There was a larger than usual charge in the air during Day 34 of the 2023 World Series of Poker (WSOP) at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas, as players from far and wide prepare for the $10,000 Main Event on July 3; the tournament the poker world has been waiting for.
Before “The Big Dance” commences tomorrow, four events awarded their bracelets, and another four edged towards crowning their worthy champions. Here is what went down in Las Vegas on July 2.
Tamar Abraham became the first female bracelet winner of the 2023 WSOP by taking down Event #67: $1,000 Ladies Championship. Only seven players returned to their seats for the final day’s action, and it was Abraham who was the last woman standing. Her reward? A WSOP bracelet plus $192,167 in prize money.
Event #69: $10,000 No-Limit 2-7 Single Draw Championship required an unscheduled fourth day after Day 3 ran over. David “ODB” Baker, Chris Brewer, and Alex Livingston returned to the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas, with Brewer emerging victoriously and bagging his second bracelet of the series.
Jesse Lonis won Event #71: $50,000 Pot-Limit Omaha High Roller for an impressive $2,303,017 and the second bracelet of their career. Lonis came out on top of a 200-strong field, including defeating Tyler Smith heads-up, to become the champion of this super high-stakes tournament.
The 12th online event, the $500 No-Limit Hold’em Deepstack, concluded on Day 34 of the 2023 WSOP, with Tom Hall of the United Kingdom leaving a trail of 1,637 grinders in his wake.
Only 80 Players Remain in the Colossus; Kertland Leads
Event #70: $400 Colossus is down to only 80 player from a starting field of some 15,983, and it is Jesse Kertland (26,150,000) who has the most chips going into the third and final day of this epic tournament.
Kertland made a big call towards the end of Day 2 that catapulted him to the chip counts’ summit. He now has a realistic shot of becoming a WSOP bracelet winner for the first time, in addition to receiving a $501,120 top prize.
Colin Robinson (22,300,000) is the only other player with over 20 millions chips.
Four of the surviving players are looking to add to their bracelet collections. James Dempsey (8,275,000) is the best-placed of that quartet. John Gorsuch (4,075,000), Jason Wheeler (2,375,000), and Ashkan Razavi (2,005,000) have plenty of work ahead of them on Day 3.
Day 3 shuffles up and deals at 10:00 a.m. local time on July 3, with play continuing until a champion is crowned. Keep your browser locked to PokerNews to discover who that champion is.
Event #70: $400 Colossus Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jesse Kertland | United States | 26,150,000 | 65 |
| 2 | Colin Robinson | United States | 22,300,000 | 56 |
| 3 | Darrick Arreola | United States | 19,750,000 | 49 |
| 4 | Michael Halevy | United States | 16,975,000 | 42 |
| 5 | Toshimasa Sakato | Japan | 15,925,000 | 40 |
| 6 | Laurence Samet | United States | 15,625,000 | 39 |
| 7 | Francesco Micucci | Italy | 14,725,000 | 37 |
| 8 | Mitchell Smith | United States | 12,475,000 | 31 |
| 9 | Erdenbold Begzjav | Mongolia | 12,400,000 | 31 |
| 10 | Moshe Refaelowitz | United Kingdom | 12,400,000 | 31 |
Turner Leads the Way in the $2,500 Mixed Big Bet
Jon Turner (1,433,000) has giving himself every chance of becoming a WSOP champion for the first time by bagging up the chip lead in Event #73: $2,500 Mixed Big Bet. Turner is one of two players returning to the tables with a seven-figure stack, Michael Noori (1,103,000) being the other.
Day 2 of this unique event ended with only 24 players in the hunt for the $190,240 top prize and a gold WSOP bracelet.
Erick Lindgren (803,000), Benny Glaser (746,000), Stuart Rutter (553,000), Steve Zolotow (429,000), Anthony Zinno (308,000), Bryce Yockey (303,000), and Michael Savakinas (301,000) are among the players in the chasing pack.
July 3 at 2:00 p.m. local time is when this event resumes, so return to PokerNews then for all of the big bet action you can handle.
