For the second time at the 2021 World Series of Poker, No-Limit Hold'em and Pot-Limit Omaha will combine to make Event #64: $5,000 Mixed No-Limit Hold'em/Pot-Limit Omaha 8-Handed, which begins at 3 p.m. PT.
It was Darrin Wright who emerged as the champion in the first edition of this format earlier in the series, prevailing over a field of 1,569 players to win $127,219 and his first WSOP gold bracelet.
The big difference this time around is the buy-in. While Wright's win came in a $600 event, the entry fee for this event will be $5,000, ensuring a smaller, more star-studded field today.
Players will begin the tournament with 50,000 chips and play 20 levels lasting 30 minutes each on Day 1. There will be a 15-minute break every four levels. Late registration is open until the end of Level 12, which should come around 9:45 p.m PT. Play will switch between the two games every eight hands. This is scheduled as a two-day event.
Stay tuned to PokerNews throughout the day as what will surely be an elite field gets whittled down past the money bubble and on to the crowning of a new WSOP champion tomorrow.
With the board showing and a big pot already in the middle, Niklas Astedt slid forward a tower of pink 5,000 chips for a bet totaling 85,000.
His opponent in the small blind tanked for about two minutes before calling. Astedt turned over for the flopped set that became a full house on the river and the small blind mucked, claiming to have had ace-king.
"Nice hand. Very, very nice hand," he told Astedt.
"That makes it easier," Astedt replied when told what his opponent was holding.
Justin Liberto opened to 2,800 and it was called by the button and Luigi Curcio in the big blind. The flop came and it was checked to Liberto who continued for 4,100, only called by Curcio.
Things heated on the turn. Curcio check-raised all in for 26,900 after Liberto fired 20,000. Liberto called to create the following showdown.
Luigi Curcio:
Justin Liberto:
Curcio had two pair and a on the river didn't change anything to give him the double up.
Phil Hellmuth had dropped down to only a few thousand and got them all in before the flop. A player in the big blind raised to 45,500, and Mathew Johnson called.
The flop came and the big blind went all in. Johnson snap-called.
Phil Hellmuth:
Big Blind:
Mathew Johnson:
"I'm completely dead," Hellmuth said as he saw his opponent's hands. The board ran out , improving Johnson to a flush and eliminating both players.
Uri Reichenstein was in the cutoff and called a pre-flop raise to 25,000 from an opponent in the small blind. The small blind bet another 25,000 on the flop, and again Reichenstein called.
The turn came and Reichenstein called another bet, this time for 50,000. On the river, the small blind put in a bet of 60,000 before Reichenstein shoved all in for around 180,000.
Reichenstein's opponent went into the tank for several minutes, turning over for top set before acting. He eventually folded, sending the huge pot to Reichenstein.
After the hand, Reichenstein asked the dealer if the player was allowed to expose their cards before acting. The dealer responded that he could call the floor over, but Reichenstein decided to let the matter pass.
According to Jason Somerville, Gabriel Vezina raised to 30,000 pre-flop and called all in for 120,000 when Somerville potted.
Gabriel Vezina:
Jason Somerville:
Somerville ended up with two pair on a board of to eliminate Vezina on the money bubble. Another player was eliminated on the same hand, so they will share 87th place.
A total of 579 entries were reached today for Day 1 in the World Series of Poker Event #64: $5,000 Mixed No-Limit Hold'em/Pot-Limit Omaha 8-Handed but only 49 hopefuls advanced to Wednesday’s final day. They are all guaranteed a minimum cash of $10,087 but all have hopes to take home the $545,638 first-place prize and the prestigious gold bracelet.
David Prociak takes the overnight chip lead with 2,405,000 in chips, over one million more than his closest opponent. This is Prociak’s fourth WSOP cash this summer and he will be trying to reach his second gold bracelet after his victory in the 2016 $1,500 Seven-Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better. Trailing in second place is Niklas Astedt with 1,345,000, who cashed in 19 WSOP events in his poker career.
Closing the podium for today is Finnish star Joni Jouhkimainen with 1,215,000. With a total of $4,021,626 in live earnings and a solid reputation online in the highest stakes PLO games, Jouhkimainen will be a serious contender for the victory tomorrow.
Uri Reichenstein (1,010,000), Jason Somerville (690,000), Oliver Bosch (1,020,000), Barak Wisbrod (865,000), Noah Bronstein (705,000), Stefan Schillhabel (445,000) and Dan Smith as short stack with 310,000 are just a few of the many familiar names in the poker world that have made it through to Day 2.
End of the day action
The bubble burst only one hour before the end of the day, when Jason Sommerville called Gabriel Vezina for his last ten big blinds and found two pairs to eliminate Vezina right before the money. Another player was eliminated on the same hand, so they both shared the 87th place prize.
Some of the players that weren’t that lucky to progress to Day 2 but did make the money include 2019 Main Event champion Hossein Ensan, Samuel Chartier, who managed to survive to the bubble with less than three big blinds, Brian Rast, nine-time bracelet winner Erik Seidel, Yuri Dzivielevski and Romain Lewis.
Many of the famous players that did enter today but fortunate enough to make a trip to the payout desk included, five-time bracelet winner Scotty Nguyen, 16-time bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth, and many other WSOP winners such as Dario Sammartino, Justin Liberto, Chino Rheem, Chance Kornuth, Brandon Shack-Harris, Dan Shak, David Benyamine, Shaun Deeb, Ben Yu and Mustapha Kanit just to name a few.
The action will pick up again at 2:00 p.m. Wednesday and will play down to a winner. There will be a 15-minute break every four levels and a 60-min break after Level 32 (≈ 8:30 p.m.). The tournament is scheduled to play until a new champion is crowned.
The PokerNews live reporting team will be on hand to bring you all the updates from the words “shuffle up and deal” until the final all-in has been won, so make sure to keep coming back!