WSOP Day 14: Jean-Robert Bellande Leads the Final Seven in the $10K 2-7 Championship

June 11, 2019

It will be an action-packed day on Day 14 of 2019 World Series of Poker with the Rio Convention Center housing nine events.

Jean-Robert Bellande is in the lead with seven players remaining in Event #21: $10,000 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw Championship while another five-figure buy-in event will also draw in some big names with Event #29: $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship kicking off the first of its four days today.

Meanwhile, American Josh Reichard enters the penultimate day of Event #19: Millionaire Maker - $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em with the chip lead with 34 players remaining.

Here's what's on tap today, in the daily What to Watch For on PokerNews, sponsored by 888poker.

Event #19: Millionaire Maker - $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em

The Millionaire Maker kicks off Day 4 today at noon PDT with the field down to just 34 players from the original field of 8,809 entrants with all returning players guaranteed at least a $38,499 payout.

American Josh Reichard is currently in the best position to claim the $1,344,930 top prize heading into today's action with a chip leading stack of 20,645,000 in chips. Also in the top five are Australia's Andrew Hinrichsen (18,700,000), Cory Albertson (15,150,000), Germany's Fabian Gumz (11,475,000), and Dutch poker pro Steven van Zadelhoff (10,600,000).

Two-time bracelet winner Keith Lehr is also in contention with 6,700,000 in chips. Lehr already had one close call this series for a bracelet after taking third place in Event #15: $10,000 Heads-Up No-Limit Hold'em Championship for $73,333. He is joined by two other bracelet winners; Ryan Leng (3,760,000) and two-time winner Calvin Anderson (1,875,000).

Today's action will play down to just six players with the tournament ending tomorrow on a live stream at PokerGO at 1 p.m. on June 12 to poker fans around the world.

Event #21: $10,000 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw Championship

After a day off, the final seven of a starting field of 91 entrants will play down to a winner starting today at noon PDT with CBS All Access live streaming starting at 1 p.m. PDT for poker fans in Australia, Canada, and the United States, and PokerGO providing coverage for the rest of the world.

All of the remaining players are each guaranteed a $31,556 payout with the winner going home with $253,817 and the coveted gold bracelet.

The final table is stacked with talent led by WSOP bracelet winner Jean-Robert Bellande with 1,231,000 in chips. He's followed by fellow bracelet winner Prahlad Friedman with 1,019,000 in chips.

The big story in this event could be whether three-time bracelet winner Paul Volpe (938,000) can win this event for a second time. Five years ago, he outlasted a field of 87 entrants including beating Daniel Negreanu in heads-up play to win this event for $253,524.

Others still in the hunt include Darren Elias (887,000), Jim Bechtel (665,000), Pedro Bromfman (395,000), and Vince Musso (360,000).

Event #21: $10,000 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw Championship Final Table Seat Draw

There is 43:40 remaining in Level 17 (6,000-12,000 blinds, and a 18,000-big blind ante).

Event #22: $1,000 Double Stack No-Limit Hold'em

The Double Stack was scheduled to end yesterday, but due to the massive turnout of 3,253 entrants ponying up the $1,000 buy-in to generate a $2,927,700 prize pool, a third day was added.

Eleven players will make their return for battle starting at noon PDT with all remaining players guaranteed a payout of at least $28,443. Whichever player eventually wins the $420,693 top prize will also claim their first WSOP bracelet as none of the remaining contenders has yet experienced winning WSOP gold.

Jorden Fox heads into today's action with a chip leading stack of 26,150,000 with Jeffrey Smith (21,775,000), Scott Vener (17,600,000), Christopher Andler (12,675,000), Jayachandra Gangaiah (12,625,000), Sridhar Natarajan (10,675,000) also bagging eight-figure chip stacks yesterday.

Blinds will start off at 250,000/500,000 with a big blind ante of 500,000 and increase every 40 minutes.

Event #22: $1,000 Double Stack No-Limit Hold'em Final Day Seat Draw

Event #23: $1,500 Eight Game Mix

This event will also play down to a winner with 28 players out of the original 612 entrants battling it out today starting at 2 p.m. PDT until a winner is crowned. The action will rotate between all of the games of H.O.R.S.E. along with No-Limit Hold'em, Pot-Limit Omaha, and 2-7 Triple Draw.

• Limit Hold'em
• Razz
• Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better
• Seven Card Stud
• Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better
• No-Limit Hold'em
• Pot-Limit Omaha
• 2-7 Triple Draw

Alexander Livingston is in the driver's seat for the $177,294 top prize along with what could be his first WSOP gold bracelet with a chip leading stack of 587,000. He has a considerable gap against the rest of the field with two-time bracelet winner Chris Vitch entering the action as his closest competitor with 395,500.

The big stories could be whether Murilo Souza will win his second bracelet this festival after bagging a third-place stack of 383,000 or whether Philip Long can win this event in back to back years. Last week, Souza won Event #14: $1,500 H.O.R.S.E for $207,003 while Long is looking for an even bigger score than when he found gold in this event last year for $147,348.