Event #73: $2,500 Mixed Big Bet Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jon Turner | United States | 1,433,000 |
| 2 | Michael Noori | United States | 1,103,000 |
| 3 | Dimitrios Michailidis | Greece | 960,000 |
| 4 | Erick Lindgren | United States | 803,000 |
| 5 | Jonathan Borenstein | United States | 754,000 |
| 6 | Benny Glaser | United Kingdom | 746,000 |
| 7 | Tomasz Gluszko | Poland | 745,000 |
| 8 | Hye Park | United States | 719,000 |
| 9 | Daniel James | United Kingdom | 714,000 |
| 10 | Stuart Rutter | United Kingdom | 553,000 |
$1,000 Mini Main Event Draws in 5,257 Entrants
Some 5,257 players turned out in force for Event #74: $1,000 Mini Main Event, but only 426 of those starters punched their Day 2 tickets at the end of a 22 level day. India’s Avneesh Munjal (3,250,000) soared into an early lead, and is the man to catch when play resumes.
The Mini Main Event attracted some stellar names on Day 1, with many bagging up at the close of play. Timur Margolin (2,735,000), Ramiro Petrone (2,715,000), Josh Reichard (2,515,000), and Sonny Franco (2,435,000) each return with a top ten stack.
Lower down the counts, you find the likes of Stoyan Madanzhiev (1,355,000), Marc Macdonnell (955,000), Bryan Micon (635,000), Stephen Song (585,000), and Max Steinberg (300,000).
The cards are back in the air from 10:00 a.m. local time on July 3, with PokerNews‘ live reporting team bringing you all of the action as attempts are made to reduce the 426-strong field to only five hopefuls.
Event #74: $1,000 Mini Main Event Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Avneesh Munjal | India | 3,250,000 | 81 |
| 2 | Liran Betito | Israel | 2,785,000 | 70 |
| 3 | Timur Margolin | Israel | 2,735,000 | 68 |
| 4 | Ramiro Petrone | Argentina | 2,715,000 | 68 |
| 5 | Jared Woodin | United States | 2,565,000 | 64 |
| 6 | Joshua Reichard | United States | 2,515,000 | 63 |
| 7 | Sonny Franco | France | 2,435,000 | 61 |
| 8 | DID NOT REPORT 1 | 2,400,000 | 60 | |
| 9 | Daniel Swartz | United States | 2,275,000 | 57 |
| 10 | Daniel Shaw | United Kingdom | 2,175,000 | 54 |
Banducci Leads After Day 1 of the $10K PLO8 Championship
Michael Banducci (387,500) bagged up the largest stack on Day 1 of Event #75: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship, but there are some superb players hot on Baducci’s heels.
Only 116 of the 247 starters made it through to Day 2, although both numbers should increase because late registration remains open until the start of Day 2.
Michael Wang (364,500), Taylor Paur (361,500), and Rob Hollink (353,000) finished the day with over 300,000 chips, while Cliff Josephy reached his first Day 2 of the series with 296,000 chips to round out the top five.
Other notable still in contention for the title include Dzmitry Urbanovich (253,000), Paul Volpe (173,500), Julien Martini (168,000), Phil Hui (168,000), Yuval Bronshtein (134,000), James Obst (123,000), Mike Matusow (121,000), John Monnette (113,500), and Daniel Negreanu (93,000).
PokerNews‘ coverage restarts at 1:00 p.m. local time on July 3 in the purple section of Paris Las Vegas. Join our team for all the updates from the latest 2023 WSOP championship event.
Event #75: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michael Banducci | United States | 387,500 | 155 |
| 2 | Michael Wang | United States | 364,500 | 146 |
| 3 | Taylor Paur | United States | 361,500 | 145 |
| 4 | Rob Hollink | Netherlands | 353,000 | 141 |
| 5 | Cliff Josephy | United States | 296,000 | 118 |
| 6 | Dylan Weisman | United States | 276,000 | 110 |
| 7 | Sterling Lopez | United States | 261,000 | 104 |
| 8 | Dzmitry Urbanovich | Poland | 253,000 | 101 |
| 9 | DID NOT REPORT 1 | 249,500 | 100 | |
| 10 | Quentin Krueger | Canada | 240,000 | 96 |
What to Expect on Day 35 of the 2023 WSOP
Event #70: $400 Colossus should crown its champion on July 3, the 35th day of the 2023 WSOP. We should also see the bracelet awarded from Event #73: $2,500 Mixed Big Bet, too.
Day 35 also sees Event #74: $1,000 Mini Main Event Day 2 take place, and Day 2 of Event #75: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better.
Two new events enter the mix. First is Online Event #13: $5,300 No-Limit Hold’em High Roller Championship, with the other being the event everyone in the poker community dreams of winning: Event #76: $10,000 WSOP Main Event World Championship! The Main Event is here!