Event #56: $10,000 6-Handed No-Limit Hold'em Championship Day 1 | 2021 World Series of Poker

10-30-2021 02:30 UTC-7

Kenny Hallaert Second in Chips After Day 1 of Event #56: $10,000 6-Handed No-Limit Hold'em Championship

Anthony Thompson

Level 10 : 1,000/2,000, 2,000 ante

The first day of Event #56: $10,000 6-Handed No-Limit Hold'em Championship has concluded after ten hours of high-quality poker action at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino. Some 306 players bought in and only 113 made it through to Day 2.

For the majority of the day, WSOP bracelet winner Abhinav Iyer was seen atop of the chip counts and he stayed in front (483,500) despite Belgium's Kenny Hallaert propelling himself towards the top of the counts on the last hand of the night. Hallaert bagged 468,000 chips and put himself in great shape going into the second day's battles.

Matt Berkey (320,300), WSOP bracelet winner Ian Steinman (360,500), Roland Rokita (358,500), and four-time WSOP bracelet winner Asi Moshe (346,0000) are also well positioned for Day 2, with JJ Liu (236,000), Adrian Mateos (232,000), Justin Bonomo (175,500), Georgios Sotiropoulos (117,000), Darren Elias (114,000), James Chen (109,000), Stephen Chidwick (102,500), and Maria Ho (59,500) also returning tomorrow.

Others were not as fortunate as some well-known names to hit the rail included Joseph Cheong, Daniel Negreanu, Ali Imsirovic, Ryan Leng, 2019 WSOP Main Event winner Hossein Ensan, and last year's Main Event winner Damian Salas.

The entrant's total reached 309, with 113 remaining on the tournament clock at the end of the play, but that number is set to grow with late registration open until the start of Day 2 at 2 p.m. on Saturday, October 30.

Make sure to come back here to PokerNews from 2 p.m. local time for continued coverage of Event #56: $10,000 6-Handed No-Limit Hold'em Championship to find out who will make it through to the final day!

Tags: Abhinav Iyer Adrian Mateos Ali Imsirovic Asi Moshe Damian Salas Daniel Negreanu Darren Elias Georgios Sotiropoulos Hossein Ensan Ian Steinman JJ Liu Joseph Cheong Justin Bonomo Kenny Hallaert Maria Ho Matt Berkey Ryan Leng Stephen Chidwick James Chen

10-30-2021 01:19 UTC-7

Berkey Beats Bonomo in Classic Race

Brandon Bloom

Level 10 : 1,000/2,000, 2,000 ante

Matt Berkey got his 141,500 chips in preflop against Justin Bonomo and the two saw they were flipping with premium hands.

Matt Berkey:
Justin Bonomo:

The flop kept Bonomo ahead and in good shape, but the spiked the turn to vault Berkey ahead. Needing a river queen, the completed the board to leave Bonomo sending chips to Berkey.

Player	Chips	Progress
Matt Berkey	285,000	157,500
Justin Bonomo	118,000	-125,500

Tags: Matt Berkey Justin Bonomo

10-30-2021 00:50 UTC-7

Katz Sets Up a Double

Anthony Thompson

Level 9 : 1,000/1,500, 1,500 ante

There was heads-up action between Cary Katz from the button and his opponent from the big blind with a board showing.

The big blind player led out and then called the 45,000 all in raise from Katz.

Cary Katz:
Opponent:

Katz was ahead after flopping a set of fives and the river secured his double-up.

Player	Chips	Progress
Cary Katz	95,000	35,000

Tags: Cary Katz

10-29-2021 22:33 UTC-7

Kornuth Misfires

Anthony Thompson

Level 7 : 500/1,000, 1,000 ante

Daniel Rezaei raised to 2,200 from the cutoff and was called by Gregory Back from the button before Chance Kornuth three-bet to 9,000 from the small blind.

Action was back on Rezaei who four-bet to 19,000 and got a fold from Back before Kornuth five-bet jammed for roughly 50,000.

Rezaei snap-called and the two players tabled their hands.

Chance Kornuth:
Daniel Rezaei:

Kornuth was in rough shape needing some kind of help but didn't find any as the runout ended his tournament.

Player	Chips	Progress
Daniel Rezaei	120,000	9,100
Gregory Back	113,400	113,400
Chance Kornuth	Busted

Tags: Chance Kornuth Daniel Rezaei

10-29-2021 22:20 UTC-7

Bonomo Calls Correctly

Anthony Thompson

Level 7 : 500/1,000, 1,000 ante

There was heads-up action between Justin Bonomo from the hijack and his opponent from the big blind with a completed board showing.

