WSOP 2022: Patel & Iyer Bag Top 15 Stacks in Event #75 & Event #78; Doddapaneni Busts 249th in Main Event; Joshi, Jain & Goyal Pick Up Scores in One More for One Drop   

With little over a week left for the 53rd annual World Series of Poker (WSOP) to wrap up proceedings, the action on Day 42 of the annual series was choc-a-block. Event #70: $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em Main Event World Championship had 380 players returning on Monday, and 123 advanced to Day 6

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India’s Sriharsha Doddapaneni was the only ‘desi’ pro to make Day 5, but the MTT pro busted 249th for $46,800 (~₹37.23 Lakhs), ending Team India`s run in the prestigious event.

Team India’s Main Event Payouts

James Hobbs (12,505,000) grabbed the overnight chip lead, with Efthymia Litsou (11,675,000), Day 3 chip leader Aaron Mermelstein (10,680,000), and PokerStars Ambassador Alejandro Lococo (10,020,000) – who pulled off an insane bluff – hot on his heels.

Event #71: $1,111 One More for One Drop NLHE had 319 starters on Day 3, and only 41 had chips to bag by the end of the day`s play. Three Indians had entered Day 3, and all three busted through the day. The Day 1C chip leader Young Gun Neel Joshi ran the deepest, finishing 98th for $5,664 (~₹4.51 Lakhs). Shashank Jain (102nd for $4,938) (~ ₹3.93 Lakhs) and Tarun Goyal (209th for $3,847) (~ ₹3.06 Lakhs) fell out relatively early on Monday.

Team India’s One More for One Drop Payouts

Barry Hutter had an incredible run and spun up his starting stack ninefold to bag a massive 14,075,000, with Christina Gollins sitting a close second with 14,000,000.

Event #74: $1,500 Bounty Pot-Limit Omaha was the only event to announce a champion, with Canada’s Pei Li winning his maiden bracelet and $190,219.

The second starting flight of Event #75: $777 Lucky 7’s No-Limit Hold’em 7-Handed expanded the field by 1,818 entries, taking the overall player pool to 2,874, with the third and final starting flight to run on Tuesday. Day 1B had 75 survivors who will be joining the 44 players from Day 1A on Wednesday.

Chiraag Patel, who finished 869th in the Main Event for $17,000 (~₹13.51 Lakhs), was the only Indian bagging a stack on Day 1B and carried 1,515,000 (ranked 15th in chips).

Selim Oulmekki (2,565,000) bagged the most giant stack of the day and is currently the overall chip leader heading into Day 2.

Event #76: $1,979 Poker Hall of Fame Bounty No-Limit Hold ‘em was initially expected to play down to a winner today, but even after ten levels, seven players were left standing. Jinho Hong (7,785,000) leads these seven finalists to the unscheduled Day 3.

Event #77: $1,500 Mixed No-Limit Hold’em/Pot-Limit Omaha attracted a record-breaking field of 1,234 players, with 846 carrying their stacks to Day 2. Connor Drinan (1,200,000) claimed the Day 1 chip lead.

India`s WSOP star Abhinav Iyer (440,000) bagged the 11th largest stack among the 279 survivors on Day 1 of Event #78: $2,500 No-Limit Hold’em. The event registered 1,364 entries, and Benjamin Jones (738,000) will headline the remaining players on Day 2.

Event #70: $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em Main Event World Championship – Day 5

Event #70: $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em Main Event World Championship commenced Day 5 proceedings with 380 runners taking their seats at the felts. After the stipulated five levels of play, only 123 players were left in contention for the $10 Million grand prize and the World Championship title.

James Hobbs positioned himself as the frontrunner for those honors after bagging a massive 12,505,000 at the end of the Monday session. Efthymia Litsou (11,675,000), Day 3 chip leader Aaron Mermelstein (10,680,000), and PokerStars Ambassador Alejandro Lococo (10,020,000), who finished seventh in the Main Event last year, were others carrying over 10 Million in chips to Day 6.

