WSOP Day 3: Hellmuth, McKeehen, Cada Advance to Final 50 in Shootout
When the third day of action at the WSOP gets underway today, 14-time bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth will be one of the final group of players returning for Day 2 of the $3,000 Shootout. Also among those looking for a bracelet are two other Main Event champions, Joe Cada and Joe McKeehen.
The $1,500 Omaha Hi/Lo brings back several big names for Day 2 including six-time bracelet champion Layne Flack. With the weekend approaching, the WSOP also brings the beginning of two major events that will have plenty of big bankroll and recreational players alike making their way to the Rio.
Event #3: $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em Shootout
After the first day of shootout action, 50 players remain in this event. Along with Hellmuth returning are bracelet winners Eli Elezra, Chris Bell, Joe McKeehen, 888poker pro Chris Moorman, and Joe Cada. The winner will take home $226,218 in an event that attracted 363 players and a prize pool of $980,000.
For Hellmuth, this marks his 131st career WSOP cash, and he and a stacked field of players remaining will be looking to add a bracelet to the trophy case. This “shootout” format is a bit different than the typical tournament. Players must win their tables and then advance to another table and then win that one as well until there is one winner.
Friday’s players will battle it out at ten tables of five and then play the final table of 10 on Saturday. Day 2 action gets underway at noon and PokerNews will have all the action. To follow each hand and take a look at Day 2's seat draw, click here.
Event #4: $1,500 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better
The split-pot action continues on Friday with Dao Bac leading the field after the first day of play with 74,700 chips. The event attracted 911 players making for a prize pool of $1.23 million.
Several big names and bracelet winners made it to the second day of play including six-time winner Layne Flack (41,500), four-time winner Jeff Madsen (31,900), three-time winner Benny Glaser (27,200), Allen Kessler (39,600), John Racener (31,300), Mike Leah (22,500), and Mike Matusow (14,800).
Glaser won this event in 2016 and will be hoping to add a second Omaha Hi/Lo bracelet to his resume. The action resumes at 2 p.m., and PokerNews will have all the highs and lows. Click here to follow along and check out the seat draw for Day 2.
Event #5: $100,000 No-Limit Hold'em High Roller
After a Thursday with two lower price points, the stakes are raised today with an extreme dichotomy of buy-ins. The first is this nosebleed buy-in that could buy a small house in some places. Players will also be eligible to fire one additional bullet in this one with one re-entry allowed per player.
This four-day event kicks off at 3 p.m. and should attract a plethora of pros seeking a massive payday. There are a few things to keep in mind on this one. The WSOP will run this event with a shot clock, and all antes will come from the big blind. PokerNews will have all the live updates of all the high-stakes competition.
Once the tournament gets underway, live updates from a big team of reporters can be found here. Justin Bonomo just won the Super High Roller Bowl and is having a massive year so far. He's one of the favorites going into this event.
Event #6: GIANT - $365 No-Limit Hold'em
On the opposite end of the bankroll spectrum, the Giant offers a chance at a bracelet for a bargain investment. The event features five consecutive starting Day 1 flights – June 1, 8, 15, 22, and 29 with unlimited re-entries. Players will start with 25,000 chips with 20-minute levels on Day 1 and 40-minute levels on Days 2 and 3, which will be played on June 30 and July 1.
Players will play into the money each flight, and the remaining prize money gets carried over to Day 2. Players can forfeit their stack if they choose to re-enter another flight. Once a player bags chips, however, they can no longer play in other starting flights.
This event attracted a massive field in 2017 with Dieter Dechant topping a field of 10,015 entries for $291,240. The prize pool reached a total of more than $3 million. It was a nice summer for Dechant; after winning this event, he finished third in the $1,000 Seniors Championship for another $281,691. No doubt he’ll be looking for a repeat performance. Live updates can be found here once the event starts.
