2024 WSOP Day 50: Stars Turn Out for Day 1b of The Closer
The 2024 World Series of Poker at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas started 50 days ago, meaning there is only one day left to play. Day 50 of this summer's series had six in-play events, with two crowning their champions and the other inching towards awarding their bracelets.
Event #81: $10,000 WSOP Main Event World Championship is down to only a trio of hopeful, each vying for the title of poker's world champion and the gargantuan $10 million prize that accompanies it. Niklas Astedt leads from Jonathan Tamayo, and Jordan Griff. These final three return to the action from 2:00 p.m. local time on July 17; we cannot wait.
Jamie Walden ended the 2024 WSOP on a high by coming out on top in Event #95: $1,979 Poker Hall of Fame Bounty No-Limit Hold'em. The exhausted Brit took home $313,370 and the first gold bracelet of his career.
China's Xixiang Luo became a two-time champion after capturing the second bracelet of the summer. Having triumphed in the $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em/Pot-Limit Omaha Double Board Bomb Pot in mid-June, Lou won Event #96: $25,000 High Roller H.O.R.S.E., defeating Albert Daher heads-up.
Jared Bleznick Hunting His Second Bracelet in The Closer
Day 1b of Event #98: $1,500 The Closer drew in 2,401 entrants, with 277 bagging chips after the completion of Level 20. With this being the penultimate event of the 204 WSOP, many top-tier professionals bought in as time runs out to win some WSOP hardware.
Jared Bleznick recently won a bracelet in the $50,000 High Roller No-Limit Hold'em event, a result worth $2,037,947. Despite bagging a seven-figure score, Bleznick was in the thick of the action, and finished Day 1b fourth in chips with 1,540,000 chips.
Denmark's Martin Stausholm (2,035,000) finished top of the pile, with the likes of John Racener (1,295,000), Joey Couden (1,270,000), Joey Weissman (1,065,000), Ali Imsirovic (955,000), Andrew Kelsall (915,000), and a bunch of $25K Fantasy Draft picks all progressing to Day 2.
Day 2 starts at 11:00 a.m. local time on July 17, which is when the WSOP will confirm the total prize pool and the payouts. This event will finish tomorrow, regardless of how long it takes to whittle the 361 returning players to a champion.
Event #98: $1,500 The Closer Day 1b Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chips | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Martin Stausholm | Denmark | 2,035,000 | 102 |
| 2 | Gal Naim | Israel | 1,610,000 | 81 |
| 3 | Timur Khamidullin | Russia | 1,550,000 | 78 |
| 4 | Jared Bleznick | United States | 1,540,000 | 77 |
| 5 | Mario Colavita | Italy | 1,525,000 | 76 |
| 6 | Aaron Mermelstein | United States | 1,500,000 | 75 |
| 7 | John Racener | United States | 1,295,000 | 65 |
| 8 | Joey Couden | United States | 1,270,000 | 64 |
| 9 | Jordan Schneible | United States | 1,265,000 | 63 |
| 10 | Han Ming Feng | United States | 1,255,000 | 63 |
Duc Nguyen Has One Hand on the Lucky 7's Bracelet
Event #93: $777 Lucky 7's No-Limit Hold'em played out its second Day on July 16, and saw the 296-strong field reduced to only five. Those five are guaranteed $105,777 for their efforts, but the top prize of $777,777 is what each of the returning quintet wants to receive.
Duc Nguyen (119,200,000) has one hand on that payout and the event's bracelet thanks to returning with a colossal stack that's the equivalent of 99 big blinds. Nguyen could double up second-placed Michael Liang (52,500,000) and still find himself second in chips!
Manoj Batavia (38,000,000), Mitch Garshofsky (24,800,000), and Rajesh Mehta (19,900,000) are the trio that makes up the final five, but they are not there to simply make up the numbers.
Day 2 shuffles up and deals at 11:00 a.m. local time on July 17, and a winner will be crowned at some stage.
Event #93: $777 Lucky 7's No-Limit Hold'em Final Day Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chips | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Duc Nguyen | United States | 119,200,000 | 99 |
| 2 | Michael Liang | United States | 52,500,000 | 44 |
| 3 | Manoj Batavia | United States | 38,000,000 | 32 |
| 4 | Mitch Garshofsky | United States | 24,800,000 | 21 |
| 5 | Rajesh Mehta | United States | 19,900,000 | 17 |
Only 17 Players Remain in the $3,000 PLO 6-Max
Andrew Watson (5,200,000) finds himself in the envious position of being chip leader going into the final day of Event #97: $3,000 6-Handed No-Limit Hold'em, where only 17 players remain in contention for the bracelet and the $390,621 top prize.
Watson is the only player with over 100 big blinds in his arsenal – 130 to be exact – but nobody in the top ten has less than 42.
Martin Zamani (3,250,000) and Shai Elbaz (3,200,000) are Watson's nearest rivals, followed by Francisco Benitez (2,975,000) and Christopher Roth (2,850,000) in the top five.
Ari Engel (1,880,000), Dylan Weisman (1,825,000), and Alex Livingston (1,685,000) have top ten stacks, while Shaun Deeb (1,675,000) and Alex Foxen (980,000) are far from out of the running.
The 17 remaining players return to the tables from 1:00 p.m. local time on July 17. They will play down to a winner. Stay with PokerNews to discover who that winner is.
Event #97: $3,000 6-Handed Pot-Limit Omaha Top 10 Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Country | Chips | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andrew Watson | United States | 5,200,000 | 130 |
| 2 | Martin Zamani | United States | 3,250,000 | 81 |
| 3 | Shai Elbaz | United States | 3,200,000 | 80 |
| 4 | Francisco Benitez | Uruguay | 2,975,000 | 74 |
| 5 | Christopher Roth | United States | 2,850,000 | 71 |
| 6 | Hokyiu Lee | Hong Kong | 2,795,000 | 70 |
| 7 | Ronald Keijzer | Netherlands | 2,735,000 | 68 |
| 8 | Ari Engel | United States | 1,880,000 | 47 |
| 9 | Dylan Weisman | United States | 1,825,000 | 46 |
| 10 | Alex Livingston | Canada | 1,685,000 | 42 |
What to Expect on Day 51 of the 2024
Day 51 of the 2024 WSOP is the final day of what has been the most amazing series. Five events will pay their champions bankroll-boosting sums of money and award them with a commemorative bracelet.
All eyes will rightly be on Event #81: $10,000 WSOP Main Event World Championship. The Main Event cards are back in the air from 2:00 p.m. local time, so return to PokerNews then.
Event #93: $777 Lucky 7's No-Limit Hold'em resumes at 11:00 a.m. local time, which is also when Event #98: $1,500 The Closer kicks back off.
At 1:00 p.m. local time, Event #97: $3,000 6-Handed Pot-Limit Omaha begins its final day.
Believe it or not, a new tournament enters the arena on the 51st and final day. Event #99: $1,000 Super Turbo No-Limit Hold'em begins at 10:00 a.m. local time. With 20,000 stacks and 20-minute levels, this event is not for the faint-hearted. Paul Berger won this tournament in 2023, outlasting 1,481 opponents on his way to banking $212,645.
