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Fifteen days into the 2022 World Series of Poker (WSOP), we can finally see more Indians in the field as the contingent gradually trickles into Sin City.
One of the biggest stories on Day 15 from the Indian perspective was Aditya Agarwal‘s deep run in Event #21: $1,500 Monster Stack No-Limit Hold’em. The WSOP veteran had entered Day 3 as one of the shorter stacks among 39 players but did well to finish 18th for $38,231 (~₹29.82 Lakhs). Agarwal was joined by Ankit Ahuja, who had the 16th most enormous stack at the start of Day 3. He fell out much earlier in the day, placing 33rd for $31,033 (~₹24.21 Lakhs).
The event was taken down by Virginia native Mike Jukich who took home his career-first bracelet and a whopping $966,577 top prize.
But Agarwal and Ahuja were not the only Indians who picked up scores on Day 15. India’s first bracelet winner, Aditya Sushant, and Nishant Sharma, banked payouts on Day 1 of Event #30: $1,000 Pot-Limit Omaha 8-Handed. Sushant finished 248th for $1,603 (~₹1.37 Lakhs), and Sharma came 207th for $1,754 (~₹1.25 Lakhs). A relatively lesser-known Indian player, Manan Bhandari advanced to Day 2 in the event with a stack of 151,000. Meanwhile, Stephen Song (1,404,000) will headline the 284 survivors on Day 2.
Event #26: $10,000 Limit Hold’em Championship was all set to crown a champion today. After 11 hours of play, Kyle Dilschneider (3,000,000) and Jonathan Cohen (2,500,000) decided to halt the heads-up proceedings and will return for an unscheduled Day 4 at 3 PM (PDT) on June 15.
After two days of action, the ten-handed final table has been formed in Event #27: $1,500 Shootout No-Limit Hold’em. All ten players with more or less similar stacks will come back on June 15 to play down to a champion – all of them chasing the bracelet and a $240,480 top prize.
Veselin Karakitukov (9,755,000) emerged as the end-of-Day 2 chip leader in Event #28: $50,000 Pot-Limit Omaha High Roller and will lead the remaining five finalists to Day 3.
Yuri Dzivielevski (1,110,000) and Jonathan McGowan (1,110,000) bagged the joint chip lead on Day 2 in Event #29: $1,500 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw. There will be 19 players returning on Day 3.
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Event #26: $10,000 Limit Hold’em Championship – Day 3
Event #26: $10,000 Limit Hold’em Championship was scheduled for a three-day run, but after over 11 hours of non-stop gameplay on Day 3, two players were left standing.
The battling it out heads-up for over two hours, Kyle Dilschneider (3,000,000) and Jonathan Cohen (2,500,000) decided to postpone the match by another day. The pair will return for an unscheduled Day 4 on Wednesday, June 15, at 3 PM (PDT).
Nine finalists return on Day 3 – all eyes on the $245,678 up top and the gold bracelet. Those who fell through the course of the day included former bracelet winners Matthew Schreiber (3rd for $107,978), and Joey Couden (5th for $58,226), along with maiden bracelet hunters Matthew Gonzales (4th for $78,435), Chad Eveslage (6th for $44,194), Matt Woodward (7th for $34,314), Amir Shayesteh (8th for $27,269), and David Litt (9th for $22,192).
With 14 places paid, those who ran deep enough to cash but failed to make it to the FT included Nick Pupillo (10th for $18,506), Yi Klassen (11th for $18,506), Day 1 chip leader Marco Johnson (12th for $16,920), Matthew Rightnour (13th for $16,920), and Jesse Lonis (14th for $16,920).
Heads-up Chip Counts
Event #27: $1,500 Shootout No-Limit Hold’em – Day 2
After two full days of Shootout No-Limit Hold’em action at Bally’s and Paris Las Vegas, the ten-handed final table in Event #27: $1,500 Shootout No-Limit Hold’em is all set.
The fast-paced action this format is known for saw an initial 1000 whittled down to 100 runners on Day 1. The field was further narrowed down to a final 10 on Day 2. One of the prominent names in the list is Indian-origin player Ravi Raghvan. Raghvan will return to hunt for his maiden WSOP bracelet.
Each of these remaining players secured a seat at the final table after making it through two rounds of play, and now all eyes will be on that shiny gold bracelet and $240,480 top prize.
A host of notables made Day 2 of the event, including 2016 WSOP Main Event Champion Qui Nguyen, Women in Poker Hall of Fame Inductee JJ Liu, and four-time WSOP bracelet winners Tom Schneider and Brian Yoon. None of them, however, could survive the day.
One of the first players to secure a seat at the final table was WSOP bracelet winner Kevin Song. He collected a huge stack early on and carried it till the heads-up against Patrick Leonard. The heads-up was a bit tough for Song, but he successfully eliminated Leonard to enter the final day. Another interesting story was Timothy McDermott’s comeback from the last 5,000 chips on Day 1 to making his way to the final ten players.
The final battle will be played on Wednesday, June 15th at 12 PM (PDT).
Final Day Chip Counts
Event #28: $50,000 Pot-Limit Omaha High Roller – Day 2
Thirty-six players returned for Day 2 of Event #28: $50,000 Pot-Limit Omaha High Roller and it’s down to the last five!
In the hunt for his maiden WSOP bracelet, Veselin Karakitukov (9,755,000) leads the pack, entering the final day`s play. However, he has stiff competition to get through before grabbing the gold with former bracelet winners Ben Lamb (8,215,000), Robert Cowen (7,935,000), and Dash Dudley (4,185,000) all in the chase to add to their collection.
