Day 25 of the 2023 World Series of Poker at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas slowed down after a hectic day with five bracelets awarded on Day 24. No winners were crowned in Las Vegas on June 23rd.
No bracelets awarded but that didn’t mean there wasn’t enough action inside the tournament areas as they played down to a final table in Event #50: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship.
Halatenko Leads Final Five Into Day 4 of Event #50: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship
Day 3 of Event #50: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship has come to an end, with the final five players returning on Day 26 to play for a top prize of $1,309,232 and a gold WSOP bracelet.
Sitting atop the leaderboard is Stanislav Halatenko, who bagged 19,750,000 to take a massive lead into Day 4. The Ukranian went on a big run early in the day, including eliminating William Kopp in 16th with a rivered full house, and enters the final day with 45 percent of chips in play.
Travis Pearson sits in second place, having bagged 8,550,000. Pearson came on strong near the end of the night, firmly entrenching himself in second position with a rivered Broadway.
Peng Shan will enter Day 4 in third, bringing 6,800,000 in chips, while Arthur Morris (4,875,000) and Ap Garza (3,775,000) sit at the bottom of the leaderboard.
The Final Five
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arthur Morris | United States | 4,875,000 | 24 |
| 2 | Travis Pearson | United States | 8,550,000 | 43 |
| 3 | Peng Shan | China | 6,800,000 | 34 |
| 4 | Ap Garza | United States | 3,775,000 | 19 |
| 5 | Stanislav Halatenko | Ukraine | 19,750,000 | 99 |
Nicholas Pupillo Leads Last Nineteen Heading into Final Day of Event #52: $2,500 Mixed Triple Draw
After ten more 60-minute levels of play on Day 2 of Event #52: $2,500 Mixed Triple Draw, just 19 players remain from a start-of-day field of 145 as they battle it out for the first-place prize of $181,978.
Leading the survivors is Nicholas Pupillo with a large stack of 1,505,000 after he was able to add a significant chunk to his count late in the day by making a wheel against Cary Katz’s number two in 2-7 triple draw. His nearest competitor, Tomomitsu Ono, was able to amass 1,235,000 while Joao Vieira rounds out the top three on 1,040,000.
It took quite some time to reach the money bubble but when it finally happened it was Yuebin Gao who was unfortunate enough to hit the rail in 54th place, guaranteeing the remaining 53 players a payday of at least $4,069.
Day 3 Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nicholas Pupillo | United States | 1,505,000 |
| 2 | Tomomitsu Ono | Japan | 1,235,000 |
| 3 | Joao Vieira | Portugal | 1,040,000 |
| 4 | Brant Hale | United States | 1,000,000 |
| 5 | Oscar Johansson | Sweden | 910,000 |
| 6 | Robert Wells | United Kingdom | 850,000 |
| 7 | Hye Park | United States | 810,000 |
| 8 | Anatolii Zyrin | Russia | 800,000 |
| 9 | Ryan Moriarty | United States | 640,000 |
| 10 | Divakaran Marella | United States | 530,000 |
Team Sako Leads Heading into Day 3 Event #51: $1,000 Tag Team
It was a mad dash to the money as Day 2 has officially concluded in Event# 51: $1,000 Tag Team No-Limit Hold’em and just 26 teams remain in contention for the $95,331 first-place prize and the coveted gold bracelet.
Team Sako is leading the way with 2,340,000. Team Williams and Team Java have 2,085,000 and 2,065,000, respectively, to round out the top three and Team Ventre is not far behind with 1,645,000.
Some well-known players to head to the payout desk on Day 2 include Team Sluder, consisting of William Sluder and Matt Berkey, and Team Mariott, consisting of Julie Marriot and Dara O’Kearney.
Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player/Team | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yuki Sako – Shunsuke Tokoo | Japan | 2,340,000 | 78 |
| 2 | David Williams – Theo Tran | United States | 2,085,000 | 70 |
| 3 | Nipun Java – Ronald Phipps | India | 2,065,000 | 69 |
| 4 | John Ventre – Kenneth Gallo | United States | 1,645,000 | 55 |
| 5 | Jorge Machado – Lucian Camargo | Brazil | 1,645,000 | 55 |
| 6 | Jonah LaBranche – Dustin Wills | United States | 1,475,000 | 49 |
| 7 | Lindsey McDougall – Joshua McDougall | United States | 1,375,000 | 46 |
| 8 | Sean Cosgrove – John Lucas | United States | 1,275,000 | 43 |
| 9 | Mitchell Collins – Arash Asadabadi | United States | 1,265,000 | 42 |
| 10 | Vincent Moscati – Tanner Bibat | United States | 945,000 | 32 |
Leonard Clementi Bags Massive Chip Lead on Day 2 of the 2023 WSOP Seniors Championship
Event #48: $1,000 Seniors Championship saw 1,624 runners make it back for day two. Only 1,227 players would be eligible for the $1607 min-cash and the bubble would burst at about 1 p.m on a hand by James Clarke where his ace-nine would hold against Dennis Otto’s King-three.
