WSOP 2022: Aditya Agarwal Makes Final 10 in Event #3: $2,500 Freezeout No-Limit Hold’em

It’s happening! We’re on Day 3 of the 53rd annual World Series of Poker (WSOP), and Team India’s bracelet sweat has gotten real! The man of the moment is the country’s poker pioneer Aditya Agarwal, who is making his 16th appearance at the annual series and finds himself nine places away from clinching that elusive bracelet he’s been chasing for over a decade.

Last year, the 37-year-old poker pro finished a hair’s breadth away from claiming his career-first gold bracelet in Event #76: $10,000 Super Turbo Bounty – collecting a career-best $286,705 (~₹2.13 Crores) in second place. Seven months later, Agarwal is once again in the reckoning to win the most prestigious prize in poker, having made the unofficial final table in Event #3: $2,500 Freezeout No-Limit Hold’em at the ongoing series.

However, Agarwal will need to dive into all his experience and need some good run as he enters the final leg of the event in seventh place (1,870,000) among the 10 finalists. All finalists are assured a min-cash of $18,645, and should Agarwal come out on top; he stands to collect a personal-best $320,059.

But the road to the bracelet will not be easy, especially with three-time bracelet winner Scott Seiver (6,150,000) commanding a significant chip lead. Agarwal will also face stiff competition from the likes of Steve Zolotow (3,125,000), Alexander Farahi (2,615,000), Sergio Aido (2,570,000), and Chris Hunichen (2,410,000).

It will be a restless night for us as we wait for the 10 players to return for the final day at 2 PM (PDT) on June 3. For all of you rooting for Agarwal, you can rail the final table on stream (on a 1-hour delay) on PokerGO from 5:30 AM (IST) tomorrow.

In the other bracelet events, Event #4: $1,500 Dealer’s Choice 6-Handed completed Day 2. A total of 123 survivors took their seats, and by the end of the play, only 14 bagged stacks for Day 3. Three-time bracelet winner Brad Ruben (2,102,000) leads the group, with Jorge Walker (1,420,000) and Alfred Atamian (1,004,000) in pursuit.

The first of the four starting flights of Event #5: $500 The Housewarming NLHE turned out be quite the crowd puller. Day 1A drew a massive crowd of 3,373 players, and only 147 among them bagged stacks for Day 2. The 2015 WSOP Event #51 $3,000 NLHE 6-Handed champion Justin Liberto (4,255,000) amassed the most massive stack, with Jordan Hufty (3,765,000) and Maury Barrett (2,920,000) hot on his heels.

Event #6: $25K Heads-Up No-Limit Hold ’em Championship is the second of seven high roller No-Limit Hold ’em events with a buy-in of at least $25,000 in the ongoing series. The unique event reached its capacity of 64 players, with many of the high-stakes professionals jumping in to take a shot at winning a WSOP gold bracelet. After two rounds of play, 16 players remain standing, including top pros like Phil Ivey, John Smith, Sean Winter, Chance Kornuth, Dario Sammartino, and Koray Aldemir.

Event #3: $2,500 Freezeout No-Limit Hold’em – Day 2

Day 2 of Event #3: $2,500 Freezeout No-Limit Hold’em saw 113 survivors from the 752 starting field convening at the Bally’s and Paris in Las Vegas. The play was slated to start at 12 PM, but technical issues delayed the start time to 12:20 PM. It took over 13 hours and ten levels of play for the field to dwindle down to the final 10 players.

Aditya Agarwal held the 14th most enormous stack of 435,000 at the start of play. He was first reported in the day’s coverage during Level 22 when he had spun up his stack to 900,000. With three tables left in the field, Agarwal’s stack dropped to 780,000, pushing him to 16th in chips out of 25 players.

Soon after that, Agarwal secured the elimination of Jiacong Zhang when the latter’s went up against Agarwal’s . The board ran and Agarwal’s turned trip Queens knocked out Zhang in 25th place for $10,177.

