There is something special about seeing a poker player get their hands on a World Series of Poker bracelet; it never grows old. Day 16 of the 2023 WSOP at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas saw five players become poker champions and receive the most sought-after piece of jewelry in the game.
Benjamin Ector took down Event #28: $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em for $406,403 and some poker gold. Seventeen players returned for the third and final day, and it was Ector who came out on top, defeating Adam Swan heads-up.
A cool $2,576,729, the largest single prize awarded at the 2023 WSOP so far, is now with Jans Arends after he battled his way through a stacked final six in Event #29: $100,000 High Roller. Three of the finalists became instant millionaires thanks to the $8,997,750 prize pool. Adrian Mateos finished in third for $1,142,147 before Arends resigned Cary Katz to the $1,592,539 runner-up prize.
Event #30: $1,500 Limit 2-7 Triple Draw crowned its champion on Day 16 of the 2023 WSOP. John Monnette left 17 opponents in their wake on the final day’s action (from a field of 522 overall), and captured $145,863 plus his fifth bracelet.
Day 1 of Event #32: $3,000 No-Limit Hold’em (6-Handed) saw the 1,271-strong field reduced to only 57, and Mark Ioli was the last player standing. The impressive victory came with $558,266 for Ioli in addition to an all-important WSOP bracelet.
The fifth bracelet of the day went to Scott Dulaney, who will forever be known as the winner of Event #31: $600 Mixed No-Limit Hold’em/Pot-Limit Omaha Deepstack. The champion outlasted 2,757 opponents on their way to hauling in their first bracelet and $194,155 in prize money.
Shakerchi Looking Good After Two Days on the Razz
Talal Shakerchi is in pole position for in Event #33: $10,000 Razz Championship, where only 13 players remain in the hunt for the title and the $298,682 top prize. Shakerchi bagged up 1,104,000 chips, giving him a slender lead over Carlos Chadha-Villamarin (1,052,000) in second place.
Although Shakerchi leads, his victory is far from assured as there is some top poker talent in the chasing pack. Elior Sion (745,000), Bryce Yockey (589,000), Yuval Bronshtein (574,000), John Hennigan (346,000), and Nick Schulman (337,000) each have a part to play in Shakerchi’s story.
PokerNews‘ Day 3 coverage begins at 2:00 p.m. on June 15. We shall see you then.
Event #33: $10,000 Razz Championship Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Bets |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Talal Shakerchi | United Kingdom | 1,104,000 | 28 |
| 2 | Carlos Chadha-Villamarin | United States | 1,052,000 | 26 |
| 3 | Michael Noori | United States | 756,000 | 19 |
| 4 | Elior Sion | United Kingdom | 745,000 | 19 |
| 5 | Bryce Yockey | United States | 589,000 | 15 |
| 6 | Yuval Bronshtein | United States | 574,000 | 14 |
| 7 | Brad Ruben | United States | 532,000 | 13 |
| 8 | Michael Moncek | United States | 491,000 | 12 |
| 9 | Jerry Wong | United States | 471,000 | 12 |
| 10 | John Hennigan | United States | 346,000 | 9 |
| 11 | Nick Schulman | United States | 337,000 | 8 |
| 12 | Adam Owen | United Kingdom | 311,000 | 8 |
| 13 | Roy Thung | United States | 70,000 | 2 |
PLO Experts Turn Out in Force for $1,500 Buy-in Event
Event #34: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha drew in 1,355 players but only 98 progressed to Day 2, and none of those surviving players bagged more chips than PLO specialist Josh Arieh (1,196,000).
Arieh played well and ran hot, which is a deadly combination for someone with five WSOP bracelets to their name. Matthew Parry (1,102,000) and Eric Fields (1,015,000) were the only players to break through the one million chip barrier.
There is still a long way to go in this event, but Arieh will fancy his chances of capturing a sixth WSOP bracelet, and tying with his friend Shaun Deeb. Arieh will have to outlast such luminaries as Robert Mizrachi (829,000), Anson Tsang (708,000), Daniel Negreanu (466,000), JC Tran (358,000), and Kevin Gerhart (157,000) if he is to win yet another Omaha tournament.
