2023 FPN Vegas World Champion Joel Smith is sailing smoothly after entering the day in pole position with the most chips. He earned a WSOP Main Event seat last year and parlayed that prize into a finish in 751st place for $27,500.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
145,000
35,000
|
35,000 |
The 2024 Free Poker Network Tag Team Championship finished up on Saturday night and it was the team of Phil Wilburn and Darren Sneed that took home the championship belts and the top prize of $1,500.
Wilburn and Sneed came into the final table with the second smallest chip stack, and they fell to just one big blind before the team rallied back for the win. They outlasted 162 teams on their way to victory.
The pair are followed in second by Mike Yoder and Marla Smith, who did most of the heavy lifting at the final table before bowing out in second. Jamieson Smith and Becky Ogrodny finished third and the team of Eugene and Boyd Brandsrud ran to fourth place, while John Zellich and Jeff Kochersperger rounded out the top five teams.
| Rank | Team | Poker Club | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Phil Wilburn - Darren Sneed | Mr. G's & Joe's Older Than Dirt (KY) | $1,500 |
| 2 | Mike Yoder - Marla Smith | Palet Bar (NE) | $800 |
| 3 | Jamieson Smith - Becky Ogrodny | DC Cobbs & Mugs n' Manor (IL) | $300 |
| 4 | Eugene Brandsrud - Boyd Brandsrud | Woody's (SD) | $200 |
| 5 | John Zellich - Jeff Kochersperger | Mr. G's (KY) | $200 |
| 6 | Chad Holloway - Connor Richards | PokerNews | $200 |
| 7 | Catherine Stuart - Theresa Carlson | Stillins (IL) | $200 |
| 8 | Sam Jacob - Jim Perugini | 6 Paupers (DE) | $200 |
| 9 | Russ Neil - Al Buhr | Across the Trax (NE) | $200 |
For the third time today, Chad Holloway shoved in the dark from under the gun. This time it was for 29,000, and a player to his left called for his last 3,400 before the big stack at the table put both players at risk.
Chad Holloway: A♦8♥
Opponent #1: A♥K♥
Big Stack: 5♠5♦
The board ran out 8♦8♠8♣Q♦J♥ and Holloway flopped quads to double in the dark for the third time today.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
62,000
52,500
|
52,500 |
|
||
Anil Ozcan raised to 2,000 from middle position and a player in the cutoff called before Carol Dole shoved around 6,000 from the small blind. Ozcan called and the cutoff got out of the way to make action heads up with Dole at risk.
Carol Dole: A♥K♣
Anil Ozcan: 9♦9♠
The board ran out 7♦2♦3♠K♥8♣ and Dole turned a pair of kings to secure the double.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
14,500
14,500
|
14,500 |
|
|
6,000
6,000
|
6,000 |
Welcome to the Free Poker Network $100,000 World Championship Main Event at Golden Nugget in Las Vegas. Cards go in the air at 10 a.m. for this unique championship event.
The championship is open to qualifiers only, and players have been winning their way in throughout 2023 and throughout the last week in Las Vegas. They also had the opportunity to win 20,000 extra bonus chips in each of the five qualifiers in Las Vegas. Joel Smith is in pole position, and he earned $500 for starting with the largest chip stack of 100,000.
Hundreds of qualifiers are expected, including Phil Wilburn and Darren Creed, who won the Tag Team Championship on Saturday night. Also qualifying in the Tag Team event were Connor Richards and Chad Holloway of the PokerNews Podcast. They made a run to sixth place to punch their ticket to the championship.
Cards go in the air at 10 a.m. and levels will increase every 30 minutes throughout the day until a winner is crowned. Be sure to keep it with the PokerNews team all day long for live updates from the floor in the Grand Ballroom at Golden Nugget.