Speaking of Alejandro Lococo, the Argentinian pro was involved in a crazy hand with Karim Rebei in Level 25. The reported hand caused quite the uproar in the poker community. The hand in question saw Lococo raise from the hijack, and Rebei defended from the big blind. Both players checked the flop , and Rebei fired a bet of 140,000 on the turn . Lococo raised it to 485,000, and Rebei responded with a three-bet to 1.135 Million.

This was when things got ‘loco.’ Lococo announced a raise but put in the wrong amount, committing himself to a min-raise of 1.785 Million. Rebei took the opportunity to push out a five-bet to 4 Million. Lococo tanked for at least six minutes. After looking visibly distressed, Lococo eventually announced all-in for 5.710 Million.

“Oops,” Rebei said to the rail as he shrugged his shoulders. He still asked for a count, gave it some thought for a couple of minutes, and even got the chips ready to call. However, Rebei opted to lay his hand down, and Lococo flashed the . He started clapping and shouting, “Let’s go!” as he raked in the massive pot, making him one of the day-end chip leaders.

Is this the hand of the tournament???

(CC: @PapoMcArg) pic.twitter.com/0DTyAYga2q

— PokerGO (@PokerGO) July 12, 2022

Making it to Day 6 of the WSOP Main Event in consecutive years is a rare feat, but Lococo is unfazed by the attention he is getting. At the end of the day`s play, he said, “Last year I started Day 6 with a below-average stack, and this year I have much more, so clearly there will be different decisions and strategy, with different ranges and open raises.”

While Rebei dropped to 4,660,000 after losing that monster hand to Lococo, he did well to spin up a stack of 8,150,000 for Day 6.

Sriharsha Doddapaneni was the only Indian player returning on Day 5 and unpacked the 204th biggest stack of 1,025,000 among the 380 players. However, he lost a massive pot in Level 22 and busted shortly after that in 249th place, netting $46,800 (~₹37.23 Lakhs).

The hand in question saw Indo-American Aaron Thivyanathan opening from the button for 60,000, and Doddapaneni defended his big blind. On the flop , Doddapaneni checked called Thivyanathan`s 50K bet, and the Indian pro checked again on the turn . Thivyanathan responded by betting enough to force him all in. Doddapaneni tanked for a while before folding his hand. Thivyanathan scooped the pot leaving Doddapaneni short-stacked with 390,000 behind. Before the end of the level, Doddapaneni had busted and finished 249th for $46,800 (~₹37.23 Lakhs).

Incidentally, Doddapaneni’s maiden WSOP cash came in the 2018 WSOP Main Event, where he finished 1,057th for $15,920 (~₹10.93 Lakhs). While he did finish third in 2021 WSOP Online Series Event #12: $1K DOUBLE STACK for a jaw-dropping $357,408 (~₹2.65 Crores), until today, his 2018 Main Event finish was his biggest live payout at the WSOP. However, that has changed with his deep in the Main Event this year. Doddapaneni has 22 WSOP cashes to his name and $123,128 (~₹97.96 Lakhs) in total winnings at the annual series.

While Team India`s Main Event run might be over, several Indian-origin players are still in contention, namely, Mayank Madan (6,620,000), Kamal Bittar (5,980,000), and Rahul Rastogi (2,705,000).

At the same time, other Indian-origin players like Raja Chirumamilla (161st for $62,500), Vikenty Shegal (166th for $53,900), Aaron Thivyanathan (169th for $53,900), Jay Majmudar (217th for $53,900), Eshaan Bhalla (283rd for $46,800), and Amit Sharma (378th for $36,000) saw their Main Event run come to an end on Monday.

A former bracelet winner taking down the Main Event isn`t unheard of, and there are quite a few noteworthy contenders who could pull that off this year. These include Kenny Tran (6,600,000), Andrew Yeh (5,830,000), Espen Jorstad (4,665,000), defending champion Koray Aldemir (3,800,000), Gabi Livshitz (3,400,000), Marco Johnson (2,820,000), 2021 Main Event champion Damian Salas (2,435,000), Dan Smith (2,030,000), Timur Margolin (1,095,000), and Benjamin Moon (995,000).