Event #25: $600 Pot-Limit Omaha Deepstack

This new event on the schedule generated tons of interest with 2,577 entrants creating a $1,352,925 prize pool and $205,605 slated for the winner. Just 215 players survived after 20 levels of play of 30 minutes each on yesterday's Day 1 with Corey Wright emerging as the overnight chip leader with a stack 1,726,000.

Other players bagging a seven-figure stack include Robert Valden (1,275,000), bracelet winner Ryan Bambrick (1,159,000), Peter Linton (1,130,000), bracelet winner Peter Eichhardt (1,100,000), Rafael Lebron (1,059,000), 2016 WSOP Main Event November Niner Cliff Josephy (1,009,000), and Alex Feiner (1,003,000).

The tournament is scheduled to play down to a winner starting at noon PDT with 40-minute blind levels starting at 8,000/16,000 and a big blind ante of 16,000. However, due to the large field still remaining, it is possible that the tournament director will decide to add a third day.

Event #26: $2,620 No-Limit Hold'em Marathon

The Marathon provides one of the deepest structures of the festival and is aptly named due to the endurance test players will have to undertake if they want to win the bracelet.

As most running enthusiasts know, a marathon consists of 26.2 miles. So to go along with this theme, the event features a $2,620 buy-in and an uneven starting stack of 26,200 in chips.

The first day of this long event kicked off with six blind levels of 100 minutes each yesterday with 941 runners posting the marathon-themed $2,620 buy-in with 467 surviving the day.

Another six long blind levels of 100 minutes each will be played today starting at noon PDT and the field will continue to grow with late registration not closing until the end of Level 8 or the second blind level of the day.

Peter Hong leads the way entering Day 2 with 179,000 in chips with Christopher Godfrey slightly behind with 177,200 in chips. Others turning their 26,200 starting stack into something notable included Uri Reichenstein (163,400), Corentin Ropert (134,200), and Matt Berkey (103,300).

Other notables returning for action today include Matt Stout (52,700), Tony Miles (63,500), Dan O'Brien (59,200), Sam Grafton (47,800), Marvin Rettenmaier (18,800), Niall Farrell (41,800), Diogo Veiga (24,900), Athanasios Polychronopoulos (24,400), Maria Lampropulos (35,900), Adrian Mateos (32,300), Seth Davies (28,000), and Kristen Bickell (6,500).

Surviving players in today's action could be in for a long tournament with a winner not scheduled to be crowned until June 15 with the final six battling it out on a live stream at CBS All Access in Australia, Canada, and the United States and at PokerGO in the rest of the world.

Event #27: $1,500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better

This event was the first one on the schedule that didn't perform up to expectations with 460 players generating a $621,000 prize pool. To put this into perspective, last year Benjamin Dobson outlasted a field of 596 entrants to win the $173,528 top prize.

That being said, there is still plenty to be played for. From the 195 remaining players, the top 69 players will collect at least a min-cash of $2,265 with the winner walking away with a $142,801 top prize and the coveted bracelet.

The top 18 players in the field are all Americans with Dave Alfa leading the way with 87,900. Behind Alfa are Andrew Kelsall (69,700), three-time bracelet winner and Women Poker Hall of Fame inductee Barbara Enright (68,800), and Gregory Yohn (65,900).

Yuval Bronshtein, who recently won his first bracelet after ten final table appearances in Event #13: $1,500 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw for $96,278, returns with a stack of 43,700 in chips, while six-time bracelet winner Daniel Negreanu bagged 38,600 into today's action.

Today's Day 2 will kick off at 2 p.m. PDT with surviving players scheduled to battle it out for two more days on June 12-13 until a winner is crowned.

Event #28: $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em

This three-day event is another new one on the schedule and should get a decent turnout with the $1,000 buy-in fitting into the budgets of many bracelet hunters.

Today's opening day kicks off at 11 a.m. PDT with players starting off with 20,000 in chips and blinds at just 100/100. Players will bag chips after 15 blind levels of 40 minutes each and players can reenter once until the late registration period closes after the conclusion of Level 9.

Players bagging chips are scheduled to compete for two more days on June 12-13 until there is just one player with all of the chips.

Event #29: $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship

This four-day Championship event is another prestigious one for mixed-game players willing to pony up a $10,000 buy-in. The H.O.R.S.E. event keeps players on its toes with the games rotating between Limit Hold'em, Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better, Razz, Seven Card Stud, and Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better.

• Limit Hold'em
• Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better
• Razz
• Seven Card Stud
• Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better

John Hennigan was the last player standing in this event last year for his fifth career bracelet to claim the $414,692 top prize.

Today's action will provide players with a starting stack of 60,000 in chips and feature ten hour-long blind levels starting at 3 p.m. PDT. Hold'em and Omaha will begin with blinds of 300/500 and limits of 500/1,000, while the three stud games will start with a 100 ante, a 200 bring-in, and the same 500/1,000 limits.

Late-registration closes at the start of tomorrow's Day 2 at 2 p.m. PDT when blind levels increase to 90 minutes in length.

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