2021 WSOP Day 26: Soverel Leads the Charge in the NL 2-7 Single Draw Championship
October 25 was the 26th day of the 2021 World Series of Poker (WSOP) in fabulous Las Vegas, and it was another day filled with action, drama, and excitement. Two elated players became WSOP champions and secured their first WSOP gold bracelets, while five other events made major strides towards awarding their own piece of poker jewelry.
Japanese grinder Kazuki "hyahhoo3" Ikeuchi was the first bracelet winner on Day 26 of the schedule. Ikeuchi triumphed in the WSOP.com (NV/NJ) Online Bracelet $1,000 Championship Event, topping an 854-strong field to claim the $152,797 top prize.
Chad Norton won Event #46: $800 No-Limit Hold’em Deepstack, and called the experience surreal. This was Norton’s first-ever live WSOP event, which makes his victory all the more sweeter and unexpected.
What happened in the events that did not crown their champions? Keep reading to find out.
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Soverel Leads The $10K NL 2-7 Single Draw Championship
Sam Soverel has put himself in a great position to win what would be the second bracelet of an illustrious career. Soverel ended Day 1 of Event #49: $10,000 No-Limit 2-7 Single Draw Championship with 454,500 chips, 80,500 more than Johannes Becker in second-place, himself a WSOP champion.
The day started with only 11 players in their seats, but drew in a crowd of 106 by day’s end. Only 43 of those players navigated their way through to Day 2, but that number is set to rise with late registration remaining open until the start of the second day.
Plenty of notable stars progressed to Day 2, including a plethora of bracelet winners. Julien Martini (338,500), Shaun Deeb (302,500), and Benny Glaser (290,500) are each in the top five chip counts overnight.
Other luminaries to look out for include Yuval Bronshtein (225,500), Farzad Boyadi (215,500), Nick Shulman (90,000), Paul Volpe (78,500), Brian Rast (47,500), and the legendary 10-time WSOP bracelet winner Johnny Chan (21,500).
Play resumes at 2:00 p.m. on October 26 with the plan to play down to a point where only five players remain.
Event #49: $10,000 No-Limit 2-7 Single Draw Championship Top 10 Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Country | Chips |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sam Soverel | United States | 454,500 |
| 2 | Johannes Becker | Germany | 373,500 |
| 3 | Julien Martini | France | 338,500 |
| 4 | Shaun Deeb | United States | 302,500 |
| 5 | Benny Glaser | United Kingdom | 290,500 |
| 6 | Benjamin Diebold | United States | 277,500 |
| 7 | David McGowan | United States | 269,500 |
| 8 | Yuval Bronshtein | Israel | 225,500 |
| 9 | Farzad Bonyadi | United States | 215,500 |
| 10 | Matt Vengrin | United States | 210,500 |
Wang Leads Final 17 in the $1K Double Stack
Michael Wang is the man to catch in Event #43: $1,000 Double Stack No-Limit Hold’em where only 17 of the 3,991 starters remain in the hunt for the $446,983 top prize and a coveted gold bracelet.
Wang already has a bracelet to his name having won the $5,000 No-Limit Hold’em event in 2015. That impressive victory netted Wang a career-best $466,120. Winning this event would surpass that sum by $843.
While Wang (24,300,000) is in a dominant position at the business end of the tournament, there are some talented players in the chasing pack who are vying for glory, too.
Joshua Harrison (14,725,000) is Wang’s closest opponent in terms of chips, while bracelet winners Sejin Park (13,325,000) and Jonathan Dokler (12,875,000) are not too far behind.
Jeff Platt (8,075,000) is one man who will have many eyes on him. Platt is best known for his commentary role with PokerGO but he is also successful on the felt with 14 WSOP cashes and more than $300,000 in lifetime winnings. He would make a popular champion, that is for certain.
Cards are back in the air from 12:00 p.m on October 26 and play ends when only five players remain.
