2021 WSOP Day 7: Hellmuth Four Players Away From Bracelet #16
The 2021 World Series of Poker (WSOP) has run for a week, and what a week it has been. Day 7 continued the trend of stellar names going deep in events, including the legendary Phil Hellmuth, who finds himself only four eliminations away from winning his 16th WSOP bracelet.
Only one bracelet was awarded on Day 7. Zhi Wu won it after taking down Event #8: $600 No-Limit Hold’em Deepstack. Wu, who was the chip leader on Day 2, continued his momentum and was a worthy recipient of a gold WSOP bracelet and the $281,604 cash prize that came with it.
What else went down on the seventh day of the 2021 WSOP? Keep reading to find out.
Follow all the live-action as it happens from the 2021 World Series of Poker in Las Vegas!
Engel Leads But Hellmuth Is In The Mix in the $10,000 Omaha Hi-Lo Championship
Day 3 of Event #9: $10,000 Omaha Hi-Lo Championship saw 18 players return to their seats. The day ended with only five players remaining in the hunt for the tournament's bracelet.
A steady flow of eliminations throughout Day 3 saw some big names fall by the wayside. Such luminaries as Brian Rast, Paul Volpe, and Robert Mizrachi saw their tournaments end abruptly.
George Wolff’s demise in sixth place, at the hands of Ari Engel, brought the curtain down on proceedings.
Event #9: $10,000 Omaha Hi-Lo Championship Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ari Engel | 3,485,000 |
| 2 | Zachary Milchman | 1,660,000 |
| 3 | Eddie Blumenthal | 1,405,000 |
| 4 | Andrew Yeh | 1,105,000 |
| 5 | Phil Hellmuth | 390,000 |
Engel returns to the live-streamed five-handed final day with more than twice the chips as anyone else. Engel won his first bracelet at the 2019 WSOP and had one hand on his second.
Zachary Milchman, Eddie Blumenthal, and Andrew Yeh are in the chasing pack, as is Hellmuth, who sits down with only 390,000 chips and with a lot of work to do if he want to lock in his 16th career bracelet.
Can Koon Shake Off "Best Player Without a Bracelet" Tag?
GGPoker’s latest addition to its ambassador roster, Jason Koon, is only two one-on-one encounters away from securing his first WSOP bracelet. Koon is one of the best players without some poker jewelry, a tag he wants to shake off as soon as possible.
Sixteen players sat down on Day 2 of Event #11: $25,000 Heads-Up No-Limit Hold’em Championship, and only four remain in contention to become the tournament’s champion. Much-fancied Koon defeated Gal Yilfrach in the Round of 16 before sending Jake Daniels to the showers in the Quarter-Finals. Henri Pusstinen awaits Koon in the Semi-Finals.
Puustinen's route to the semis saw him defeat Cary Katz and Benjamin Reason.
The other semi-final pits Daniel Zack against Gabor Szabo. Zack ended James D'Ambrosio 's run in the Round of 16 before sending Bin Weng packing in the quarters.
Szabo has had arguably the most challenging route to the semis, clashing and defeating David Peters and Mikita Badziakouski en route.
Event #11: $25,000 Heads-Up No-Limit Hold’em Championship Chip Counts
| Player | Chips |
|---|---|
| Jason Koon | 2,400,000 |
| Henri Puustinen | 2,400,000 |
| Dan Zack | 2,400,000 |
| Gabor Szabo | 2,400,000 |
Play resumes at 4:00 p.m. local time on October 7, with play continuing until only one man has all 9,600,000 chips in their stack.
Erickson Leads Final 16 of the $1,500 Limit Hold 'em Event
It took nine hours to reduce the 113-strong Day 2 field of Event #12: $1,500 Limit Hold’em down to the final two tables of eight. Those 16 surviving players are led by Kevin Erickson, who was one of only two players to cram more than one million chips into their overnight chip bag.
Erickson finished 13th in the $3,000 buy-in equivalent of this event in 2019 and now has the chance to avenge that defeat. Mike Lancaster will have a major say in whether or not Erickson gets the job done because he finished the day with 1,240,000 chips in his stack.