Event #34: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Josh Arieh | United States | 1,196,000 | 120 |
| 2 | Matthew Parry | United States | 1,102,000 | 110 |
| 3 | Eric Fields | United States | 1,015,000 | 102 |
| 4 | Taehyung Kim | South Korea | 951,000 | 95 |
| 5 | Robert Mizrachi | United States | 829,000 | 83 |
| 6 | Steve Foutty | United States | 803,000 | 80 |
| 7 | Todd Hatch | United States | 779,000 | 78 |
| 8 | Daniel Grassi | United States | 714,000 | 71 |
| 9 | Anson Tsang | Hong Kong | 708,000 | 71 |
| 10 | Joe Firova | United States | 694,000 | 69 |
Huge Bounties on the Horizon in the $10K Secret Bounty Event
A prize pool of $3,578,400 was created in Event #35: $10,000 Secret Bounty after 568 players bought in. By the end of 15 levels, only 142 of those players had chips requiring bagging and tagging.
Loni Hui bagged up 616,000 chips at the end of the night, which are enough for sixth place at the restart. Only Aliaksandr Hirs (750,000), Yang Wang (710,000), Axel Hallay (708,000), Ariel Mantel (650,000), and Uri Reichenstein (626,000) packed away more chips than Hui.
The surviving players return to battle from 12:00 p.m. local time on June 15, knowing that the secret bounties are now in play. Stay locked to PokerNews to discover how much those bounties are worth, and which players get their hands on the juiciest one.
Event #35: $10,000 Secret Bounty Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aliaksandr Hirs | Belarus | 750,000 | 94 |
| 2 | Yang Wang | China | 710,000 | 89 |
| 3 | Axel Hallay | France | 708,000 | 89 |
| 4 | Ariel Mantel | Argentina | 650,000 | 81 |
| 5 | Uri Reichenstein | Israel | 626,000 | 78 |
| 6 | Loni Hui | United States | 616,000 | 77 |
| 7 | Andre Akkari | Brazil | 558,000 | 70 |
| 8 | Eric Yanovsky | United States | 531,000 | 66 |
| 9 | David Stamm | United States | 525,000 | 66 |
| 10 | Nate Silver | United States | 517,000 | 65 |
Andres Korn bags Big On Day 1 of the Nine Game Mix
Argentina’s Andres Korn (240,700) bagged up one of the biggest stacks after Day 1 of Event #36: $3,000 Nine Game Mix. Korn, who already possesses a WSOP bracelet, is one to watch going into Day 2.
Yashuo Chin (622,000) is the name at the top of the WSOP-supplied chip counts, although PokerNews will verify this figure at the start of Day 2 as it looks like an outlying amount and could actually be 62,200; we shall see.
Plenty of elite professionals put their mixed game skills to the test on Day 1. The likes of Todd Brunson (174,800), Marco Johnson (174,700), Scott Clements (154,000), Viktor Blom (151,400), and Adam Friedman (96,600) all made it through the first ten levels unscathed.
The cards are back in the air from 1:00 p.m. local time on June 15, and PokerNews‘ live reporting team will be with you every step of the way.
Event #36: $3,000 Nine Game Mix Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yashuo Chin | United States | 622,000 |
| 2 | DID NOT REPORT 3 | United States | 407,000 |
| 3 | Christopher Stephan | United States | 381,000 |
| 4 | Andres Korn | Argentina | 240,700 |
| 5 | Tamon Nakamura | Japan | 216,400 |
| 6 | Michael McKenna | United States | 212,000 |
| 7 | Walter Chambers | United States | 194,300 |
| 8 | Scott Bohlman | United States | 182,300 |
| 9 | Michael Estes | United States | 180,300 |
| 10 | Philip Sternheimer | United States | 180,100 |
What to Expect on Day 17 of the 2023 WSOP
Another two events shuffle up and deal for the first time on June 15, which is Day 17 of the 2023 WSOP.
Expect a bumper crowd for Event #37: $2,000 No-Limit Hold’em, and an all-star cast for Event #38: $10,000 Limit 2-7 Triple Draw Championship.
You can also tune into all the action from the in-play events. They are Event #33: $10,000 Razz Championship, Event #34: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha, Event #35: $10,000 Secret Bounty, and Event #36: $3,000 Nine Game Mix.