Ari Engel (130th for $62,500), Brian Rast (133rd for $62,500), Yuliyan Kolev (136th for $62,500), Justin Lapka (155th for $62,500), John Juanda (168th for $53,900), Jake Schindler (173rd for $53,900), and Justin Liberto (174th for $53,900) were other bracelet winners who were eliminated on Day 5.

The 123 remaining players will return for Day 6 at 1 PM (PDT) on July 12, Tuesday.

Top 10 Chip Counts at the End of Day 5

1. James Hobbs – 12,505,000
2. Efthymia Litsou – 11,675,000
3. Aaron Mermelstein – 10,680,000
4. Alejandro Lococo – 10,020,000
5. Gerald Morrell – 9,775,000
6. Dingxiang Ong – 9,500,000
7. Jorge Hou – 9,500,000
8. Philippe Souki – 9,425,000
9. Robert Minor – 9,160,000
10. Imran Bhojani – 8,635,000

Event #71: $1,111 One More for One Drop NLHE – Day 3

Running alongside Day 5 of the Main Event was Day 3 of Event #71: $1,111 One More for One Drop NLHE. The event attracted vast 5,702 entries (Day 1A – 841, Day 1B – 1,471, Day 1C – 2,713, Day 2 – 677) to generate a whopping $5,074,891 prize pool, making it the second biggest recorded field in the event.

After three action-packed days of poker, only 41 players remain standing, a significant deduction from the 319 players who resumed the action on Day 3.

And after the nine levels of play, former bracelet & WSOP Circuit ring winner Barry Hutter (14,075,000 – 94 BBs) bagged the day-end chip lead. Hutter had entered the Monday session with a modest 1,590,000 and did exceptionally well to end the day with almost ninefold his starting stack.

Barry Hutter won his first (and to date only) bracelet in Event 14: $1,500 NLHE Shootout of the 2015 WSOP for $283,546, putting him in the chase for his career-second bracelet. He has 69 WSOP cashes under his belt, collectively worth $1,969,098, and ranks 172nd on poker`s All-Time Money List with $7,395,462 in recorded live tournament earnings.

Event #61: Ladies NLHE Championship finalist Christina Gollins (14,000,000) holds the second-biggest stack for Day 4. She was happy with her play on Monday and said she minimized her risks to accumulate the massive stack. “I think I played pretty well. I didn’t really have to win flips today because I played out most of my hands. I tried not to flip, actually. I waited for spots, I was super patient all day, and I took advantage when I saw the opportunity.”

Boris Akopov (12,600,000), 2013 WSOP Main Event champion Ryan Riess (10,425,000), Niklas Warlich (10,075,000), Andrew Dubuque (9,575,000), Mathias Duarte (8,650,000), Salah Nimer (8,475,000), Ronnie Ballantyne (7,800,000), and bracelet winner Joon Kim (7,575,000) hold the other top stacks heading into Day 4.

Three Indian players returned on Day 3 – Young Gun Neel Joshi (98th for $5,664, ~ ₹4.51 Lakhs), Shashank Jain (102nd for $4,938, ~ ₹3.93 Lakhs), and Tarun Goyal (209th for $3,847, ~ ₹3.06 Lakhs) – but none of them could survive the day`s play.

The One for One Drop deep run was Neel Joshi’s sixth cash of the series (26th WSOP cash overall), improving his WSOP tally to $247,971. His other scores at the series came in Online Event #7: $500 NLHE Deepstack (143rd for $1,167, ~₹92,535), Event #65: $3,000 Freezeout NLHE (12th for $30,435, ~₹24.02 Lakhs), Event #49: $2,000 NLHE (58th for $9,190, ~₹7.19 Lakhs), Event #37: $1,500 Millionaire Maker NLHE (494th for $4,172, ~₹3.26 Lakhs), and Event #5: $500 The Housewarming NLHE (572nd for $2,365, ~₹1.83 Lakhs).

Shashank Jain opened his 2022 WSOP scorecard in the event. This was his 19th WSOP score (overall), boosting his lifetime WSOP scorecard to $82,999.

