Zhou Snags Day 1 Chip Lead in Event #28: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em Freezeout; Kanit Bags Big
Day 1 of Event #28: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em Freezeout, has concluded at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas. A total of 2,046 players entered the event, generating a prize pool of $2,731,410, easily outstripping last year’s figures of 1,774 runners and $2,368,290 in the kitty. This year’s winner can look forward to a $406,403 purse and, of course, a WSOP gold bracelet to go with it.
At the close of play, Hao Zhou sat atop the leaderboard with an impressive 970,000 chip stack. Zhou’s previous best cash was for $1,095, and he has already locked up almost three times that amount. However, he will be looking to improve on that greatly tomorrow.
Zhou took the chip lead late in the day with a massive pot, but didn’t rest on his laurels, steadily adding chips to his stack in the final few levels. Zhou has several players hot on his heels, who will be eyeing the top spot come Day 2.
Taylor Paur currently lies in second place with 876,000 chips, while Turbo Nguyen (850,000), Tzur Levy (818,000), and Mario Navarro (810,000) round out the top five.
End of Day 1 Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hao Zhou | United States | 970,000 | 121 |
| 2 | Taylor Paur | United States | 876,000 | 110 |
| 3 | Turbo Nguyen | United States | 850,000 | 106 |
| 4 | Tzur Levy | Israel | 818,000 | 102 |
| 5 | Mario Navarro | United Kingdom | 810,000 | 101 |
| 6 | Peter Nigh | United States | 728,000 | 91 |
| 7 | Jonas Wexler | United States | 670,000 | 84 |
| 8 | Ugur Secilmis | Turkey | 670,000 | 84 |
| 9 | Rene Lazaro | Hungary | 661,000 | 83 |
| 10 | Samuel Bifarella | France | 659,000 | 82 |
Meanwhile, seasoned pros Ryan Leng and Mustapha Kanit are very much in the hunt with 562,000 and 437,000, respectively. Two other notables returning on Day 2 are Chino Rheem (521,000) and Leo Soma (179,000).
The bubble burst with 307 players remaining, all of whom locked up a $2,406 payday. Some 188 players will return on Tuesday, June 13, with the intention of turning that into a much bigger figure.
Notable players who fell by the wayside today included Matt Affleck, Kathy Leibert, Maria Ho and Barry Greenstein.
Cards will be in the air at 10:00 a.m. on June 13 and those fortunate enough to be returning for Day 2 will start the day at Level 18, meaning blinds of 5,000/10,000 and a 10,000 big blind ante.
The day will consist of ten 60-minute levels, with a 15-minute break every two levels. There will also be an extended break for dinner after Level 23 (≈ 4:30 p.m.) which will last 60 minutes.
Stayed tuned to PokerNews for full coverage of this and all other events throughout the 2023 World Series of Poker at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas.