Eight Levels in the Books; Smith Leads, Fitoussi and George Close Behind
The first eight levels of Event #50: $2,500 10-Game Mix (Six Handed) are officially a thing of the past. A total of 372 entrants ponied up the entry fee to play one of the most versatile events on the 2013 World Series of Poker schedule. By the end of the day, it was Howard Smith who sat on the biggest stack in the room with 61,625. Smith leads the 162 players who will return for the second day of play.
Playing short-handed mixed games in a ten-game rotation is no easy feat. It requires not only supreme focus and skill in each variant, but also the ability to adapt quickly as the games change and new players arrive at one's table. That being said, this event has quickly become one of the higher prestige events at the WSOP, despite its low price tag compared to some of the larger buy-ins. Last year, this event was won by none other than Vanessa Selbst who not only won her second bracelet, but in doing so also became the first woman to win a bracelet in an open event since she first accomplished the task in 2008. Selbst returned to the felt today to try her chances at repeating victory, but unfortunately the two-time bracelet winner fell fairly early in the day.
Selbst was not the only notable name to fall as many well-known players found nothing but felt in front of them before the final level reached its conclusion. Among those to hit the rail during Day 1 play were Phil Ivey, Eric Crain, Bryn Kenney, Chad Brown, Barry Greenstein, Michael Mizrachi, Chris Tryba, Adrienne "Talonchick" Rowsome, Greg Mueller, Jonathan Duhamel, Jesse Sylvia, and Ali Eslami. Jason Mercier, who busted Event #47: $111,111 One Drop High Rollers No-Limit Hold'em earlier in the day, hopped in this event soon after his elimination. Mercier was among those to fall, however, when he saw his tournament come to an end thanks to a 2-7 No-Limit Single Draw hand gone awry.
While those players faltered on this first day, others thrived and were able to build stacks that they will bring into Day 2. A small sample size of those returning for the second day include Bruno Fitoussi (57,525), Christopher George (53,450), Scott Fischman (38,575), Dario Alioto (37,550), Konstantin Puchkov (33,800), Shawn Buchanan (29,150), Greg Raymer (28,300), Freddy Deeb (25,850), Joe Cassidy (17,650), Ashton Griffin (11,950), and David Bach (11,200).
Play will resume in the Amazon room at 2:00 p.m. PDT. Be sure to join us once again as we draw nearer to crowning the 50th champion of the 2013 WSOP!