WSOP Weekly: Joe Hachem Builds a Big Stack; Josh Arieh Wins Again; Complete Main Event Breakdown & More

November 9, 2021
WSOP Weekly: Joe Hachem Builds a Big Stack; Josh Arieh Wins Again; Complete Main Event Breakdown & More

The Main Event action continues this week at the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas. Plenty of big names have advanced with one more starting flight remaining on Tuesday.

Plenty of big names have already advanced to Day 2 including Joe Hachem, who finished among the chip leaders on Day 1E. Josh Arieh (pictured above) also moves on only days after winning his second bracelet of the series.

NBA legend Tony Parker took a seat at the Main Event and helped get the festivities started on Friday. Here’s a look at some of the latest action from the series.

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Event 67: $10,000 Main Event

After kicking off on Thursday with the first starting flights, more Day 1s continued through the weekend. One last starting flight is set for Tuesday with Day 2 also beginning for some players.

Day 1A saw Italy’s Mustapha Kanit advance, leading the field with 363,500 chips. The flight saw 523 entries with 348 players advancing. Doyle Brunson was also one of those advancing as noted in last week’s WSOP Update.

Steve Foutty bagged 287,000 chips to lead Day 1B on Saturday, which produced 845 entries with 611 players moving on. Some of the others bagging chips included Ronnie Bardah (139,600), Stephen Chidwick (124,900), and Kevin Gerhart (112,400).

Mike Matusow also advanced with 56,500 despite losing a big hand late to an opponent’s straight flush. “The Mouth” made some news this week by arguing that allowing registration on Day 2 favors more well-heeled players. He believes longer late registration periods aren’t good for the game.

“Max late registration and day two registration has completely destroyed the integrity of tournament poker and anyone who says different is selfish and only cares about themselves!” he also noted on Twitter. “In this year’s main event 25% or more of the field will be out while players can register day two with 75 big blinds!”

Main Event Days 1C, 1D, 1E

The starting slight action continued on Saturday. In Day 1C, Russia’s Aleksandr Shevlyakov led the pack with 392,600 chips. The flight attracted 600 players with 433 punching a ticket to Day 2.

Josh Arieh continued his huge run through the series, finishing the day with 154,100. Others advancing included JC Tran (175,400), Dennis Phillips (89,900), Tony Miles (53,800), and Erik Seidel (38,700).

Two former Main Event champs also advanced, 2016 winner Qui Nguyen (143,800) and 2019 champion Hossein Ensan (84,000). 

Monday’s Day 1D produced the biggest field so far with a significant increase in registrations. The flight saw 2,550 players with Colorado’s Adedapo Ajayi emerging as the chip leader with 340,900.

Others advancing from this flight include Dan Shak (229,200), James Chen (209,400), Cliff Josephy (198,600), Yevgeniy Timoshenko (194,800), Nick Petrangelo (180,000), Matt Berkey (179,800), Greg Mueller (176,700), Kathy Liebert (97,300), Maris Ho (85,700), Danielle Andersen (64,800), Kitty Kuo (57,600), and Jamie Kerstetter (14,300).

Maria Ho moved on to Day 2 in the WSOP Main Event. (photo courtesy PokerGO)

Monday brought Day 1E with 797 players entering the field and 592 surviving. New York’s David Gerassi took the top spot for the day with 316,100 chips.

Among those moving on were former Main Event champions Scott Blumstein (95,000) and Joe Hachem (186,100). Nathan Gamble (83,000) and Dylan Linde were also among those moving on.

Plenty of action remains in Las Vegas. Those advancing in the first three flights will return for Day 2 on Tuesday. Returning players from the last three flights are back in the Rio for their Day 2 on Wednesday. The player pool then combines for Day 3 on Thursday.

Event 66: $10,000 Pot Limit Omaha Hi/Lo 8 or Better Championship

After scooping his first bracelet since 2005 earlier in the series, Josh Arieh now has another. He topped a field of 208 entries ($2 million prize pool) to score his fourth bracelet and $484,791.

He battled Danny Chang heads-up for the title with the runner-up winning $299,627. Arieh’s earlier win came in the $1,500 PLO for $204,766. He also finished sixth in the Poker Players Championship for $161,422.

Having his wife Rachel in attendance for the win added to the experience for Arieh. The Georgia grinder is certainly on a roll and having a massive series. That included a deep online run as well (more on that below).

Online Event 7:$3,200 High Roller

The online action at WSOP.com continued on Sunday and this event brought in 318 entries for a $1.3 million prize pool. Several big names ran deep, including Josh Arieh as seen in the Tweet above. He took fourth for $96,049.

Dylan Linde grabbed third for $134,575 and Chad Eveslage finished runner-up for $198,959. Despite these heavy hitters, “incel4life” came out on top for the bracelet and a nice payday of $318,889.

NBA’s Tony Parker gets the action started

NBA legend Tony Parker giving the traditional “shuffle up and deal.” (photo courtesy WSOP)

On Friday, six-time NBA All-Star and four-time NBA champion Tony Parker made his way to the Rio. The San Antonio Spurs legend got the action underway with the traditional “shuffle up and deal” moment. Parker won a charity tournament in January to earn his seat.

“I just love the game, and now that I’m retired I’ve got more time,” Parker told PokerGO’s Jeff Platt. “I’ve been playing for 20 years and I always said to myself that I wanted to at least have the experience and play in the Main Event. I did a tournament in San Antonio five months ago. It was like 350 people and I won the tournament to qualify for the Main Event.”

Unfortunately for Parker, he didn’t survive the starting flight and will have to wait until 2022.

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Looking ahead

Beyond the Main Event, several events are also on the horizon at the Rio. The $1,111 Little One for One Drop kicked off on Monday with two more starting flights on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The big-field action continues with the $888 Crazy Eights also set to begin on Thursday. Here’s a look at some of the events ahead.

  • 68: $1,111 Little One for One Drop – starting flights continue on Nov. 10-11
  • 69: $1,500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better – Nov. 10
  • 70: $888 Crazy Eights NLHE – Nov. 11
  • 71: $1,500 Bounty Pot Limit Omaha – Nov. 11

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