Event #49: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha 8-Handed Championship
Day 2 Started
2018 World Series of Poker
Event #49: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha 8-Handed Championship
Day: 2
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
2018 World Series of Poker
Buy-in
$10,000
Prize Pool
$4,474,400
Entries
476
Level
34
Blinds
200,000 / 400,000
Ante
0
Welcome to Day 2 of $10k PLO Championship
The World Series of Poker boasts dozens of events featuring a handful of different games and quite a few hybrid mixed events have been installed to the schedule in recent years. While no-limit hold'em still conquers the vast majority of action in Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino, pot-lImit Omaha is the No. 1 growing game on the list. PLO has seemed to trend up in the past festivals and events such as PLO Giant allow the four-card game expand among a wider audience.
But Omaha has been getting more love even at the top level as well. We saw it last year when the crown jewel of the $10k PLO Championship attracted a record-breaking 428 entries. Now the bar has been pushed higher again with the 2018 edition already counting 439 runners in the race. With new record numbers locked up, the $10k PLO Championship is still open to anyone who had other plans on Saturday during Day 1. Late registration closes before the cards go back in the air today at 2 p.m. local time so the final number might get further inflated.
In such big field, it's guaranteed that the eventual champion will nab a huge chunk of money along with the prestigious title and bracelet. The past champions took home prizes not far away from seven figures.
So far, Ryan Hughes has made for the storylines after bagging the lead ahead of Day 2. Hughes has already made it to two final tables at this year's series, including a heads-up appearance in the Mixed Big Bet. That mix featured the games of PLO and PLO-8, among others, but with a special feature of antes. The PLO Championship is played in a traditional way for Omaha and no antes are in play. That allows a patient grind throughout, and Hughes can surely be chilling for a while, should he want to. He will come back to almost 240 big blinds when he unbags his 475,400.
Needless to say, the remaining field of 175 players is packed with some of the world's best players including the Mizrachi brothers who have both reported a great start to the tournament. Michael, fresh off winning an unprecedented third title in the Poker Players Championship, sits just outside of the top 10 with 275,000. Robert, who already topped the PLO Championship back in 2007, is also above the virtual average line with 196,200.
Robert Mizrachi isn't the only former champ left in contention. 2011 winner Ben Lamb made a strong statement on Day 1, amassing 314,100 to occupy the fourth place on the leaderboard. Lee Watkinson (2006), Brandon Shack-Harris (2016) and defending champion Tommy Le are all also trying to pair their respective titles.
History of $10k PLO at the World Series of Poker:
| Year | Field | Winner | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 165 players | Rafi Amit | Israel | $511,835 |
| 2006 | 218 players | Lee Watkinson | United States | $655,746 |
| 2007 | 314 players | Robert Mizrachi | United States | $768,889 |
| 2008 | 381 players | Marty Smyth | Ireland | $859,549 |
| 2009 | 295 players | Matt Graham | United States | $679,402 |
| 2010 | 346 players | Daniel Alaei | United States | $780,599 |
| 2011 | 361 players | Ben Lamb | United States | $814,436 |
| 2012 | 293 players | Jan-Peter Jachtmann | Germany | $661,000 |
| 2013 | 386 players | Daniel Alaei | United States | $852,692 |
| 2014 | 418 players | Pat Walsh | United States | $923,379 |
| 2015 | 387 players | Alexander Petersen | Denmark | $927,655 |
| 2016 | 400 players | Brandon Shack-Harris | United States | $894,300 |
| 2017 | 428 players | Tommy Le | United States | $938,732 |
Come back to PokerNews at 2 p.m. to follow the live coverage of Day 2 as many notable players take to the felt, hoping to navigate their stacks through the second stage of the dynamic PLO tournament.
Level: 11
Blinds: 1,000/2,000
Ante: 0
Quick Exit for Kruk
Level 11
: 1,000/2,000, 0 ante
Christopher Kruk looked to be one of the late registering players but he was getting out of his seat when we got to his table, with Rob Mizrachi sweeping up his chips. It looked like Kruk got it in with 
against 
, with Mizrachi making aces full on the river.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
295,000 | 98,800 |
|
Busted |
Nevanlinna Doesn't Bite the Check-Raise
Level 11
: 1,000/2,000, 0 ante
On a flop of 
, Jussi Nevanlinna bet into the 15,000 chip pot out of the cutoff. He was up against two players in the blinds and small blind Michael Banducci check-raised to 13,000. The action returned to Nevanlinna who asked his opponent how much he had left and then fired back, three-betting to 35,000. A snap-fold followed and Nevanlinna raked in the pot.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
205,000 | 16,500 |
|
139,600 | 8,000 |
Tough Start for Rast
Level 11
: 1,000/2,000, 0 ante
Brian Rast was among the players who entered straight into Day 2. Unfortunately for the 2018 NL Single Draw Championship bracelet winner, his first minutes in the PLO Championship weren't the best he's had at the tables this summer.
Rast was seen on the river of the 
board, sitting in a middle position and facing a bet of 15,000 from big blind Xuedong Li. Rast tossed in calling chips but mucked when Li showed him 
for a baby full house. Rast is still playing roughly 11 bigs.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
260,000 | 36,300 |
|
22,000 | 22,000 |
An Incomplete List of Today's Registrants
Level 11
: 1,000/2,000, 0 ante
These players are new to the field. A massive amount of late-registering players has pushed the event to 476 runners, with many of the most recognizable names choosing to wait until Day 2 to hop in.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
106,000 | |
|
80,000 | |
|
63,000 | |
|
60,000 | |
|
60,000 | |
|
55,000 | |
|
53,000 | |
|
50,000 | |
|
50,000 | |
|
50,000 | |
|
50,000 | |
|
50,000 | |
|
50,000 | |
|
50,000 | |
|
50,000 | |
|
48,000 | |
|
47,000 | |
|
45,000 | |
|
45,000 | |
|
|
26,500 | 4,500 |
Michael Mizrachi Forced to Fold
Level 11
: 1,000/2,000, 0 ante
We found Norbert Szecsi in middle position with 12,000 in front of him on 
. Eric Rabl had made it 50,000 on the button and Michael Mizrachi had called in the big blind, though there was no way to tell if he had bet initially or cold-called. The turn was the 
. Mizrachi tanked about a minute and checked, and Rabl snap-potted. It was just under 130,000 and Mizrachi folded in short order.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
330,000 | 84,600 |
|
191,000 | -84,000 |
Drinan Can't Convince Himself to Continue
Level 11
: 1,000/2,000, 0 ante
With the turn reading 
, Joe Hachem was in the cutoff, betting what looked like a pot-sized bet of 43,500. Hachem had only about 20,000 more left in front of him and the action was on his left-hand neighbor Connor Drinan who had Hachem covered by a few big blinds.
Drinan spent a good amount of time tanking. A few minutes later, Hachem himself called the clock and the floor person gave Drinan 30 seconds. Drinan leant forward one more time and checked the situation but he was eventually able to release his hand before the verbal 10-second countdown.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
105,000 | 25,000 |
|
80,000 | -28,000 |
Wong Bet-Three-Bets
Level 11
: 1,000/2,000, 0 ante
Jerry Wong bet 14,000 from middle position on 
and the big blind made it 35,000 to go. Wong thought awhile and set him in for his last 14,000. The big blind thought briefly and then decided to preserve his remaining crumbs.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
190,000 | 123,700 |