After packing in all three limit hold'em events into one week, the World Series of Poker at Bally's and Paris Las Vegas will wrap up with the prestigious Event #26: $10,000 Limit Hold'em Championship. The cards are slated to go in the air at 3 p.m. local time to kick off this three-day event.
The week started off with the $1,500 Limit Hold'em event that saw Michael Moncek capture his first WSOP bracelet. There is currently a $3,000 Limit Hold'em 6-max tournament heading into Day 2 with 93 players still in the hunt. The Championship Event will be the last of its format throughout the summer series in Las Vegas.
John Monnette will come in as the defending champion, besting a field of 92 entries in 2021 to take home $245,680 along with his fourth gold bracelet. Due to the higher buy-in level, you can expect the field to be littered with former bracelet winners and many household names.
A starting stack in this event will provide you with 60,000 chips and the blinds will begin at 300/500 while the limits will start at 500/1,000. Each level will be 60 minutes in length with a 15-minute break after every two levels on Day 1. Beginning on Day 2, the levels will increase to 90 minutes with a 10-minute break after each level.
There will be 10 levels scheduled for Day 1 with late registration open throughout until the start of Day 2. No dinner break is also scheduled for the opening day.
The PokerNews live reporting team will be on the tournament floor to bring you all of the updates throughout the day so keep it locked here.
Brian Lieberman raised it up in early position and was three-bet by Thomas McCormick on his left. Terrence Chan four-bet in the cutoff and Lieberman capped it which was called by both McCormick and Chan.
The flop came and Lieberman led out with a bet. McCormick raised and Chan just called. Lieberman folded, saying it was pocket kings after the hand.
The turn was the and McCormick fired out another bet. Chan raised this time and McCormick called to see the on the river.
McCormick check-called another bet from Chan as the Canadian tabled for a set of aces. McCormick flashed the before his cards went into the muck.
There was a large gathering in the Paris Purple section with one player in particular about to take his seat. It was none other than famous football pro, Neymar Jr. This is the first WSOP event that the Brazilian is taking part in thus far, and he is hoping to turn it into a WSOP gold in three days time.
Neymar has shown that he is willing to get involved in the action in the early going, playing lots of hands and fighting for every pot. So, we decided to hang around his table for a few hands and see what he was up to.
Hand #1: Neymar raised it up from early position and Kosei Ichinose three-bet from the small blind. Neymar called and they went heads-up to a flop of . Ichinose checked to Neymar who bet and Ichinose check-raised. Neymar called and the landed on the turn.
Ichinose bet the turn and the river and was called both times by Neymar. Ichinose turned over for queens and nines which was the best hand.
Hand #2: Neymar decided to take a hand off and folded from under the gun.
Hand #3: The action folded to the button who raised it up and was called by the small blind and Neymar in the big blind. The flop came and the blinds checked to the button who threw in a bet. The small blind called and Neymar check-raised, getting called by both opponents.
The turn brought the and Neymar continued firing. Both opponents still called and the landed on the river. Neymar bet one more time and was only called by the button. Neymar showed for a missed straight draw while his opponent held for two pair.
Hand #4: There was a raise from early position and the button three-bet. Neymar four-bet from the small blind and the initial raiser capped it with a five-bet. Both the button and Neymar called to see a flop of .
Neymar checked and the player in early position bet. The button raised and Neymar three-bet, which both players just called. The turn was the and Neymar led out with a bet this time. Both of his opponents still called.
The river was the and Neymar tossed in another bet. The player in early position called while the button folded. Neymar tabled which proved to be the best hand.
Hand #5: Neymar elected to fold his button in a three-bet pot.
Hand #6: Kosei Ichinose raised it up from middle position and the hijack and Neymar in the cutoff both called. The flop fell and Neymar called a bet from Ichinose.
They went heads-up to the on the turn where Ichinose bet again. Neymar raised this time and Ichinose stuck around to see the on the river. Ichinose check-called a bet from Neymar and the Brazilian footballer tabled for two pair to win another hand.
There was some confusion on Table 118 with one player announcing raise but only throwing in 1,500 chips. Andre Akkari was in the small blind and thought he was raising as he stuck in 3,000, but it was later deemed just a call. John Monnette also came along from the big blind and the three players saw a flop of .
Akkari led out with a bet which got Monnette to fold and the player in middle position called. The turn was the and Akkari bet again. His opponent still called and the landed on the river.
Akkari fired out one last bet and his opponent looked him up. Akkari tabled for a full house, which pushed him into the chip lead for now.