Two former bracelet winners are among the final 16: Yuval Bronshtein (770,000) and Jorden Fox (300,000). Both will be gunning for glory on October 7.
Event #12: $1,500 Limit Hold’em Top 10 Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kevin Erickson | 1,435,000 |
| 2 | Mike Lancaster | 1,240,000 |
| 3 | Tony Nasr | 885,000 |
| 4 | Guy Cicconi | 830,000 |
| 5 | Ian Glycenfer | 795,000 |
| 6 | John Bunch | 795,000 |
| 7 | Tom McCormick | 775,000 |
| 8 | Yuval Bronshtein | 770,000 |
| 9 | Tina Tateossian | 700,000 |
| 10 | Anh Van Bguyen | 685,000 |
Jeong Bags Up Seven-Figure Stack in the Event #13; Gathy in Top 10
Event #13: $3,000 Freezeout No-Limit Hold’em saw 720 players piled into the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino, but only 108 of them progressed to Day 2. Of those 108 surviving players, nobody bagged up more chips than Andrew Jeong (1,003,000). In fact, Jeong was the only player with a seven-figure stack come the end of play.
Day 1 ended after the money bubble burst. Silvio Costa was the unfortunate bubble boy, busting at the hands of Belgian star and four-time WSOP bracelet winner Michael Gathy; Gathy returns to the battle with enough chips for tenth place.
Scores of stellar names litter the 108 chip counts. Players to look out for in the PokerNews updates on Day 2 include, Brock Parker (680,000), Anton Wigg (411,000), Maria Konnikova (408,000), Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier, Triple Crown winner Niall Farrell (330,000), and short-stacked Ben Yu (65,000)
Event #13: $3,000 Freezeout No-Limit Hold 'em End of Day Top 10 Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Country | Chips |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andrew Jeong | United States | 1,003,000 |
| 2 | Antony Darmani | France | 888,000 |
| 3 | Brandon Caputo | United States | 883,000 |
| 4 | Landen Lucas | United States | 753,000 |
| 5 | Yohwan Lim | South Korea | 720,000 |
| 6 | Brock Parker | United States | 680,000 |
| 7 | Frederic Heller | United States | 635,000 |
| 8 | Steve Foutty | United States | 612,000 |
| 9 | Ben Farrell | United Kingdom | 607,000 |
| 10 | Michael Gathy | Belgium | 590,000 |
Hourani Tops Star-Studded $1,500 Seven Card Stud Event
Some 260 players started Event #14: $1,500 Seven Card Stud with high hopes, but only 76 of them still have a chance of becoming the tournament’s champion. Elias Hourani has done his chances of winning this event no harm at all thanks to bagging up a tournament-leading stack of 240,000 chips. You may recall Hourani finished fourth in the Hi-Lo edition of this event back in 2019.
An incredibly talented bunch of players is tailing Hourani; five of the current top ten are bracelet winners! Brendan Taylor (236,500) is second in chips, while Kevin Gerhardt (220,500), Dan Heimiller (184,000), Steven Albini (174,500), and David Williams (172,500) also shone on Day 1.
Amazingly, that quintet are not the players who have previously won some poker gold. David Singer (128,000) is well and truly in the mix, as are four-time champions Tom McEvoy (116,000) and Shaun Deeb (96,000), Brandon Shack-Harris (95,500), Adam Friedman (78,500), and Anthony Zinno (73,500) plus several more.
Everything is shaping up for an epic second day, which you can follow in great detail right here at PokerNews.
Event #14: $1,500 Seven Card Stud Day 1 Top 10 Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Elias Hourani | 240,000 |
| 2 | Brendan Taylor | 236,500 |
| 3 | Jeffrey Mitseff | 228,000 |
| 4 | Kevin Gerhart | 220,500 |
| 5 | Dan Heimiller | 184,000 |
| 6 | Craig Chait | 179,000 |
| 7 | Steven Albini | 174,500 |
| 8 | David Williams | 172,500 |
| 9 | Hal Rotholz | 154,500 |
| 10 | William Buckley | 138,000 |
