2021 WSOP Day 19: David “Bakes” Baker Hunting for Third Bracelet at $1,500 Triple Draw Final Table
Day 19 of the 2021 World Series of Poker (WSOP) featured another full day of poker action at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in sunny Las Vegas with Oct. 18 featuring six bracelet events.
Jim Collopy was the first winner crowned on Monday, after shipping Event #32: H.O.R.S.E. for his second career WSOP bracelet and the $172,823 top prize. Later in the evening, Ran Koller got his first taste of WSOP gold after winning Event #33: $800 Eight Handed NLHE Deepstack for $269,478.
Three-time bracelet winner Ryan Leng is near the top of the pack with 24 remaining in Event #30: $1,500 Monster Stack, Denys Chufarin leads the final 132 players in Event #35 $500 No-Limit Hold’em, and Jose Ignacio "Nacho" Barbero holding bagged the Day 1 chip lead of Event #36: $10,000 Dealer's Choice Championship.
Meanwhile, David "Bakes" Baker is in the hunt for his third bracelet with just six players remaining in Event #34: $1,500 Limit 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw.
Follow all the live-action as it happens from the 2021 World Series of Poker in Las Vegas!
Balachandran and Leng Lead 24 Remaining Contenders Into Day 4 of $1,500 Monster Stack
Day 3 of Event #30: $1,500 Monster Stack witnessed 148 players start the day and only 24 players bag a stack for Tuesday, Oct. 19. The action will resume at 11 a.m. local time, and play may continue until a winner is determined. Although the remaining players have locked up $21,768, they will all be looking to win the WSOP gold bracelet and the $610,347 top prize that awaits one of them.
Jaesh Balachandran bagged the top stack going into Day 4 with 17,600,000 chips. Three-time bracelet winner Ryan Leng (16,500,000), who claimed his third less than a week ago, will be looking for another one as he bagged the second-biggest stack of the night. Brazil’s Rafael Reis (10,975,000) and PokerNews’ Dannah Kamp (5,125,000) will also have a shot at gold.
However, not everyone could find a bag by the end of the night. Some of the notables who fell in Day 3 include James Romero, JJ Liu, Jason Somerville, Upeshka De Silva, and Chris Brewer.
Monster Stack End-of-Day 3 Top 10 Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chips | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jaesh Balachandran | United States | 17,600,000 | 59 |
| 2 | Ryan Leng | United States | 16,500,000 | 55 |
| 3 | Anthony Ortega | United States | 15,775,000 | 53 |
| 4 | Rafael Reis | Brazil | 10,975,000 | 37 |
| 5 | Santiago Plante | Canada | 10,775,000 | 36 |
| 6 | Mordechai Hazan | Israel | 9,850,000 | 33 |
| 7 | Johan Schumacher | Belgium | 9,625,000 | 32 |
| 8 | Christopher Andler | Sweden | 8,300,000 | 28 |
| 9 | Jeffrey Vertes | Canada | 8,050,000 | 27 |
| 10 | Michael Noori | United States | 7,850,000 | 26 |
Day 4 starts at 11 a.m. local time on Tuesday, Oct. 19 in the Amazon Room of the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino. The tournament resumes at Level 32 with blinds at 150,000/300,000/300,000.
Two-Time WSOP Bracelet Winner David “Bakes” Baker Headlines $1,500 Triple Draw Final Table
A final table of six players remains from the original 76 that began the day, as Peter Lynn takes the chip lead into Tuesday’s final day of play in Event #34: $1,500 Limit 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw.
The most accomplished player left in the field is David “Bakes” Baker, who will enter Day 3 fifth in chips with 815,000.
Baker has a 2010 $10,000 No-Limit 2-7 Single Draw bracelet to his name, along with a $10,000 HORSE bracelet from 2012. He’ll be looking to add bracelet number three to his resume when play picks up again at 2:00 p.m. local time in the Amazon room.
Lynn takes the chip lead into the day with hopes of claiming his first-ever WSOP gold in just his second-ever WSOP cash, previously finishing 120th in the 2019 $600 Deepstack event for $2,603.
Baker and Lynn will be joined Tuesday by Kristijonas Andrulis (1,665,000) who held the chip lead for large portions of the day before ending the day just shy of Lynn’s total. Andrulis holds a third-place finish in the $10,000 WSOP 2-7 Triple Draw Championship event in 2018.
Also in the field on Tuesday will be Mark Fraser (1,355,000), who has 19 WSOP cashes to his name, none however bigger than $4,474 for a 688th place finish in the 2015 Colossus tournament. He’s already surpassed that total regardless of his finishing place Tuesday.
