Event #42: $25,000 Pot-Limit Omaha 8-Handed High Roller
Day 1 Started
2018 World Series of Poker
Event #42: $25,000 Pot-Limit Omaha 8-Handed High Roller
Day: 1
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
2018 World Series of Poker
Buy-in
$25,000
Prize Pool
$5,462,500
Entries
230
Level
31
Blinds
150,000 / 300,000
Ante
0
Day 1 of Event #42: $25,000 Pot-Limit Omaha 8-Handed High Roller Kicks Off at 3 p.m.
Cards will fly at 3:00 p.m. this afternoon in the biggest buy-in Omaha event at the 2018 World Series of Poker, Event #42: $25,000 Pot-Limit Omaha 8-Handed High Roller. Last year, James Calderaro triumphed over a predictably stacked and record-large field of 205 entries to claim the $1,289,074 top prize and his first gold bracelet.
This event is scheduled to play out over four days. Day 1 play will consist of 10 one-hour levels with 15-minute breaks every two levels. Players will begin with 125,000 tournament chips. One re-entry per player is permitted; late entry and re-entry will remain open until the conclusion of Level 12 (two levels into Day 2).
Although Day 1 action begins at 3:00 p.m., the restart for each subsequent day of play will be at 2:00 p.m. There is no dinner break on Day 1, but each day thereafter will have a one-hour dinner break after six levels.
Day 1 Blind Structure
| Level | Duration | Small Blind | Big Blind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 60 min | 150 | 300 |
| 2 | 60 min | 200 | 400 |
| 3 | 60 min | 250 | 500 |
| 4 | 60 min | 300 | 600 |
| 5 | 60 min | 400 | 800 |
| 6 | 60 min | 500 | 1,000 |
| 7 | 60 min | 600 | 1,200 |
| 8 | 60 min | 800 | 1,600 |
| 9 | 60 min | 1,000 | 2,000 |
| 10 | 60 min | 1,200 | 2,400 |
Previous Winners
| Year | Players | Prize Pool | Winner | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 175 | $4,156,250 | Anthony Zinno | $1,122,196 |
| 2016 | 184 | $4,370,000 | Jens Kyllönen | $1,127,035 |
| 2017 | 205 | $4,868,750 | James Calderaro | $1,289,074 |
The PokerNews Live Reporting team will be on the floor to provide updates on the action until a champion is crowned on Saturday, June 23.
Level: 1
Blinds: 150/300
Ante: 0
Shuffle Up and Deal!
Level 1
: 150/300, 0 ante
Action in the $25,000 Pot-Limit Omaha High Roller is officially underway.
First Notables in the Field
Level 1
: 150/300, 0 ante
Among those to take their seats right away when the cards went in the air were Ryan D'Angelo, Martin Kozlov, Noah Schwartz, Robert Mizrachi and Christopher Frank. More big names are to follow when they have joined the action, the screens show a total of 47 entries a few minutes into the tournament.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
125,000 | 125,000 |
|
125,000 | 125,000 |
|
125,000 | 125,000 |
|
125,000 | 125,000 |
|
125,000 | 125,000 |
|
125,000 | 125,000 |
|
125,000 | 125,000 |
Kornuth Takes on Ko
Level 1
: 150/300, 0 ante
Yuki Ko may not have a WSOP cash to his name yet, but the Korean is especially known in the Asian and Australian poker circuit. He does have a Aussie Millions ring to his name and also took down back-to-back events recently during a festival in Korea.
Ko was just spotted having raised to 1,050 on the button, Chance Kornuth called in the big blind. On a flop of 
, Kornuth checked and called a bet of 500 before both players opted to check the 
turn. Kornuth bet the 
river and Ko quickly folded.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
127,500 | 2,500 |
|
123,000 | 123,000 |
Faces In The Field
Level 1
: 150/300, 0 ante
Several more familiar faces have taken their seats in the first half hour of this event, including David Benyamine, Josh Arieh, and Ben Lamb.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
125,000 | |
|
125,000 | |
|
125,000 | |
|
125,000 | |
|
125,000 | |
|
125,000 |
Heroux Gets Full Payout
Level 1
: 150/300, 0 ante
On the tail end of a big pot with a completed board showing 
, George Chase check-called a bet of 35,000 by Maxime Heroux and mucked when he was shown 
for the nut flush. Xuedong Li, who had already built a profit early on, mentioned in table chat "I had the queen-high flush."
Chase dropped to fewer than half the starting stack while Heroux became the early chip leader.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
185,000 | 185,000 |
|
130,000 | 130,000 |
|
|
60,000 | 60,000 |
New Notables Join the Field
Level 1
: 150/300, 0 ante
Among those to take their seat recently were Craig Varnell, who won the $565 Pot-Limit Omaha bracelet earlier in the summer, David Wang, Aleksandr Gofman, Kory Kilpatrick, Michael Song, Sam Stein and Isaac Baron. Gofman was among those fortunate enough to enter with a massive discount after winning his seat in yesterday's Satellite.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
125,000 | |
|
125,000 | |
|
125,000 | |
|
125,000 | |
|
125,000 | |
|
125,000 | |
|
125,000 | |
|
125,000 |
Fourth Pair Is Good
Level 1
: 150/300, 0 ante
There were about 3,500 chips in the pot and the board read 
when we got to the table. Tim McDermott checked from the big blind and his lone opponent, David Benyamine, checked from the button.
Both players checked the 
river, as well, and McDermott tabled 
. Benyamine said "good hand" and tossed his cards into the muck. McDermott showed his other two cards 
before the dealer pushed the pot his way.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
114,000 | -11,000 |
|
|
105,000 | -20,000 |