Jason Mercier was the last player to fall and exited in sixth place for $260,819.
Some other in-the-money eliminations of the day included Aaron Katz (7th for $202,103), Scott Seiver (8th for $159,464), Day 1 chip leader Joni Jouhkimainen (10th for $104,950), and Chance Kornuth (14th for $86,960).
Day 2 eliminations began with a double knockout with Andjelko Andrejevic (17th place) busting on the money bubble. Poker veteran Erik Siedel, Eelis Parssinen, and Ronald Perkinson were among the players who fell short of the money.
The five finalists have guaranteed themselves a $342,626 payday, but all of them will be chasing the $1,393,816 up top and the WSOP bracelet on Wednesday.
Day 3 will commence at 4 PM(PDT) on June 15, and the action will be live-streamed on PokerGO from 5 PM (PDT).
Final Day Chip Counts
Event #29: $1,500 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw – Day 2
Day 2 of Event #29: $1,500 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw ended spectacularly, with a 122-player starting field dwindling to just 19 survivors. And the fantastic thing is the top five stacks are all very close to each other.
Yuri Dzivielevski (1,110,000) and Jonathan McGowan (1,110,000) bagged the joint chip lead, while Roland Israelashvili (1,105,000) is less than one big blind behind them. Maxx Coleman (970,000) and Yosif Nawabi (960,000) are just behind the chip leaders.
A slew of notables fell out through the course of the day, including Day 1 chip leader Ian O’Hara (21st for $4,193), George Danzer (30th for $3,518), Tom Schneider (31st for $3,518), Frank Kassela (33rd for $3,518), Poker Hall of Famer Todd Brunson (50th for $2,643), and Mike Matusow (54th for $2,417).
Indo-American player Aditya Prasetyo was eliminated at the 68th, just two places shy of the money.
The elimination spree didn`t spare many notables, with the likes of defending champion Phil Hellmuth, Barry Greenstein, and Steve Zolotow – all falling early.
Christina Hill (20th for $5,114) was the day’s last elimination.
The 19 finalists have locked in at least $5,114, with the eventual champion guaranteed $127,809 and the WSOP bracelet.
Day 3 will begin at 1 PM (PDT) on June 15.
End of Day 2 Chip Counts
Event #30: $1,000 Pot-Limit Omaha 8-Handed – Day 1
Day 1 of Event #30: $1,000 Pot-Limit Omaha 8-Handed brought in a record-breaking 1,891 entrants, 800 more than the previous record last year. A massive $1,682,990 prize pool will be distributed among the top 284 finishers.
After 17 levels of play, the massive field was whittled down to 108 survivors.
Manan Bhandari is the lone Indian left in contention. The poker player is not a stranger at the WSOP, and even though he has just one cash at the mega-series to his name, it’s a commendable seventh-place finish in Event #28: $1K Pot-Limit Omaha 8-Handed at the 2019 WSOP worth $22,787. Bhandari will return on Day 2 with a below-average stack of 151,000, ranked 91st in chips.
However, Bhandari is not the only Indian name on the payouts list. Two other WSOP veterans from the country crossed the money line – Nishant Sharma (207th for $1,754 ~₹1.25 Lakhs) & India’s first bracelet winner Aditya Shushant (248th for $1,603 ~₹1.37 Lakhs). Sharma picked up his second cash of the series while Sushant posted his third.
Headlining the Day 2 action will be the 2019 WSOP $1K No-Limit Hold ’em bracelet winner Stephen Song (1,404,000), with Pedro Arroyos (1,365,000), William Kopp (1,163,000), and Chino Rheem (1,100,000) being the others carrying over a million in chips.
Several bracelet winners are also in contention, including Dylan Weisman (623,000), Anthony Denove (460,000), Ryan Laplante (378,000), Cole Ferraro (344,000), Marcel Vonk (325,000), and James Dempsey (263,000).
Former WSOP (APAC) Main Event champions Scott Davies (114th for $2,419) & Ryan Riess (243rd for $1,603), Michael Moncek (143rd for $2,189), Gershon Distenfeld (164th for $2,004), and Daniel Zack (166th for $2,004) were some top names who fell out after the bubble burst today.
The 108 survivors are all guaranteed at least $2,419, with the champion set to take home $255,359 and the WSOP gold bracelet.
Day 2 will begin at noon (local time) on June 15. The streamlined field of 108 players will return to the silver section of Bally Las Vegas.
Top 10 Chip Counts at the End of Day 1
Event #31: $10,000 Limit 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw Championship– Day 1
Day 1 of Event #31: $10,000 Limit 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw Championship gathered 102 entrants. After ten levels of play, bags were brought out for the remaining 43 players who qualified for Day 2. With late registrations open till the start of Day 2, the field is expected to grow.
Day 2 will be headlined by Oscar Johansson (293,000), with Brian Hastings (292,000), Shaun Deeb (286,000), Jeremy Ausmus (250,000), and Matthew Edgar (248,000) rounding out the top five stacks.
Former bracelet winners still in contention include Peter Gelencser (202,000), Andrew Brown (175,000), Daniel Zack (158,000), Marco Johnson (156,000), Phil Hellmuth (137,000), and Yuval Bronshtein (125,000).
Day 2 will begin at 2 PM (PDT) on June 15 and will play out seven levels of 90-minutes.
Top 10 Chip Counts at the End of Day 1
Content & Images Courtesy: PokerGO, PokerNews & WSOP
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