Moncek mounted a comeback, though, one that saw a series of winning hands – from flushes to full houses – that helped him retake the lead. Finally, Ross shoved with J-6 on a J-6-5-Q board, but Moncek had the 3-2 of diamonds on a board with two diamonds. A diamond 8 on the river finished it.
For a person who never played Limit Hold’em before this tournament, he admitted that it felt very special to win it.
Day 2 whittled this field down to just 16 players, with big names like Joe Canada, Anson Tsang, and Ronit Chamani still in the mix.
Event 14: Day 2 of 3
$1,500 buy-in
NLHE 6-Handed (1 RE)
Total entries:
2,392
(1448 in 2021, 1832 in 2019)
Players remaining:
16
Total prize pool:
$3,193,320
Players paid:
359
Minimum payout:
$2,405
Winner payout:
$456,889
Top chip counts:
#1
Daniel Wellborn (USA) 8,805,000
#2
Leonard August (USA) 5,800,000
#3
Joe Cada (USA) 5,645,000
#4
Maximiliano Gallardo (Argentina) 5,615,000
#5
Thomas Schultz (USA) 4,790,000
Event 15: $10K Omaha-8 Championship
This championship-level event brought in 196 entries in total, overriding attendance in the last few iterations of this tournament. By the time Day 2 ended, there were still 24 players remaining, but there are four days to play it out, plenty of time.
Event 15: Day 2 of 4
$10K buy-in
Omaha-8 Championship
Total entries:
196
(134 in 2021, 183 in 2019)
Players remaining:
24
Total prize pool:
$1,827,700
Players paid:
30
Minimum payout:
$16,165
Winner payout:
$440,757
Top chip counts:
#1
Johannes Becker (Germany) 895,000
#2
Freddy Deeb (Lebanon) 840,000
#3
Ray Henson (USA) 830,000
#4
Connor Drinan (USA) 675,000
#5
Aditya Prasetyo (USA) 670,000
Event 16: $3K NLHE
Registration remained open for this event, but the 1,080 entries already in it crushed the number of entries from the 2019 series. There was no equivalent event last year. There are four days to play this out.
Event 16: Day 1 of 4
$3K buy-in
NLHE (1 RE)
Total entries:
1080 (not final)
(0 in 2021, 671 in 2019)
Players remaining:
407
Total prize pool:
$2,469,750
Players paid:
TBD
Minimum payout:
TBD
Winner payout:
TBD
Top chip counts:
#1
David Tovmasyan (USA) 325,500
#2
Barry Hutter (USA) 311,500
#3
Jarrett Bates (USA) 311,500
#4
Calvin Anderson (USA) 300,000
#5
Christina Gollins (USA) 298,000
Event 17: $2,500 Mixed Triple Draw Lowball
This event closed its registration with a number that exceeded that from 2019 and 2021. Players were in it to play three limit games – A-5, Deuce to Seven, and Badugi. Nearly 150 players survived the first day but would need to keep it up a lot longer to make the money on Day 2.
Event 17: Day 1 of 3
$2,500 buy-in
Mixed Triple Draw Lowball (1 RE)
Total entries:
309
(253 in 2021, 296 in 2019)
Players remaining:
147
Total prize pool:
$687,525
Players paid:
47
Minimum payout:
$4,026
Winner payout:
$164,243
Top chip counts:
#1
James Opie (USA) 196,500
#2
Robert Campbell (Australia) 177,000
#3
Keny Hsiung (USA) 173,000
#4
Kimberly Stone (USA) 167,500
#5
Jonas Mackoff (Canada) 167,500
Today’s Poker Menu
Event 14 will play down to a NLHE 6-Handed final table and on to a winner.
Event 15 will play to a final table in what could be a short day.
Event 16 will complete registration and play on.
Event 17 will try to play down to a Mixed Triple Draw Lowball final table.
Event 18 will give players a fast structure for the $1K NLHE Freezeout.
Event 19 will start the four-day PLO High Roller with its $25K buy-in.
Event 20 will start its $1,500 buy-in Limit 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw action.
https://twitter.com/jonpokerwriter/status/1534789238037762048?s=20&t=KFwkfNcUUvfTYTJN6cUCww
