WSOP Update: Main Event Reaches Day 2; Eli Elezra Scores Fifth Series Win, Phil Hellmuth Grabs Runner-up Finish
The halls of the Bally’s and Paris convention space are now full of players looking for poker’s ultimate prize – a World Series of Poker Main Event bracelet.
The tournament has now reached Day 2, but plenty of other events are also underway. The last week of action featured some big names running deep.
Phil Hellmuth came close to his 17th bracelet and Eli Elezra (pictured in lead image, courtesy WSOP) found No. 5. Poker pro Matt Glantz also had a nice week, taking the top prize in the Million Dollar Bounty. Here’s a look at those events as well as some other winners from Las Vegas.
WSOP Main Event gets Day 2 flights underway
The biggest event in poker is now on to Day 2 after four starting flights. Day 2ABC begins on Thursday with Ireland’s Patrick Clarke leading the field with 397,200 chips.
Florida’s Marcus Stein returns second in chips with 336,800. Other notables returning for Day 2 include Xuan Liu (268,200), Jesse Sylvia (229,400), Kelly Minkin (204,700), Nick Pupillo (203,100), Pedro Bromfman (198,000), and Dylan Linde (166,600). Liu seems to have enjoyed her time at the tables.
Played with Tony all day to my left. Learned about his incredible story and glad he only told me he donates every penny he wins from poker to homeless shelters with 20m left in the day because I would've surrendered every single pot https://t.co/EvkuDHxjPs pic.twitter.com/GOb813kMVF
— Xuan Liu (@xxl23) July 6, 2022
A total of 2,610 players survived to play on Day 2ABC with Day 2D scheduled for Friday. The entire field will then combine to play Day 3 on Saturday.
So far, the tournament has brought in 8,061 players but registration is still available for the start of both Day 2 flights.
Event 55: $1,000 Tag Team
The tag team action returned to Bally’s/Paris with the United Kingdom’s Patrick Leonard and Norway’s Espen Jørstad coming out on top for $148,067.
Leonard is a partypoker ambassador and this marks his first WSOP bracelet. He now has $2.8 million in live tournament winnings. Jørstad also now has his first bracelet as well. Both players took home $74,042 each.
The team of Jamie Kerstetter and Corey Paggeot finished runner-up for $45,756 each. The event produced 913 entries for a $406,285 prize pool.
Event 63: $10,000 Pot Limit Omaha Hi-Lo Championship
Plenty of poker’s big guns showed up for a shot at this title. In the end, Chino Rheem battled Eli Elezra battled heads-up for the title with the latter finding his fifth bracelet for $611,362.
Rheem scored $377,855 for runner-up in an event that saw 284 entries for a $2.6 million prize pool. The win was especially meaningful for Elezra after his father passed away just 18 days earlier.
“I wanted to win for him,” the Poker Hall of Famer said. “And I did it.”
Event 64: $600 Pot Limit Omaha Deepstack
This bargain PLO action produced a field of 2,858 entries for a $1.5 million prize pool. Las Vegas resident Konstantin Petrushev took the top spot for his first bracelet and $199,466.
This was the first WSOP cash of his career. Gregg Merkow, of Plano, Texas, finished runner-up for $123,251.
Event 65: $3,000 Freezeout NLHE
All eyes were on this final table as Phil Hellmuth made a run at his 17th bracelet. He was ultimately denied as Florida’s David Jackson took the top spot for his second bracelet and $598,173.
Jackson is a longtime pro who is also a regular at World Poker Tour events. His first bracelet came in an online event, and he now has a live title as well.
“I was just in my zone, honestly,” he said. “I felt like I was going to win. I knew I was going to win. I felt like it was meant for me.”
Hellmuth settled for runner-up for $369,698. Along with his 16 bracelets, the Poker Brat now has 14 second-place finishes as well. He quickly moved on to other events and was considering his Main Event entrance on Thursday.
@phil_hellmuth grand entrance.. #StarWars pic.twitter.com/gtUfYA5M8I
— Aaron Le (@goaaronle) July 7, 2022
Event 66: $1,000 Mini Main Event
This event offers a nice option for players who might not have quite the buy-in for the Main Event. In the end, Young Sik topped a field of 5,832 entries for $594,189. The event produced a $5.2 million prize pool.
Sik, of Los Angeles, California, also finished runner-up in an earlier $1,0000 Freezeout for $203,949. He entered the final day of play with 10 big blinds but was able to rally for the win. Romania’s Cosmin Joldis took runner-up for $367,233.
Event 67: $10,000 Super Turbo Bounty
Argentina’s Nacho Barbero scored a nice payday of $587,520 and his first bracelet in this quick-action event. He topped a field of 419 entries, which produced a $3.9 million prize pool.
Brazil’s Fabiano Kovalski took runner-up for $363,116. Maria Ho finished fifth for $131,655.
Event 68: $1,000 Million Dollar Bounty
Players in this event had a shot at a larger bounty payout than the actual first-place winner. Poker pro Matt Glantz proved the lucky bounty winner, pocketing the ultimate jackpot of $1 million.
When you pull a million dollars out of the chest…@WSOP Mystery Bounty pic.twitter.com/iiCb3f8HAg
— Matt Glantz (@MattGlantz) July 6, 2022
Minnesota’s Quincy Borland took the bracelet and $750,120 top prize. This was his first bracelet win and Las Vegas’s Kevin Hong took runner-up for $463,610. The tournament attracted 683 entries for $6.4 million.
Online Event 7: $500 No Limit Hold’em Deepstack
Sane “Ooohwee213” Chung, of Los Angeles, took the win in this online poker event at WSOP.com for $149,729. Dylan “Aurelius” Smith finished runner-up for $92,553.
Upcoming tournaments
Those who busted out of the Main Event still have plenty of action to check out in the coming days. Here’s a look at tournaments running throughout the weekend.
- $1,111 One More for One Drop (Event 71) – July 7, 8, 9 (three starting flights)
- $1,500 Mixed: PLO Hi-Lo 8 or Better; Omaha Hi Lo; Big O (Event 72) – July 8
- $1,500 Razz (Event 73) – July 9
- $1,500 Bounty Pot Limit Omaha (Event 74) – July 10
- $777 Lucky 7s NLHE (Event 75) – July 10, 11, 12 (three starting flights)
- $1,979 Poker Hall of Fame Bounty (Event 76) – Jul 10
- Online Event 8: $7,777 Lucky 7s High Roller – July 10
- Online Event 9: $1,000 NLHE Online Bracelet Championship – July 10