Bonomo was facing an all in bet from his opponent and with over 80,000 already in the middle, Bonomo called-off his 40,200 stack.

Bonomo rolled over for a set of fives and it was good as his opponent tossed into the muck.

Player	Chips	Progress
Justin Bonomo	136,500	60,000

Tags: Justin Bonomo

10-29-2021 21:10 UTC-7

Gallaher Loses Race to Grafton

Anthony Thompson

Level 6 : 400/800, 800 ante

The player under the gun raised to 1,800 and Sam Grafton three-bet to 9,000 from the small blind.

Action was on John "Johnny Run Good" Gallaher who four-bet to 24,000 from the big blind and the initial raiser folded while Grafton five-bet jammed.

Gallaher called off his 75,000 stack and the two players tabled their hands.

John Gallaher:
Sam Grafton:

It was a classic race with Gallaher in the lead with his made hand of queens and nothing changed after the flop.

The turn came the , giving Grafton more outs with the club flush draw and he connected with the river, eliminating Gallaher from the tournament.

Player	Chips	Progress
Sam Grafton	200,000	114,000
John Gallaher	Busted

Tags: John Gallaher Sam Grafton

10-29-2021 20:45 UTC-7

Vieira Goes Deep Into Tank And Calls Jam From Imsirovic

Brandon Bloom

Level 6 : 400/800, 800 ante

Before the blinds went up and with a flop and about 35,000 in the pot, Ali Imsirovic checked in the big blind, Joao Vieira bet 12,500 from the hijack, and Imsirovic raised to 25,000 in the big blind. Vieira called.

The came on the turn and Imsirovic jammed, putting Vieira to the test for his 45,000 stack. Vieira went deep into the tank and eventually, the clock was called him. As the tournament director counted down the final seconds, Vieira threw chips in to signify the call.

Imsirovic first showed only an eight, which prompted Vieira to show only a king before the players fully revealed their cards.

Joao Vieira:
Ali Imsirovic:

Vieira needed to fade straight outs and an ace, and the completed the board to send him the sizable pot.

Player	Chips	Progress
Joao Vieira	185,000	121,600
Ali Imsirovic	26,000	-45,200

10-29-2021 18:01 UTC-7

Cowboys No Good for Salas

Anthony Thompson

Level 3 : 200/400, 400 ante

Reigning WSOP Main Event Champ Damian Salas raised to 1,000 from the cutoff and Darren Elias three-bet to 3,000 from the button.

Action folded back around to Salas who four-bet to 6,800 and Elias called bringing about the flop.

Salas check-called the 4,500 bet from Elias and the turn followed by the river were checked to showdown.

Salas showed but it was no good as Elias held to win the pot.

Player	Chips	Progress
Darren Elias	62,300	17,800
Damian Salas	15,300	-44,700

Tags: Damian Salas Darren Elias

10-29-2021 16:16 UTC-7

Chidwick Hits River to Undo Counterfeit

Brandon Bloom

Level 2 : 200/300, 300 ante

With a flop showing, Stephen Chidwick was on the button and called for 6,000 against Scott Ball in the small blind.

The came on the turn and Ball check-called a 10,000 bet. Both players checked the river.

Ball turned over while Chidwick showed to make a boat on the river and undo the turn that counterfeited his pair.

Player	Chips	Progress
Stephen Chidwick	80,000	20,000
Scott Ball	30,000	30,000

10-29-2021 13:22 UTC-7

Event #56: $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em 6-Handed Championship Begins at 3 p.m.

Brandon Bloom

The first day of Event #56: $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em 6-Handed Championship is set to begin at 3 p.m. local time at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino.

In the previous edition back in 2019, Anuj Agarwal took down this event after topping a field of 272 players to earn $630,747 and his maiden WSOP bracelet. He defeated Kahle Burns in heads-up play and Gal Yifrach rounded out the top three for that event.

This is a three-day event and the plan today is to play 10 levels of 60 minutes each with a 15-minute break every two levels. Players will start with 60,000 chips and blinds start at 100/200/200. Late registration will be available until the start of Day 2.

The PokerNews Live Reporting Team will be on the floor to provide you with the action from start to finish, with play beginning at 3 p.m. local time on Friday, October 29th, so stay tuned.

Tags: Anuj Agarwal Kahle Burns Gal Yifrach