Day 25 of the 2021 World Series of Poker (WSOP) featured another full day of poker action at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in sunny Las Vegas with Oct. 22 featuring five bracelet events with a sixth bracelet event also taking place online at WSOP.com in Nevada and New Jersey.
Ryan Hansen found his first taste of WSOP gold after coming from behind to beat Kosei Ichinose heads-up to win Event #44: $3,000 6-Handed Limit Hold’em for $109,692.
Four events are still in play highlighted by the Eli Elezra and Mike Matusow advancing to the final 18 players in the $10,000 PLO Championship and Daniel Negreanu going after his sixth bracelet after bagging big on Day 1 in Event #47: $5,000 Freezeout .
In other news, poker commentator Jeff Platt leads the way after two days of play in Event #43: $1,000 Double Stack and Alejandro Andión bagged the Day 1 chip lead in the Event #46: $800 NLHE Deepstack.
Read on to learn about what took place on Day 25 of the 2021 WSOP.
Follow all the live-action as it happens from the 2021 World Series of Poker in Las Vegas!
Day 2 of the Event #43: $1,000 Double Stack saw the 1,064 survivors between Day 1a and Day 1b convene into a single field and battle it out on the green felt until just 149 players remained. By the time the dust settled, Jeff Platt stood tall as the probable chip leader going into Day 3 after accumulating 3,315,000 in chips. Not far behind him is Sylvian Naets with 2,740,000 in chips.
Platt, who is well-known for providing commentary on ESPN and PokerGO, will be seeking his first WSOP gold bracelet. Platt was able to steadily build his stack, including when he won a flip later in the day on his way to becoming the chip leader. To date, Platt has racked up over $300,000 in live-tournament earnings according to The Hendon Mob and is now poised to make a deep run in the event.
Event #43 Day 2 Chip Counts
| RANK | PLAYER | Country | Chips | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jeff Platt | United States | 3,315,000 | 111 |
| 2 | Zach Daly | United States | 2,905,000 | 97 |
| 3 | David Guay | Canada | 2,900,000 | 97 |
| 4 | Sylvain Naets | Belgium | 2,740,000 | 91 |
| 5 | Avraham Azulay | United States | 2,715,000 | 91 |
| 6 | Gene Harrill | United States | 2,610,000 | 87 |
| 7 | Kathy Stahl | United States | 2,485,000 | 83 |
| 8 | Matthew Vaughan | United States | 2,255,000 | 75 |
| 9 | Sihao Zhang | Luxembourg | 2,250,000 | 75 |
| 10 | Josue Aguirre | Mexico | 2,175,000 | 73 |
Still in contention are Jeff Boski (445,000), Kenny Nguyen (1,250,000), Matt Vaughan (2,255,000), 2014 WSOP Main Event Champion Martin Jacobson (590,000), and Andrew Moreno (1,240,000) – who is looking to add to his already stellar year. Moreno took down a Venetian Deepstack event for $127,740 and The Wynn Millions event back in June.
Day 3 is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. local time and the remaining field will play for another 10 hour-long levels. Play will resume on level 22 with 15,000/30,000 blind and a 30,000 big blind ante. Players will receive a 15-minute break after every two hours and an hour-long dinner break after Level 29 at approximately 7 p.m.
Check out all of the $1,000 Double Stack updates
Elezra and Matusow Hunt for Fifth Bracelet as Witz Leads Final 18 Players in the $10K PLO Championship
After an action-filled day at the tables of the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino, the Event #45: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship has not only reached the money but was whittled down all the way to just 18 remaining contenders out of a field of 344 entries. They have all locked up a portion of the $3,207,800 prize pool in the latest high-stakes contest of the 2021 World Series of Poker in Las Vegas.
With plenty of big names still in contention, the action throughout the day was dominated by Jonathan Witz and Chris Sandrock, who finished in first and third place respectively. Witz topped the counts with a stack of 2,620,000 as he edged past Arthur Morris (2,390,000) while Sandrock occupies the final spot on the podium with 1,900,000 in chips.
Six WSOP bracelet winners bagged up chips including Daniel Zack and Tommy Le, who are both inside of the overnight top 10. Zack already has six cashes to his name during the in-person festival including a fourth place finish in Event #23: $1,500 Eight Game Mix 6-Handed. Le came narrowly close to double his bracelet tally after his runner-up finish to Josh Arieh in Event #39: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha.
Meanwhile, both Eli Elezra and Mike Matusow are still in the mix and are hunting for their fifth taste at WSOP gold.
Top 10 Chip Counts in Event #45: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship
| Place | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jonathan Witz | United States | 2,620,000 | 105 |
| 2 | Arthur Morris | United States | 2,390,000 | 96 |
| 3 | Chris Sandrock | United States | 1,900,000 | 76 |
| 4 | Daniel Zack | United States | 1,845,000 | 74 |
| 5 | Kyle Montgomery | United States | 1,430,000 | 57 |
| 6 | Artem Maksimov | Russia | 1,400,000 | 56 |
| 7 | Anderson Ireland | United States | 1,305,000 | 52 |
| 8 | Nader Younes | United States | 1,190,000 | 48 |
| 9 | Tommy Le | United States | 1,000,000 | 40 |
| 10 | Jordan Spurlin | United States | 960,000 | 38 |
The remaining 18 players will play down to the final five as of 2 p.m. local time on Monday, Oct. 25, and the recommencing blinds on Level 21 will be 10,000/25,000 with a big blind ante of 25,000. Stay tuned then to find out right here on PokerNews who makes the cut for the live-streamed showdown on the following day.