After the dinner break, with 21 payers left in the field, Agarwal had the 14th biggest stack of 825,000. By Level 24, Agarwal had knocked out another player from the competition – Hayden Fortini. The latter jammed from early position for his last 515,000, and Agarwal reshoved, getting everyone else to fold.

Hayden Fortini

Aditya Agarwal

The board ran , and Agarwal paired his King on the turn, dismissing Fortini in 19th place for $10,176. Agarwal’s stack rose to 1.7 Million.

When the final two tables convened, Agarwal had the seventh-biggest stack of 1.650 Million. His stack improved to 2.370 Million within the next two levels, which was the fourth-biggest among the remaining 15 players.

About 20 minutes later, Agarwal was involved in a hand with Spain’s Sergio Aido. Agarwal opened to 125,000 from early position, and Aido (cutoff) and Steve Zolotow (big blind) called. The flop fell . Zolotow checked, and Agarwal fired a bet of 130,000. Aido called, and Zolotow folded. The burn brought the , and both players checked to see the . Agarwal fired a bet of 180,000. Aido tanked for a minute before calling with . Agarwal turned over . With a hearts flush open on the board, they chopped the pot. Agarwal’s stack touched 2.4 Million.

With the elimination of Shawn Daniels (11th place for $18,645), the unofficial ten-player final table was formed. Agarwal was placed seventh with 1.510 Million chips. The play continued for nearly 50 minutes before the bags were brought out.

Three-time bracelet winner Scott Seiver (6,150,000) bagged the most massive stack, with Agarwal (1,870,000) ranked seventh in the day-end chip counts.

Other notables still in contention include multiple bracelet winners, Steve Zolotow (3,125,000) and Nick Schulman (1,415,000).

The remaining 10 players have already locked in at least $18,645, with the eventual slated to take home $320,059 and the prestigious gold bracelet!

End of Day 2 Chip Counts

1. Scott Seiver – 6,150,000
2. David Goodman – 3,900,000
3. Steve Zolotow – 3,125,000
4. Alexander Farahi – 2,615,000
5. Sergio Aido – 2,570,000
6. Chris Hunichen – 2,410,000
7. Aditya Agarwal – 1,870,000
8. Lewis Spencer – 1,465,000
9. Nick Schulman – 1,415,000
10. Shawn Hood – 890,000

Event #4: $1,500 Dealer’s Choice 6-Handed – Day 2

The 123 survivors from a starting field of 430 players made their way back for Day 2 of Event #4: $1,500 Dealer’s Choice 6-Handed, and after the second consecutive day of play, only 14 among them kept their bracelet hopes alive.

The three-time WSOP bracelet winner Brad Ruben (2,102,000) holds the chip lead heading into the final day`s day! However, he will have to wade off competition from other big stacks like Jorge Walker (1,420,000), Alfred Atamian (1,004,000), and four-time bracelet winner Ben Yu (848,000).

Other former bracelet winners Naoya Kihara (808,000), Marco Johnson (521,000), Brian Rast (466,000) along with the defending champion Indian-Origin Jaswinder Lally (565,000) are others in contention to win the bracelet and the top prize of $126,288.

The event made its Day 2 start with 123 survivors, and with only 65 places assured a min-cash of $2,417, several failed to cross the money line.

The list of notable eliminations included former bracelet winners Joey Couden (16th for $5,993), John Cernuto (37th for $3,021), Bradley Jansen (40th for $3,021), Robert Campbell (42nd for $2,832), Poker Hall of Famer Todd Brunson (44th for $2,832), Matt Waxman (45th for $2,832), Andrew Brown (52nd for $2,643), Brandon Cantu (53rd for $2,643), Mickey Appleman (57th for $2,417), Rami Boukai (60th for $2,417), Lawrence Berg (62nd for $2,417), Steven Wolansky (63rd for $2,417), and Nathan Gamble (65th for $2,417).

