WSOP What to Watch For: June 5, 2017
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After taking the chip lead in the One Drop High Roller on Day 2, Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier seized control of the tournament on Day 3 and has a massive chip lead as the final table approaches on Monday. The $2,500 Mixed Triple Draw Lowball also reached the unofficial final table with some familiar names seeking a bracelet when play resumes Monday.
Event #6: $111,111 HIGH ROLLER for ONE DROP
The third day of play continued in this event with numerous big names hoping to make the final table for Day 4. Grospellier finished Day 2 as chip leader and finished Day 3 with an even bigger lead with 16,825,000 chips. Martin Jacobson sits in a distant second with 8,890,000 and Dario Sammartino is in third with 7,975,000. Rounding out the final nine: Chris Moore (7,600,000); Andrew Robl (6,670,000); Doug Polk (6,090,000); Rainer Kempe (5,760,000); Michael Kamran (3,470,000); and Haralabos Voulgaris (2,865,000). Grospellier seemed motivated throughout the day to finish and bring home his second bracelet.
"It's an awesome feeling," he told PokerNews. "I'm a huge chip leader. I think have about 25 percent of the chips. It feels great to be back on the main stage especially in one of the biggest events of the summer."
As the day progressed, many eyes were on Phil Hellmuth as he looked to make another final table. Hellmuth was eliminated just short of the final nine, however, finishing 10th for $312,006. Big One for One Drop winners Antonio Esfandiari and Dan Colman also were eliminated short of the final table. The Magician took 11th for $257,072 and Colman finished 16th for $187,772. The final table begins at 2 p.m. on Monday and for all the PokerNews live updates, click here.
Event #7: $2,500 Mixed Triple Draw Lowball
The lowball action wrapped up on Sunday with only seven players remaining. The event attracted a total of 225 entries and first place pays $130,948. Terry "Doc" Jennings (618,000) holds the chip lead with Jesse Martin, who is looking for his second bracelet, in second with 545,000. Two-time bracelet winner Chris Bjorin sits in third with 449,000. Jared Bleznick led after Day 1, and is still alive but sits on the smallest stack with 198,000. Established pro James Obst will also be working with a shorter stack when play resumes. Notables exiting the field were Barry Greenstein (9th place for $9,502) and Lyle Berman (20th place for $4,925).
Payouts for the remaining seven places are:
- 1st – $130,946
- 2nd – $80,922
- 3rd – $52,671
- 4th – $35,349
- 5th – $24,356
- 6th – $17,272
- 7th – $12,617
The final table picks up on Monday for Day 3 at 2 p.m and will play down to a winner. As always, PokerNews will follow all the action, so click here for all the live updates.
Event #5: THE COLOSSUS III - $565 No-Limit Hold'em
The final two starting flights finished today with Day 2 bringing back all remaining players on Monday. In the first flight, 3,966 entries led the field after 18 levels of play. The chip leader was Neil Mittleman (430,000) followed by Scott Stewart (380,000), and Katie Lindsay (340,000). Mittleman has more than $5000,000 in tournament winnings and his largest cash came in 2011 at the WSOP in a $1,000 No Limit Hold'em event for $146,931. Canadian pro Mike Leah also finished as one of the chip leaders with 310,000 chips. The highly decorated pro with wins and top finishes on numerous tours will be looking to add to his trophy case.
In the second flight on Sunday, three players amassed huge stacks, each landing in the top five overall heading into Day 2. Ardavan Yazdi bagged the lead with 588,000 chips, and leads all of the remaining players in the tournament at the end of Day 1. Sitting second in chips from Flight F was Harry Arutyunyan (504,000), with Jordan Polk rounding out the top three with 487,000 chips.
Here is a look at the top five stacks going into Day 2 on Monday:
| Place | Player Name | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ardavan Yazdi | 588,000 |
| 2 | Thomas Boivin | 538,000 |
| 3 | Harry Arutyunyan | 504,000 |
| 4 | Jordan Polk | 487,000 |
| 5 | Newton Deleon | 433,000 |
With the starting flight out of the way, Day 2 commences at 2 p.m. on Monday and PokerNews will have all the live updates.
Event #9: $10,000 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship
There was plenty of pot-splitting action in this popular tournament with numerous pros out to take this coveted title. Leading the pack after Day 1 is Mike Gorodinsky with 304,000, second is Kyle Miaso 302,000, and third is Iraj Parvizi with 263,000. Other notable chip counts include Dan Shak (233,000), two-time bracelet winner Marco Johnson (192,000), David "ODB" Baker with 190,000, and Mike Matusow with 148,000.
Also, only days after finishing third in the $10,000 Tag Team event Daniel Negreanu looks to be making another deep run, sitting in sixth with 224,500 chips. Defending champion Benny Glaser is also still alive for a second day of action.
When registration closed, there had been 184 entries for a first-place payout of $391,313 and 24 players making the money. PokerNews will track all the split pots and scoops. Click here to follow every hand.
Event #10: $1,000 Tag Team No-Limit Hold'em
Tag team … back again. Team poker returns on Monday only days after card-playing poker couple Liv Boeree and Igor Kurganov took down the $10,000 Tag Team Championship for a cool $273,964 and their first gold bracelets. The event allows teams of 2-4 players. Teammates must play at least one round of blinds at some point in the tournament or the team will be disqualified. Players may tag a teammate anytime he or she is not in an active hand.
Doug Polk and Ryan Fee are the returning champions in this event and split $153,358. With Polk playing the final table of the One Drop High Roller, he was unsure if would be able to participate. The two joined last year's event to promote their poker training site UpSwingpoker.com with excellent dividends. The action gets underway at 11 a.m. and PokerNews will have all the chair tossing, battle royale, body slamming action and pandemonium.
Event #11: $1,500 Dealer's Choice 6-Handed
Remember those games in your dad's basement where you got to play the game you wanted when it was your deal. It's back. The WSOP version may not feature crazy wild card games like some of those featured here, but there are a plethora of games to choose. No doubt it must take a sharp dealer and players will also need to brush up on some of these games. Former dealer now poker pro Lawrence Berg is the returning champion and won $125,466 last year in a field of 389. Here is a look at the games dealt at this year's tournament:
- Hold'em: No-Limit, Limit Hold'em, Pot-Limit
- Stud games:Razz, Seven Card Stud, Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better, Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo Regular
- Omaha: Pot-Limit, Pot Limit Hi-Lo 8 or Better, Limit High; Limit Hi-Lo 8 or Better, Big O
- Lowball: Pot-Limit 2-7 Lowball, Triple Draw Limit 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw, Ace to 5 Lowball Triple Draw, Badugi, Badeucy, Badacy, No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw, No-Limit 5-Card Draw High
Players may also want to brush up on the intricate structure and click here to check it out. PokerNews will have all the action, which gets underway at 3 p.m.