Alejandro Andión Bags Day 1 Chip Lead of Event #46: $800 No-Limit Hold’em Deepstack
It was an action-filled Day 1 at the Rio All-Suite Hotel as players packed both the Brasilia and Amazon rooms for Event #46: $800 No-Limit Hold’em Deepstack. A total of 2,053 entries were logged on the starting day to create a $1,445,312 prize pool, and after a long 22 levels, a field of 120 players found a Day 2 birth.
Leading the charge after chips were put into bags was Alejandro Andión who collected a massive 2,400,000 to end the night. Andión was seen sitting with a decent stack in the latter stages of the tournament but catapulted to the top of the counts after flopping the nut straight with king-jack.
Event #46 Day 1 Top Ten Chip Counts
| RANK | PLAYER | Country | Chips | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alejandro Andion | Argentina | 2,400,000 | 80 |
| 2 | Joel Orum | Canada | 1,705,000 | 57 |
| 3 | Tommaso Briotti | Italy | 1,675,000 | 56 |
| 4 | Jonas Wexler | United States | 1,630,000 | 54 |
| 5 | William Blais | Canada | 1,600,000 | 53 |
| 6 | Koray Aldemir | Austria | 1,380,000 | 46 |
| 7 | Xiao Yu | United States | 1,345,000 | 45 |
| 8 | Virab Zakaryan | United States | 1,345,000 | 45 |
| 9 | Itzhak Ashkenazi | Israel | 1,325,000 | 44 |
| 10 | Gregory Giannokostas | United States | 1,275,000 | 43 |
Other players to bag big after Day 1 include Tommaso Briotti (1,675,000), William Blais (1,600,000), Koray Aldemir (1,380,000), and Xiao Yu (1,345,000).
The $800 price point was certainly a factor in the huge turnout, but plenty of big names also showed up for Day 1. Some notable players that found a Day 2 birth included Taylor Howard (1,160,000), Maxwell Young (1,130,000), two-time WSOP bracelet winner James More, all-time WSOPC ring leader Maurice Hawkins (375,000), and WSOP bracelet winner Anthony Marquez (250,000).
The field played through 22 half-hour levels on Day 1, and Day 2 is scheduled to play down to a winner, with 30-minute levels. The action restarts at noon Monday at Level 23, with the blinds at 15,000/30,000/30,000. The remaining players will be battling it out for the coveted WSOP bracelet and the first-place prize of $214,830.
Check out all of the $1,000 Double Stack updates
Daniel Negreanu Advances with a Big Stack as Jamie Sequeira Bags Day 1 Chip Lead in the $5,000 Freezeout
After 15 levels of play, the Day 1 action of Event #47: $5,000 Freezeout concluded with only 82 players out of the 421 entries in total managing to find a bag to tag.
All those entries created a total prize pool of $1,941,863, guaranteeing the winner to walk away with $426,694 for first place and the coveted gold WSOP bracelet while 64 players total will be in the money on Monday for at least $8,000.
Jamie Sequeira takes the overnight chip lead with a huge bag of 1,070,000 in chips. The Canadian player counts $48,316 total live earnings in WSOP events and will continue to battle for the first gold bracelet of his career. Trailing in second place is Benjamin Chalot with 733,000, who cashed in three events so far in the series. Closing the podium after the opening day is Daniel Rezaei with 702,000 who is looking for the 17th WSOP cash of his career.
Also in the top chip counts is no one else than Daniel Negreanu with 722,000. After two final tables recently in Event #36: Dealers Choice 6-Handed Championship and in Event #32: H.O.R.S.E, Negreanu will try to add a seventh gold bracelet to his collection.
Event #47 Day 1 Top 10 Chip Counts
| RANK | PLAYER | Country | CHIP COUNT | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jamie Sequeira | Canada | 1,070,000 | 134 |
| 2 | Benjamin Chalot | France | 733,000 | 92 |
| 3 | Daniel Rezaei | Austria | 702,000 | 88 |
| 4 | Daniel Negreanu | Canada | 617,000 | 77 |
| 5 | Daniel Lazrus | United States | 597,000 | 75 |
| 6 | Ivan Galinec | Croatia | 561,000 | 70 |
| 7 | Joni Jouhkimainen | Finland | 559,000 | 70 |
| 8 | Johan Martinet | Mexico | 450,000 | 56 |
| 9 | Jongwook Lee | South Korea | 430,000 | 54 |
| 10 | Tony Miles | United States | 429,000 | 54 |
Several other big names and bracelet owners are also advancing to Day 2. Joni Jouhkimainen (559,000), Alexandre Reard (395,000), 2019 Main Event runner-up Dario Sammartino (379,000), Jeremy Wien (272,00), Diogo Veiga (168,000), Joao Simao (133,000), Pete Chen (95,000) and Johan Guilbert (103,000) are just a few of the many well known players in the poker world that have made it through to Day 2. Romain Lewis (55,000) and Ben Heath (49,000) also found a bag at the end of the day but as short stacks.
Day 2 will restart at 2 p.m local time, Monday, Oct. 25, and the battle will continue until the final five players are reached. Level 16 will feature a small blind of 4,000, a big blind of 8,000, and a big blind ante of 2,000. There will be a 15-minute break every two levels and players will also enjoy a 60-minute dinner break after Level 24 at approximately 8:30 p.m.
Check out all of the $1,000 Double Stack updates