Phil Ivey raised it up from early position and was three-bet by the button. Ivey just called and the dealer fanned the flop of . Ivey checked to his opponent who threw in a bet and Ivey quickly called.
The turn was the and both players checked to the on the river. Ivey bet the river and his opponent quickly called. Ivey flipped over while his opponent showed for the inferior hand.
Just moments after the hand, Daniel Negreanu came over to the table with his camera rolling, documenting Ivey's deep run in the 7-card Stud tournament.
"Phillip Jerome Ivey, fresh off a third-place finish," Negreanu chuckled. "He hates when I do this, but look at that grin on his face. He's wondering when is this ever going to end."
Marco Johnson raised it up in middle position and was called by Michael Moncek in the cutoff and Brian Rast in the big blind. The flop came and Johnson continued with a bet. Moncek called and Rast got out of the way.
The turn was the and Johnson fired another bet. Moncek still called and the paired the board on the river. It didn't stop Johnson from betting again and Moncek paid him off. Johnson tabled for a straight and Moncek conceded.
On the next hand, Johnson raised again and Moncek moved all in for his last 8,000. The player on his left four-bet to 11,000 which Johnson called to create a side pot.
The flop fell and Johnson check-called a bet from his opponent. The turn was the and both players checked to the on the river. Johnson led out with a bet this time and his opponent mucked. Johnson turned over for two pair and Moncek revealed before exiting the tournament.
As the clock struck 2 a.m. local time, a full 10 levels were completed on Day 1 of Event #26: $10,000 Limit Hold'em Championship at the World Series of Poker at Bally's and Paris Las Vegas. A total of 74 entries were recorded throughout the day with only 29 players bagging chips and moving on to Day 2 tomorrow.
Leading the pack is mixed games specialist Marco Johnson who is in search of his third career WSOP gold bracelet. Johnson joined the field in the latter stages of the day but managed to spin up a stack of 354,000 chips. Johnson rounded out his day by eliminating recent bracelet winner Michael Moncek, defeating him in back-to-back hands in the last level of the night.
Event #26: $10,000 Limit Hold'em Championship Top 10 Chip Counts
Place
Player
Country
Chips
Big Bets
1
Marco Johnson
United States
354,000
44
2
Amir Shayesteh
United States
319,000
40
3
Joey Couden
United States
255,000
32
4
Jesse Lonis
United States
245,000
31
5
Kyle Dilschenider
United States
244,000
31
6
Matthew Rightnour
United States
237,000
30
7
Robert Campbell
Australia
224,000
28
8
Nick Pupillo
United States
213,000
27
9
David Lieberman
United States
189,000
24
10
Yuval Bronshtein
Israel
188,000
24
Not far behind Johnson is Amir Shayesteh who made a late surge for the top of the leaderboard, finishing with 319,000 chips. Jesse Lonis (245,000), Kyle Dilschneider (244,000), and Matthew Rightnour (237,000) will be some other big stacks to keep an eye on heading to Day 2. Anthony Zinno, Robert Campbell, and Brian Rast will also be in the hunt looking for some more jewelry.
The day started rather slowly, delayed by 10 minutes, until at least four players were seated at the table. However, the number of entries grew over the first few levels of the day, attracting some of the biggest names in the poker world. Daniel Negreanu, Phil Ivey, and Erik Seidel can be added to that list, but unfortunately none of them made it through to Day 2.
However, they weren't the biggest spotlight of the day and in fact, not many even had their eyes on them at all. It was Brazilian pro-footballer Neymar Jr who attracted the largest rail, and many fans couldn't wait to get a glimpse. Accompanied by his own security and friends, Neymar joined the field in the second level of the day and wasted little time getting in on the action.
On his first hand of the day, Neymar cracked aces by making two pair which kicked off his rollercoaster of a day. Neymar worked his stack all the way up to around 90,000 at one point and fell down to as low as 15,000; he played a lot of hands throughout his time at the felt today. However, it wasn't meant to be for the soccer phenom as his day ended during Level 6.
Some other notables to hit the rail throughout the day include Scott Seiver, Benny Glaser, Nate Silver, Andre Akkari, and defending champion John Monnette.
Late registration remains open until the start of play on Day 2, which begins at 2 p.m. local time for any of those that haven't taken their shot yet. The blinds resume on Level 11 at 2,000/4,000 and limits of 4,000/8,000. Any new entries will receive a starting stack of 60,000 chips.
The PokerNews live reporting team will be back on the tournament floor to bring you all of the live updates throughout the event.