After 10 levels of play, approximately 217 players remained and have locked up at least a $5,138 cash. Leonard Clementi appeared to bag the chip lead with 4,200,000. Others to bag big stacks were Chun Li (3,165,000), David Palm (2,335,000), James Clarke (2,250,000), and Bryant Morrison (2,055,000).
Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leonard Clementi | United States | 4,200,000 | 168 |
| 2 | Chun Li | United States | 3,165,000 | 127 |
| 3 | David Palm | United States | 2,335,000 | 93 |
| 4 | James Clarke | United Kingdom | 2,250,000 | 90 |
| 5 | Christopher Stevens | United States | 2,195,000 | 88 |
| 6 | Bryant Morrison | United States | 2,055,000 | 82 |
| 7 | Amie Martini | United States | 2,000,000 | 80 |
| 8 | Brad Anderson | United States | 2,000,000 | 80 |
| 9 | Jeff Banghart | United States | 1,980,000 | 79 |
| 10 | Randi Singer | United States | 1,975,000 | 79 |
Great Scott! Bohlman and Seiver Bag Big on Day 1 of $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship
From a field of 165 entries, 91 have survived the opening day of WSOP Event #54: $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship with plenty of big names at the top of the leaderboard including Scott Bohlman (311,500), Scott Seiver (297,000), David “Bakes” Baker (268,000), and Poker Hall of Famer Mori Eskandani (238,500).
They’ll all be chasing chip leader Steven Loube to start Day 2 however, as the 2012 bracelet winner in $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha 8 or Better bagged up 353,000 to top the leaderboard.
Top Ten Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Steven Loube | United States | 353,000 |
| 2 | Scott Bohlman | United States | 311,500 |
| 3 | Young Ko | United States | 298,500 |
| 4 | Scott Seiver | United States | 297,000 |
| 5 | David “Bakes” Baker | United States | 268,000 |
| 6 | Mori Eskandani | United States | 238,500 |
| 7 | Binh Ly | United States | 238,000 |
| 8 | Paul Volpe | United States | 214,500 |
| 9 | Matt Grapenthien | United States | 207,000 |
| 10 | Daniel Tafur | Spain | 205,000 |
Nicola Basile Bags Huge Stack After Day 1a of Event #53: $1,500 Millionaire Maker
A large total of 4,585 entries filled almost the entire room at the Paris Las Vegas Hotel & Casino for Day 1a of Event #53: $1,500 Millionaire Maker.
Out of all those entries, only 1,012 players made it through to Day 2 that will be playing out on Sunday, June 25. On of the chip leaders for Day 1a is Nicola Basile who bagged an impressive 480,000.
Basile already had a big stack as the day was winding down and kept winning small pots to stay in the end-of-day top counts. The Canadian player, holder of three WSOP rings, is still in the hunt for his first gold bracelet.
Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yong Yi | United States | 750,000 | 300 |
| 2 | Sihao Zhang | Luxembourg | 725,500 | 290 |
| 3 | Nicola Basile | Canada | 480,000 | 192 |
| 4 | Peng Li | United States | 460,000 | 184 |
| 5 | Paul Gunness | United States | 430,000 | 172 |
| 6 | Ryan Dodd | United States | 414,500 | 166 |
| 7 | Alex Greenblatt | United States | 405,500 | 162 |
| 8 | Osman Ihlamur | Turkey | 392,000 | 157 |
| 9 | Lawrence Beach | United States | 361,000 | 144 |
| 10 | Jamie Rosen | United States | 357,000 | 143 |
What To Expect On Day 26 of the 2023 WSOP
We’re back to awarding bracelets inside the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas for Day 26 of the World Series of Poker as they play down to a winner in Event #50: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship, Event #51: $1,000 Tag Team, and Event #52: $2,500 Mixed Limit Triple Draw Lowball.
Keep an eye on the PokerNews updates while the field Event #48: $1,000 Seniors Championship gets thinned out.
More updates can be found on Day 1b of Event #53: $1,500 Millionaire Maker, Day 2 of Event #53: $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship, and Day 1 of Event #55: $1,500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better.
Digital Media Manager
Milko van Winden has been a part of the poker media corps since 2017. An occasional [I]PokerNews[/I] contributor and live reporter, Milko is the Head of Digital Media at poker training site Pokercode.