Tarun Goyal booked his fifth WSOP score of the series (20th WSOP cash overall), improving his WSOP winnings to $185,330. He previously cashed Event #68: $1,000 Million Dollar Bounty (1345th for $1,326, ~ ₹1.05 Lakhs), Online Event #6: $500 NLHE Turbo Deepstack (66th for $1,650, ~ ₹1.31 Lakhs), Event #43: $500 Freezeout NLHE (595th for $876, ~ ₹69,458), and Event #21: $1,500 MONSTER STACK NLHE (329th for $5,054, ~ ₹4.01 Lakhs).

Three more Indians had finished in the money on Day 2 – Apratim Sharma (369th for $2,815, ~ ₹2.24 Lakhs), Kunal Patni (498th for $2,384, ~ ₹1.90 Lakhs), and Gokul Krishna (781 for $1,778, ~ ₹1.41 Lakhs), making for a total of six scores for Team India in the event.

Some Indian-origin players who made the money line on Day 3 were Shiva Dudani (62nd for $10,617), Sandeep Pulusani (87th for $6,549), Aditya Rao (91st for $5,664), Ravee Sundara (126th for $4,938), Karaminder Dhillon (175th for $4,341), Anthony Desai (204th for $3,847), Ashok Kamani (254th for $3,437), and Soheb Porbandarwala (269th for $3,437),

The other decorated players who made the money line on Monday included Joao Simao (64th for $8,967), Andrew Moreno (74th for $7,633), Blair Hinkle (79th for $7,633), Anson Tsang (84th for $6,549), Francis Anderson (130th for $4,938), David Williams (156th for $4,341), and Chris Moneymaker (167th for $4,341).

The 41 finalists will return for Day 4 at noon (PDT) on July 12 to play down to five players.

End of Day 3 Chip Counts

1. Barry Hutter – 14,075,000
2. Christina Gollins – 14,000,000
3. Boris Akopov – 12,600,000
4. Ryan Riess – 10,425,000
5. Niklas Warlich – 10,075,000
6. Andrew Dubuque – 9,575,000
7. Mathias Duarte – 8,650,000
8. Salah Nimer – 8,475,000
9. Ronnie Ballantyne – 7,800,000
10. Joon Kim – 7,575,000

Event #75: $777 Lucky 7’s No-Limit Hold’em 7-Handed – Day 1B

The second starting flight of Event #75: $777 Lucky 7’s No-Limit Hold ’em 7-Handed added another 1,818 players to the field, and through the 22 levels of action, most of them fell out with only 75 advancing to Day 2. They will join the 44 players from Day 1A and those who survive the last starting flight on Tuesday for the Day 2 session on Wednesday.

Selim Oulmekki (2,565,000) accumulated the most chips through the day`s play – enough to put him in the chip lead across the two starting flights combined. Kevin Oakes (2,125,000) finished second in the day-end chip counts, with Armando Figueroa (2,085,000), Matthew Land (2,010,000), and Maxwell Young (1,980,000) filling in the top five names on the Day 1B chip counts.

India’s Chiraag Patel secured an above-average stack of 1,515,000, giving himself enough maneuverability for Day 2. With this deep run, Patel has locked in his second cash of the series after his 869th place finish in the Main Event for $17,000 (~₹13.51 Lakhs).

Several bracelet winners formed part of the advancing field, namely Tom Franklin (1,150,000), Carlos Chang (675,000), three-time bracelet winner Daniel Zack (655,000), John Racener (640,000), two-time bracelet winners Kevin MacPhee (460,000) and Barry Shulman (430,000).

Other notables who entered but failed to advance included PokerStars Team Pro Online ambassador Benjamin “Spraggy” Spragg, Robert Ostler, Lexy Gavin, and Bill Klein.

The $722,051 prize pool generated on Day 1A has now touched $1,243,076, with one flight remaining.

Top 10 Chip Counts at the End of Day 1B

1. Selim Oulmekki – 2,565,000
2. Kevin Oakes – 2,125,000
3. Armando Figueroa – 2,085,000
4. Matthew Land – 2,010,000
5. Maxwell Young – 1,980,000
6. Brett Murray – 1,925,000
7. Tommy Kivela – 1,920,000
8. Carlos Chadha-Villamarin – 1,830,000
9. Gary Armstrong – 1,805,000
10. Adam Adler – 1,800,000

Event #76: $1,979 Poker Hall of Fame Bounty No-Limit Hold ‘em – Day 2

Day 2 of Event #76: $1,979 Poker Hall of Fame Bounty No-Limit Hold ‘em had 139 starters from an original field of 865 players. While initially scheduled to play down to a winner, the play was halted after ten levels, with seven players heading to an impromptu Day 3.