End of Day 2 Chip Counts

1. Brad Ruben – 2,102,000
2. Jorge Walker – 1,4,0,000
3. Alfred Atamian – 1,004,000
4. Ben Yu – 848,000
5. Naoya Kihara – 808,000
6. Charles Bransford – 650,000
7. Jaswinder Lally – 565,000
8. Christopher Roman – 552,000
9. Dean Joe – 539,000
10. Norman Chad – 526,000
11. Marco Johnson – 521,000
12. Faith Klimczak – 507,000
13. Brian Rast – 466,000
14. Kevin Thomas – 263,000

Event #5: $500 The Housewarming NLHE – Day 1A

A massive 3,373-player field joined the action for the opening flight of Event #5: $500 The Housewarming NLHE. After 22 levels of play, only 147 players had chips to bag for Day 2 – all of them in the money. And advancing with the most chips was former bracelet winner Justin Liberto (4,255,000). Jordan Hufty (3,765,000), and Maury Barrett (2,920,000) carried forward the other top stacks from the flight.

Other notables who made it from Day 2 include Scott Baumstein (1,820,000), Anthony Marquez (1,810,000), and Kevin Gerhart (855,000).

Bursting the money bubble on Day 1A was Allen Kessler, who jammed with ace-jack but saw his opponent hit a flush with queen-jack.

Well-known players like James Romero, Maria Konnikoa, and former bracelet champion Stephen Song were others who failed to bag for Day 2.

Event #1: $500 Casino Employees Event champion Katie Kopp also made her bid in the tourney but busted on Day 1A. There are three more flights to go, so players like Kopp who bust can re-enter through any of them,

The massive Day 1A field has already created a $1,416,660 prize pool, putting the event well on track to hit its $5 Million guarantee.

Day 1B starts at 10 AM (local time) on Wednesday and is scheduled to play the same 22 30-minute levels.

Top 10 Chip Counts at the End of Day 1A

1. Justin Liberto – 4,225,000
2. Jordan Hufty – 3,765,000
3. Maury Barrett – 2,920,000
4. Larry Serebryany – 2,750,000
5. Alexandre Vuilleumier – 2,700,000
6. Frederick Brown – 2,615,000
7. Gregory Snyder – 2,400,000
8. Clifford Conners – 2,375,000
9. Jonathan Williams – 2,375,000
10. Jen-Yue Chiang – 2,320,000

Event #6: $25K Heads-Up No-Limit Hold’em Championship – Day 1

The first two rounds of Event #6: $25K Heads-Up No-Limit Hold’em Championship were completed on Day 1. The unique bracket-style three-day event was capped off at 64 players. After over seven hours of play, only 16 players were left standing.

While all the players making it to Round three are some of the biggest names in poker, there are a few we will be keeping an eye out for. Among them is heads-up specialist John Smith. The 75-year-old poker reg finished runner-up in the event in back-to-back years in 2016 and 2017, accumulating over $400,000 in the process.

Ten-time bracelet winner and Poker Hall of Famer Phil Ivey will also be in contention and looking to claim his career-11th gold bracelet.

Unfortunately for Daniel Negreanu, Erik Seidel, Shaun Deeb, Phil Galfond, and David Peters, they were unable to get out of the opening-round matches.

Others like Mikita Badziakouski, Joao Vieira, Darren Elias, and Cary Katz dropped out in the second round.

The 16 returning players will only have to win one more match to reach the money and lock up a min-cash of $75,045. They will have their sights set on winning three more matches and walking away with over $500,000 and the WSOP bracelet.

The heads-up matches for Round 3 are as follows:

• Dylan Destefano vs. John Smith
• Kevin Rabichow vs. Phil Ivey
• Sean Winter vs. Matthew Gonzales
• Christoph Vogelsang vs. Koray Aldemir
• Chance Kornuth vs. Patrick Kennedy
• William Stanford vs. Dario Sammartino
• Alex Foxen vs. Dan Smith
• Anthony Zinno vs. Jonathan Jaffe

Round 3 will commence at 2 PM (PDT) on June 3 in the purple section of the Paris ballroom.

Content & Cover Image Courtesy: WSOP & PokerNews

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