Day 26 of the 2023 World Series of Poker gave us plenty of action, with three bracelets being won, two events kicking off, and two events trucking through the middle game.
The Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas played host to these events in all their glory as three bracelets found new owners in Event #50: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship, Event #51: $1,000/Team TAG TEAM No-Limit Hold’em, and Event #52: $2,500 Mixed Limit Triple Draw Lowball.
Event #53: $1,500 MILLIONAIRE MAKER No-Limit Hold’em shuffled up and dealt again for the Day 1b flight while Event #55: $1,500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better kicked off its regular Day 1.
Event #48: $1,000 SENIORS No-Limit Hold’em Championship and Event #54: $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship are both one day closer to their final tables, with the H.O.R.S.E. event down to the final 17 and Phil Hellmuth still in the running.
AP Louis Garza Takes Event #50… And A Knee
Event #50: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship was everything you’d hope from a $10k PLO final table, with great poker players putting on a show of great poker playing.
The live-streamed final table saw AP Louis Garza square off against Arthur Morris for a Texan v. Texan heads up match. To get there, the pair had to outlast hardened pros like Kosei Ichinose and Sam Soverel.
The Day 3 chip leader Stanislav Halatenko held on to enough chips to come in third, earning $570,307 in the process. Travis Pearson and Peng Shan completed the Day 4 lineup after Soverel, Ichinose, and Ren Lin were knocked out during Day 3’s final table play.
This was Garza’s first bracelet despite several top 20 finishes at the WSOP over the last few years.
Garza brought some definite sartorial flair to the table, and when asked about his stylish get-up, Garza responded, “Man, that’s just me all day, any day, Monday, Tuesday, Jesus’ birthday, your birthday.” There may also have been another reason he wanted to look his best, as Garza had brought his own jewelry. After the win, he proposed to his girlfriend in the PokerGO studio.
Happy endings all round!
Event#50: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship Final Table Results
| Place | Winner | Country | Prize (in USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | AP Louis Garza | United States | $1,309,232 |
| 2 | Arthur Morris | United States | $809,167 |
| 3 | Stanislav Halatenko | Ukraine | $570,307 |
| 4 | Travis Pearson | United States | $407,915 |
| 5 | Peng Shan | China | $296,154 |
| 6 | Sam Soverel | United States | $218,297 |
| 7 | Kosei Ichinose | Japan | $163,405 |
| 8 | Ren Lin | China | $124,243 |
Teamwork Works For Michael and Satoshi Tanaka
The Michael Savakinas–Satoshi Tanaka axis took down Event #51: $1,000/Team TAG TEAM No-Limit Hold’em earning themselves a pair of shinies for the trophy cabinet to go with a $190,662 payday.
Team Savanakis kept fresh by subbing in a new player at the end of every blind level. This unusual strategy seemed to work, allowing them to rise the ranks as their opponents fell one by one.
“When the final table started, we decided to switch on the levels,” Tanaka explained. “I think that gave us an edge because no one else was doing that.”
During heads-up play, the pair were up against the team of Vincent Moscati and Tanner Bibat. However, the eventual winners started with a chip lead and ended with all the chips. Team Moscati won $117,872 for second place.
Event #51: $1,000 Tag Team Final Table Payouts
| Place | Team/Players | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michael Savakinas – Satoshi Tanaka | United States | $190,662 |
| 2 | Vincent Moscati – Tanner Bibat | United States | $117,872 |
| 3 | Jonah LaBranche – Dustin Wills | United States | $85,040 |
| 4 | Rickey Evans – Roberto Valdez | United States | $62,090 |
| 5 | John Ventre – Kenneth Gallo | United States | $45,884 |
| 6 | Marcus Stein – Amber Donatelli | United States | $34,326 |
| 7 | David Williams – Theo Tran | United States | $26,000 |
| 8 | Carlos Inukai – Emmanuel Avila | United States | $19,942 |
| 9 | Justin Pechie – Ronnie Bardah | United States | $15,492 |
| 10 | Ramon Kropmanns – Jessica Serial | Brazil | $12,190 |
Nick Pupillo Wins Mixed Triple Draw Bracelet
Event #52: $2,500 Mixed Limit Triple Draw Lowball is an unusual event. Players rotate through rounds of A-5 triple draw, 2-7 triple draw, and Badugi.