Rounding out the final six are Stephen Deutsch (985,000) and Marc Booth (620,000), who battled back from just 45,000 in chips with two tables left.
Event #34 Final Table Seat Draw
| Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Bets |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kristijonas Andrulis | Lithuania | 1,665,000 | 20 |
| 2 | Marc Booth | United States | 620,000 | 7 |
| 3 | Peter Lynn | United States | 1,680,000 | 21 |
| 4 | Mark Fraser | United States | 1,355,000 | 16 |
| 5 | David "Bakes" Baker | United States | 815,000 | 10 |
| 6 | Stephen Deutsch | United States | 985,000 | 12 |
Play resumes with Level 26, with limits of 40,000 and 80,000, and will play down to the winner.
Denys Chufarin Bags the Chip Lead at the End of Day 1 in Event #35: $500 NLHE
Day 1 of Event #35 $500 No-Limit Hold’em drew a field of 2,930 of which 440 made the money and only 132 of them survived returning for the second and final day on Tuesday, Oct. 19 at 12:00 p.m. local time.
Denys Chufarin bagged the top stack of 1,500,000 chips other notable stacks include Patrick Chong (1,355,000), Blair Morscheck (1,300,000), Nipun Java (1,295,000), Cody Wells (1,275,000), Justin Turner (1,020,000), Jacob Rich (915,000), Charbel Kanterjian (970,000), and Sundiata DeVore (905,000).
Event #35 Day 1 Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chips | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Denys Chufarin | Ukraine | 1,500,000 | 50 |
| 2 | Patrick Chong | United States | 1,335,000 | 45 |
| 3 | Blair Morscheck | United States | 1,300,000 | 43 |
| 4 | Nipun Java | United States | 1,295,000 | 43 |
| 5 | Cody Wells | United States | 1,250,000 | 42 |
| 6 | Dongsheng Zhang | United States | 1,199,000 | 40 |
| 7 | John Clancy | United States | 1,155,000 | 39 |
| 8 | Bong Yang | United States | 1,100,000 | 37 |
| 9 | David Larson | United States | 1,060,000 | 35 |
| 10 | Philip Newell | United States | 1,020,000 | 34 |
A selection of the other notable players heading into Day 2 includes 4-time bracelet winner Shaun Deeb, Mike Takayama with over $1.4 million in live earnings which is second all-time in the Philippines, and Aaron Massey with over $4,500,000 million in live earnings.
Some of the players who fell short of bagging a stack include Barry Greenstein, Bertrand Grospellier, Alexandru Masek, Kelly Minkin, and Kathy Liebert.
Nacho Barbero Leads Star-Studded Field After Day 1 of Event #36: $10,000 Dealer's Choice Championship
The latest high-stakes mixed game contest of the 2021 World Series of Poker featured 86 entries on Day 1 of Event #36: $10,000 Dealer's Choice Championship. Only 42 players advanced to Tuesday's Day 2 with Argentina's Jose Ignacio "Nacho" Barbero holding a substantial lead over the rest of the field.
After winning a massive pot in 2-7 Triple Draw at the end of the night, Barbero bagged up 425,500 in chips, well ahead of second-placed Joao Vieira (250,000) and Christopher Claassen (224,000). Other big stacks belong to Mike Gorodinsky, David Benyamine, Nathan Gamble, and Ray Henson to name all but a few mixed game aficionados.
Six-time WSOP champion and GGPoker Ambassador Daniel Negreanu made it through with an above-average stack of 153,500 after he busted Event #27: $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. in 8th place. The bid of Adam Friedman to win an unprecedented third consecutive WSOP gold bracelet in a Championship Event is also still alive. Friedman, who won this tournament in 2018 and 2019, made it through to Day 2 with a stack of 97,500.
Event #36: $10,000 Dealer's Choice Championship Day 1 Top 10 Chip Counts
| Position | Player | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nacho Barbero | Argentina | 425,500 |
| 2 | Joao Vieira | Portugal | 250,000 |
| 3 | Christopher Claassen | United States | 224,000 |
| 4 | Mike Gorodinsky | United States | 221,500 |
| 5 | David Benyamine | France | 217,000 |
| 6 | Nathan Gamble | United States | 206,500 |
| 7 | Ray Henson | United States | 185,500 |
| 8 | Chris Vitch | United States | 184,000 |
| 9 | Chip Jett | United States | 171,000 |
| 10 | Brett Richey | United States | 164,000 |
The mixed game contest consisting of 20 different poker variants played a total of ten 60-minute levels on Day 1 and half of the field was eliminated in the process. All those still wishing to join the action can do so until the cards are back in the air for Day 2 on Tuesday, Oct. 19 at 2 p.m. local time at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino.