Event #43: $1,000 Double Stack Top 10 Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Country | Chips |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michael Wang | United States | 24,300,000 |
| 2 | Joshua Harrison | United States | 14,725,000 |
| 3 | Sejin Park | South Korea | 13,325,000 |
| 4 | Jonathan Dokler | United States | 12,875,000 |
| 5 | Timothy Little | United States | 11,475,000 |
| 6 | Alexander Farahi | United States | 10,725,000 |
| 7 | Alex Kulev | Ireland | 9,550,000 |
| 8 | Anthony Denove | United States | 8,475,000 |
| 9 | Jeff Platt | United States | 8,075,000 |
| 10 | Kenneth Inouye | United States | 7,475,000 |
Le Looking For Bracelet #2 in the $10,000 PLO Championship
Only five players remain in Event #45: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship and it is Tommy Le who leads them back into battle at 4:00 p.m. on October 26.
Le has over two million more chips than his nearest rival, which should be surprising considering his PLO prowess. Le (7,240,000) has seven PLO final table appearances in PLO events but a bracelet still eludes him. Perhaps that will change on October 26?
Le leads from Russia’s Artem Maksimov (5,080,000) and Day 1 chip leader Chris Sandrock (3,200,000). American grinders Jordan Spurlin (2,885,000) and Jeremy Ausmus (2,235,000) make up the final five but are not there to only make up the numbers. Ausmus secured his second bracelet earlier in the series and is looking to continue the trend of players netting their third piece of poker gold.
Event #45: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship Final Five Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Country | Chips |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tommy Le | United States | 7,240,000 |
| 2 | Artem Maksimov | Russia | 5,080,000 |
| 3 | Chris Sandrock | United States | 3,200,000 |
| 4 | Jordan Spurlin | United States | 2,885,000 |
| 5 | Jeremy Ausmus | United States | 2,235,000 |
Reard Leads The Race to Become the $5K NLHE Freezeout Champion
Eighty-two players returned for ay 2 of Event #47: $5,000 Freezeout No-Limit Hold’em, and only five of them have chips in overnight bags. Frenchman Alexandre Reard (8,820,000) has his name at the top of the chip counts, and has a legitimate shot at his first bracelet.
Reard has more than $3 million in live poker tournament winnings but is yet to walk away with a WSOP title. This is his best shot yet, although Daniel Strelitz (5,345,000) is hunting for his second bracelet and will not give up without a fight.
Neither will any of the three players who complete the line-up for the final day. Qing Liu (3,375,000), Conrad Simpson (2,390,000), and Ren Lin (1,535,000) all gather on Day 3 under the watchful eye of the PokerGO streaming team. PokerNews will join them from 3:00 p.m. on October 26 and update you on each players progress towards a WSOP victory.
Event #47: $5,000 Freezeout No-Limit Hold’em Final Five Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Country | Chips |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alexandre Reard | France | 8,820,000 |
| 2 | Daniel Strelitz | United States | 5,345,000 |
| 3 | Qing Liu | United States | 3,375,000 |
| 4 | Conrad Simpson | United States | 2,390,000 |
| 5 | Ren Lin | United States | 1,535,000 |
Grafton, Engel, and Cheong Among 80 Shootout Survivors
Event #48: $1,500 Shootout No-Limit Hold’em drew in an 800-strong crowd and exactly 80 made it through to Day 2. The 800 starters sat down on 80 ten-handed tables and play continued until only one player from each table remained. Those 80 survivors progressed to Day 2 where ten eight-handed tables follow a similar format.
The stack sizes are almost even for all the returning players due to the nature of the format. Among those Day 2 returnees are the likes of Team PokerStars Pro Sam Grafton, Ari Engel, and Joseph Cheong.
Others include Brian Yoon, Jared Jaffee, Taylor Paur, and Mukul Pahuja.
Play recommences at 12:00 p.m. on October 26 and continues until only the final ten players remain in the hunt for a $204,063 cash prize and, of course, a gold WSOP bracelet.