The final table bubble burst with WSOP bracelet winner Andrew Brown being sent to the rail by Aaron Mermelstein. Mermelstein eventually went out in third place, leaving Nick Pupillo and Ryan Moriarty heads up.
2-7 triple draw was the game afoot when heads-up play started between Pupillo and Moriarty. Heads up play lasted just a few hands before Moriarty found his Reichenbach with a K-9 low against Pupillo’s 9-7. The pair got it all in, and Pupillo got the bracelet.
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Event #52: $2,500 Mixed Limit Triple Draw Lowball Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nick Pupillo | United States | $181,978 |
| 2 | Ryan Moriarty | United States | $112,472 |
| 3 | Aaron Mermelstein | United States | $74,545 |
| 4 | Tomomitsu Ono | Japan | $50,608 |
| 5 | Hye Park | United States | $35,212 |
| 6 | Brant Hale | United States | $25,126 |
Billy Baxter in the Running For SENIORS Event Bracelet
The big story of Event #48: $1,000 SENIORS No-Limit Hold’em Championship was Billy Baxter‘s steady rise through the field. With seven WSOP bracelets and a spot in the Poker Hall of Fame already in hand, Baxter is one to watch.
Age brings experience and there is plenty of that in the remaining field of the Seniors Event. Gordon Eng (15,975,000) tops the leaderboard with Lonnie Hallett (15,300,000) and David Stearns (10,575,000) in close pursuit. Former Seniors champion, Dan Heimiller (3,625,000) also remains in the bracelet chase, looking for a duplicate.
Baxter’s top ten chip stack at the end of Day 3 also bodes well for the continuation of his story tomorrow. Baxter and co will return on June 25 at 12 p.m. local time (note that this is a change from the 10 a.m. start marked on the original WSOP schedule).
Event #48: $1,000 SENIORS No-Limit Hold’em Championship Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gordon Eng | United States | 15,975,000 | 64 |
| 2 | Lonnie Hallett | Canada | 15,300,000 | 61 |
| 3 | David Stearns | United States | 10,575,000 | 42 |
| 4 | Amin Mostafavi | United States | 10,525,000 | 42 |
| 5 | Jamie Baker | Canada | 9,700,000 | 39 |
| 6 | Ron Fetsch | United States | 8,700,000 | 35 |
| 7 | Billy Baxter | United States | 6,400,000 | 26 |
| 8 | Rudolf Fourie | South Africa | 6,000,000 | 24 |
| 9 | Loren Cloninger | United States | 6,000,000 | 24 |
| 10 | David Thompson | United States | 5,675,000 | 23 |
Hellmuth Makes Final 17 In $10,000 H.O.R.S.E.
Event #54: $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship is one of the most prestigious events. The $10k buy-in and mixed game format tends to attract an elite player field.
Brian Yoon won his fifth WSOP bracelet earlier in this year’s series and is now in pole position going into tomorrow’s final table. He leads the 17 remaining players at the end of Day 2. With 185 entries, the prize pool for this event is $1,720,500.
Yoon may be top of the pride right now, but if he want’s the lion’s share of the pot, he will need to stay ahead of big-name players like Connor Drinan (1,200,000), Scott Seiver (965,000), Carol Fuchs (865,000), and 16-time braceletee Phil Hellmuth (700,000).
Day 3 action will begin on June 25 at 2 p.m. local time.