Leading the charge to the final day is South Korea’s Jinho Hong (7,785,000). Hong entered the unofficial 10-handed final table as the chip leader, a position he did not relinquish till the end of the day’s play. Punnat Punsri (6,280,000) and Daniel Weinman (2,975,000) hold the other top stacks on the final table.

The money bubble burst in Level 17 after Jacques Dermegreditchian jammed with pocket aces, and Poker Hall of Famer Barry Greenstein called with pocket jacks. Greenstein flopped a boat of jacks and sixes, eliminating Dermegreditchian in 131st place.

Greenstein and Barbara Enright (83rd for $3,903) were the only two Poker Hall of Famers who made it to Day 2, but both busted relatively early in the day. Enright was the first one from the duo to fall.

In Level 23, Jakob Miegel eliminated Barry Greenstein (36th for $6,404) with his ace-king crushing Greenstein’s ace-ten and collected the $2,011 bounty in the process.

Start-of-day chip leader Shaun Deeb (12th for $13,139) made it as far as the final two tables, but his run ended in Level 26 after he ran pocket nines into Yuri Dzievielevski’s pocket queens. A visibly frustrated Deeb got up from his seat as the dealer peeled out a board that blanked out for him. “You better win this thing now,” Deeb told Dzivielevski before leaving.

Among the other notables who booked a profit in the event were Anthony Zinno (89th for $3,903), Anatolii Zyrin (33th for $6,404), Adam Hendrix (18th for $8,863), Yueqi Zhu (14th for $10,700), and Georgios Sotiropoulos (13th for $13,139)

It took over ten hours for the unofficial ten-handed final table to be formed. Another 30 minutes later, Yuri Dzivielevski eliminated Darrell Blodgett (10th for $16,403), setting the official nine-handed final table into motion.

The first final table knockout came within 15 minutes after Dov Markowich (9th for $20,814) got cooler and lost his stack with pocket eights to Punnat Punsri’s pocket queens.

Play slowed down, and around ninety minutes later, Jakob Miegel dispatched Bas De Laat (8th for $26,841). His king-queen spiked a queen, dominating De Laat’s pocket eights.

The seven finalists will converge for Day 3 at 2 PM (PDT) on July 12 at Bally’s Event Center, all chasing the coveted bracelet and the $276,067 up top.

End of Day 2 Chip Counts

1. Jinho Hong – 7,785,000
2. Punnat Punsri – 6,280,000
3. Daniel Weinman – 2,975,000
4. Jakob Miegel – 2,825,000
5. Yuri Dzivielevski – 2,700,000
6. George Rotariu – 1,905,000
7. Pavel Spirins – 1,430,000

Event #77: $1,500 Mixed No-Limit Hold’em/Pot-Limit Omaha – Day 1

Event #77: $1,500 Mixed No-Limit Hold’em/Pot-Limit Omaha witnessed another record-breaking field with 1,234 total entrants crushing last year’s number of 846 players.

The day ended with only 151 survivors, and two-time bracelet winner Connor Drinan (1,200,000) leads them all with over a million in chips. Drinan is a proud owner of a pair of WSOP bracelets he won in Event #83: $10K WSOP Super MILLION$ at the 2020 WSOP Online Series and Event #5: $1,500 Omaha Hi/Lo 8 Or Better at the 2021 WSOP.

Vincent Lam (1,077,000) is not far behind Drinan and is the only other player with over a million in chips. The last few levels of the night saw Lam in an aggressive mode that gave him an edge as he bagged an impressive stack. Lam will return to the contest on Day 2, chasing his maiden WSOP bracelet.

