WSOP What to Watch For: $50K Players' Champion to be Crowned, Monster Stack Arrives
Thursday is set to be one of the busiest days of the summer as the 2014 World Series of Poker rolls on by crowning a winner in the $50,000 Poker Players' Championship, while the Monster Stack event provides thousands of hopeful amateurs with a chance to become a king for a day.
Event #46: $50,000 Poker Players Championship
After four grueling days of play which tested their skills across eight disciplines, eight players emerged from a field of 102 to earn the right to compete for the title of Poker Players' Champion and $1,517,767 in first place prize money. Headlining the unofficial final table is Brandon Shack-Harris, who will bring the biggest stack to bear (4,101,000) as he looks to finish off an amazing 2014 run with his second bracelet win. Shack-Harris will also be hoping to hunt down George Danzer in the 2014 WSOP Player of the Year race, and a win on Thursday would vault him into the lead in that regard.
Rounding out the unofficial final table will be Abe Mosseri (3,485,000), Frank Kassela (2,507,000), John Hennigan (1,878,000), Chun Lei "samrostan" Zhou (1,389,000), Jesse Martin (840,000), Melissa Burr (661,000), Allen Kessler (439,000).
The woman known as "@burrrrrberry" on Twitter has taken the poker world by storm, and Thursday marks Burr's third final table run, and fourth top-10 performance of the summer. Mosseri, meanwhile, needs one more elimination to climb another rung on his prop bet ladder — one which will see him pocket a reported $900,000 from his friends and fellow pros should he take down the title.
Play resumes at 2 p.m. PDT on Thursday and the next Poker Players' Champion will be crowned this evening. Follow along with the Event #46 live updates to see who claims the David "Chip" Reese Memorial trophy — and one of the most coveted WSOP bracelets awarded each year.
Event #48: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Low
Another bracelet will be awarded on Thursday, with only 11 players returning for Day 3 in the $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Low tournament. The top two spots on the leaderboard will be occupied by well-known young professionals who have both won multiple bracelets thus far in their career.
Scott Clements bagged up 699,000 by the end of play on Day 2, and the two-time bracelet winner will be trailed closely by Jeff Madsen, who has three WSOP titles to his credit.
The winner of Event #48 will pocket a cool $229,192 for their efforts in topping a tough field, a just reward for weaving through 991 runners.
Washington state native Tyler Patterson will bring a 425,000 (good for fourth place) into Day 3, while Arizona's own Tom Schneider is looking to make a run at his fifth career gold bracelet. The full lineup for the final two tables, including chip counts and seat draw, can be found here.
The action gets back underway at 1 p.m. PDT this afternoon, so keep track of your favorite player's progress by following the Event #47 live updates here.
Event #49: $5,000 No-Limit Hold’em
After a talented field of 696 players packed the Rio's Brasilia Room yesterday, a total prize pool of $3,271,200 was generated to set up a $719,707 payday for the eventual victor. A full day of action on the felt saw 204 survivors bag and tag a stack, with Ken Einiger topping the counts at 174,000 to put himself just ahead of Josh Arieh's 173,400.
Einiger is a former World Series winner, but his triumph came in a different game altogether, as the World Series of Blackjack champion from 2005 hopes to add another crown to his card playing credit.
The money bubble is set to burst when 72 players remain, so play will likely be slow and steady during the initial levels of Day 2, before the usual flurry of post-bubble bustouts likely commences.
Among the notable names and chip leaders to keep an eye on during Day 2 are Rob Prinz (149,400), Germany’s Martin Hanowski (142,900), online grinder Nick Petrangelo (120,000), Vanessa Selbst (117,300), Jason Koon (104,300), Matthew Jarvis (101,000), Lauren Kling (100,300), JC Tran (93,300), Andrew Lichtenberger (69,800), Dan O’Brien (68,900), Ole Schemion (57,000), Joe Cada (39,800), David Vamplew (30,100), and Keven Stammen (25,300).
The Amazon Room will be the scene for Day 2's play down into the money, so follow the Event #49 live updates beginning at 1 p.m. PDT to follow all of the action live from the floor.
Event #50: $1,500 Eight-Game Mix
One of the most interesting events on the schedule — the $1,500 eight-game mix — saw only 106 of 485 entrants manage to make Day 2, and it will be pro Eric Crain who enters play enjoying a sizable chip lead. Crain accumulated 71,600 by the time chips were bagged up, putting him well ahead of Trevor Jay Martin and his 62,375.
Among the notable names still bracelet hunting in Event #50 are Mike Gorodinsky (45,000), Aaron Steury (35,575), Brandon Cantu (30,200), Martin Staszko (26,725), Ali Eslami (26,700), Dan Heimiller (23,950), Justin Bonomo (21,900), Amnon Filippi (20,450), Joe Hachem (13,000), Maria Ho (11,575), Bill Chen (11,575), and Calvin Anderson (10,025).
The tournament pays out 49 places and $167,332 waits up top for the eventual winner. The bubble is expected to be broken at some point midway through Day 2, but the inclusion of limit games and chopped pots is likely to make the march to the money slow going at first.
Cards are back in the air at 2 p.m. PDT so keep a tab open for the Event #50 live updates and track the stars in search of eight-game glory throughout the day.
Event #51: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em Monster Stack
At the WSOP it's all about going big or going home, and this time around Jack Effel, Ty Stewart and company have created a monster... literally.
The addition of a truly deep-stacked event to the schedule has been called for by pros and amateurs alike in recent years, and on Thursday the WSOP delivers in style. Event #51 offers the usual $1,500 buy-in that attracts thousands of hopefuls each time out, but the price tag is the only thing that is typical about this tournament.
Players will start the day with 15,000 chips and blinds will be set at 25-25 — that's good for 600 big blinds folks. With the traditional 60-minute blind levels remaining intact, the Monster Stack event is aptly named, and players will have plenty of room to maneuver and make moves.
The anticipation for Monster Stack action has been palpable in the Rio's sprawling poker rooms, so much so that a rush of registration Wednesday evening saw more than 4,000 players punch their ticket. The popularity of the event forced the WSOP to adjust on the fly, and a second starting flight was added to the schedule to accommodate demand, with the first starting flight capped at the aforementioned 4,000 figure.
Play kicks off at noon PDT, so if you're not already registered you can live vicariously through the Event #51 live updates.
Take a look at the full list of five bracelet events taking place today at the 2014 World Series of Poker (all times PDT):
- 12:00 p.m. — Event #51: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em Monster Stack Flight A (Day 1 of 3)
- 1:00 p.m. — Event #49: $5,000 No-Limit Hold’em (Day 2 of 4)
- 1:00 p.m. — Event #48: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Low (Day 3 of 3)
- 2:00 p.m. — Event #46: $50,000 Poker Players Championship (Day 5 of 5)
- 2:00 p.m. — Event #50: $1,500 Eight-Game Mix (Day 2 of 3)
- 4:00 p.m. — Event #52: $10,000 Limit Hold'em Championship (Day 1 of 3)
- 5:00 p.m. — Event #51: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em Monster Stack Flight B (Day 1 of 3)
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