Event #54: $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship Day 2 Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brian Yoon | United States | 1,465,000 |
| 2 | Connor Drinan | United States | 1,200,000 |
| 3 | Christopher Claassen | United States | 1,070,000 |
| 4 | Scott Seiver | United States | 965,000 |
| 5 | Carol Fuchs | United States | 865,000 |
| 6 | Roman Verenko | Ukraine | 855,000 |
| 7 | Brad Ruben | United States | 775,000 |
| 8 | Phil Hellmuth | United States | 700,000 |
| 9 | Mike Gorodinsky | United States | 635,000 |
| 10 | David “Bakes” Baker | United States | 620,000 |
Eric Rodawig Leads Stud Hi-Lo Event After Day 1
Event #55: $1,500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better attracted 566 players, generating a $755,610 prize pool and a $155,275 first place.
A total of 183 players remain in the running at the end of Day 1.
Big names who did not make it to Day 2 included Daniel Negreanu, Barry Greenstein, Jeff Madsen, Patrick Leonard, the actor James Woods, Allen Kessler, Ted Forrest, Jeff Lisandro, and Scotty Nguyen.
Players who will be returning tomorrow include Brian Rast (118,000), Frankie O’Dell (100,000), Adam Friedman (98,500), and Norman Chad (70,000).
Play begins again on June 25 at 1 p.m. Vegas time for Day 2, during which the money bubble is expected to burst.
Event #55: $1,500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better End of Day 1 Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eric Rodawig | United States | 234,500 |
| 2 | Kevin Cote | United States | 187,000 |
| 3 | Constantine Zdanowich | United States | 186,500 |
| 4 | Qibang Cheung | United Kingdom | 175,000 |
| 5 | Michael Estes | United States | 173,000 |
| 6 | William Buckley | United States | 164,500 |
| 7 | John Esposito | United States | 163,500 |
| 8 | Ivan Schertzer | United States | 161,000 |
| 9 | Rafael Concepcion | United States | 155,500 |
| 10 | Kao Saechao | United States | 155,000 |
2023 Millionaire Maker Becomes Biggest $1,500 Field Ever
Zi Long Zhang leads Day 1b of Event #53: $1,500 MILLIONAIRE MAKER No-Limit Hold’em with 407,000 in chips (although official counts recorded Holtz as the Day 1b chip leader, Holtz has admitted on Twitter to entering a joke chip count of 420,069 — his stack is instead around 48,500).
The overall chip leader for the event remains Yong Yi who bagged 750,000 on Day 1a. They have the distinction of being in the lead of the biggest live $1,500 event ever played with 10,430 entries.
Among the big names who bagged big were Loni Hui (220,000), Faraz Jaka (57,000), Vanessa Kade (51,000), Espen Jorstad (149,500), and Jamie Gold (83,000).
Notables who did not make it to Day 2 included WSOP Main Event Champions Koray Aldemir and Damian Salas, as well as Mario Ho, Will Kassouf, and Yuri Dzivieleski.
Play will resume on June 25 at 10 a.m. Vegas time.
Event #53: $1,500 MILLIONAIRE MAKER No-Limit Hold’em Start of Day 2 Top Ten Chip Counts
| Place | 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 | Zilong Zhang | United States | 407,000 | 163 |
| 8 | Alex Greenblatt | United States | 405,500 | 162 |
| 9 | Christian Vaca | United States | 405,000 | 162 |
| 10 | Pei Li | Canada | 396,500 | 159 |
What To Expect on Day 27 of the 2023 WSOP
Day 27 of the World Series of Poker will see the launch of three new live bracelet events (plus the full one-day run of Online Event #10: $400 No-Limit Ultra Deepstack). These three events will be Event #57: $25,000 High Roller Pot-Limit Omaha, Event #58: $3,000 6-Handed Limit Hold’em, and the much anticipated Event #56: $500 SALUTE to Warriors.
There will also be several events continuing their action. Plus, Event #53: $1,500 MILLIONAIRE MAKER No-Limit Hold’em will return at 10 a.m. for the combined Day 2. Event #55: $1,500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better, Event #48: $1,000 SENIORS No-Limit Hold’em Championship, and Event #54: $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship will all continue to play out their midgames.
Unusually, the only bracelet that is scheduled to be won tomorrow is the online event.