The money bubble burst at the onset of hand-for-hand play with 188 players in the fray. But with four simultaneous eliminations and the 186 assured a payday, the four split the first two money prizes, locking in a minimum $2,400 payout for the remaining 184 players. Justin Fawcett was one of those four, along with Indo-American player Rishi Makkar, who took home a share each.

Several poker heavyweights survived through to Day 2, including Daniel Negreanu (625,000), two-time bracelet winners Anson Tsang (209,000), Barny Boatman (186,000), Vangelis Kaimakamis (620,000), Dan Shak (189,000), Mike Watson (144,000), Ryan Laplante (127,000) and Adam Hendrix (73,000).

The unfortunate few to walk home empty-handed included former WSOP Main Event champions Hossein Ensan and Joe Cada, Scott Seiver, Jeff Madsen, four-time bracelet winner Anthony Zinno, Rainer Kempe Marcel Luske, and three-time bracelet winner Davidi Kitai.

The remaining 151 players will return for Day 2 on July 12 at 1 PM (PDT) to carry forward the proceedings. The eventual champion will walk away with the prestigious WSOP gold bracelet and $277,949.

Top Ten Chip Counts at the End of Day 1

1. Connor Drinan – 1,200,000
2. Vincent Lam – 1,070,000
3. Zachary Grech – 906,000
4. Carter Newhof – 782,000
5. Leonard Sande – 624,000
6. Vangelis Kaimakamis – 620,000
7. Millard Hale – 614,000
8. Aden Salazar – 606,000
9. Miltiadis Kyriakides – 569,000
10. Mohammad Affaneh – 555,000

Event #78: $2,500 No-Limit Hold’em – Day 1

Event #78: $2,500 No-Limit Hold ’em logged in 1,364 hopefuls, and after an action-packed 15 levels of play, only 279 kept their bracelet hopes alive.

Great Britain’s Benjamin Jones (738,000) leads the group into Day 2, with Ari Oxman (685,000), Leandro Vlastaris (586,000), Weiming Aaron Lam (518,000), and Matthew Biafore (1,290,000) rounding up the top five stacks among the survivors.

India`s WSOP star Abhinav Iyer ranks 11th among the 279 survivors with a commendable 440,000, almost assuring himself his sixth score of the ongoing series. Iyer has a healthy stack to work his way around on Day 2, making him a strong contender for the title.

The bracelet winner from Chennai has been a consistent contributor to Team India`s tally at the series, having already cashed five events, including a 7th place finish in Event #25: $800 No-Limit Hold ’em Deepstack for $56,388 (~₹44.87 Lakhs), 95th in Event #65: $3,000 Freezeout No-Limit Hold ’em for $6,803 (~₹5.41 Lakhs), 156th in Event #49: $2,000 No-Limit Holdem for $4,355 (~₹3.47 Lakhs), 134th in Event #34: $1,500 Freezeout No-Limit Holdem for $3,217 (~₹2.56 Lakhs) and 870th in Event #21: $1,500 MONSTER STACK No-Limit Hold ’em for $2,400 (~₹1.91 Lakhs).

Though not top ten in chips, a group of other former bracelet winners is part of the Day 2 field, including Bradley Anderson (384,000), Raj Vohra (310,000), David Miscikowski (296,000), James Gilbert (282,000), Alexandros Theologis (274,000) and four-time bracelet winner David Peters (260,000).

With 279 players remaining and 205 places to get paid, the race to the money line will make for an electrifying Day 2. The action will pick up where it left off at 2 PM (PDT) on July 12 in Bally’s Red area. All the survivors will be eyeing to win the lion`s share of the $3,034,900 prize pool and the alluring WSOP gold bracelet.

Top 10 Chip Counts at the End of Day 1

1. Benjamin Jones – 738,000
2. Ari Oxman – 685,000
3. Leandro Vlastaris – 586,000
4. Weiming Aaron Lam – 518,000
5. Bryn Kenney – 484,000
6. Georgios Kapalas – 466,000
7. Axel Hallay – 464,000
8. Sergey Sergeev – 457,000
9. Virgile Turchi – 452,000
10. Emmett Rutkowski – 450,000

Content & Images Courtesy: PokerGO, PokerNews & WSOP

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