Chris Hunichen Bags Huge in Star-Studded Field
A star-studded field flooded Day 1 of Event #32: $3,000 No-Limit Hold 'Em (6-Handed), creating a field size of 1,241 entries with 57 players bagging up for Day 2.
The 2023 World Series of Poker at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas has been all about big prize pools, and this event was no different, having generated $3,313,470 to be split among the top 187 finishers, with a first-place prize of $558,266 and a coveted WSOP gold bracelet going to the eventual winner. The min-cash was good for $4,800, and all returning Day 2 players are guaranteed $8,436.
With a relatively short two-day event such as this, the later parts of Day 1 are moving day for all competitors vying for the bracelet, and some major competitors crept up in the chip counts as the day's clock ticked down.
End of Day 1 Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chris Hunichen | United States | 2,405,000 | 80 |
| 2 | Asher Conniff | United States | 2,170,000 | 72 |
| 3 | Ken Fishman | United States | 1,805,000 | 60 |
| 4 | Ian Matakis | United States | 1,560,000 | 52 |
| 5 | Roman Hrabec | Czech Republic | 1,515,000 | 51 |
| 6 | Peter Rabin | United States | 1,480,000 | 49 |
| 7 | Mark Ioli | United States | 1,470,000 | 49 |
| 8 | Noah Schwartz | United States | 1,450,000 | 48 |
| 9 | Eshaan Bhalla | United States | 1,440,000 | 48 |
| 10 | Julien Sitbon | France | 1,360,000 | 45 |
Chris Hunichen bagged up 2,405,000 chips, enough for the overnight chip lead. Asher Conniff (2,170,000) was the only other entrants to finish Day 1 with more than two millions chips in their stack.
Plenty of big names crammed seven-figure stacks into their overnight chip bags. They include recent bracelet winner Ian Matakis (1,560,000), Roman Hrabec (1,515,000), Noah Schwartz (1,450,000), and Benjamin Diebold (1,035,000).
Other notables to look out for on Day 2 include Jareth East (975,000), Maria Ho (860,000), Eric Baldwin (795,000), Paul Volpe (765,000), Main Event winners Martin Jacobson (465,000) and Ryan Riess (390,000).
The bubble took longer than typical, but once it burst, the room became electric, and small celebrations broke out at multiple tables. And while everyone in the room was excited to cash, it was quickly back to business as everyone has one finishing position in mind.
Players will return tomorrow, June 14th at 12:00 p.m. local time to battle for the bracelet. Play will begin in Level 22 with blinds of 15,000/30,000 and a big blind ante of 30,000. Those returning are scheduled to play 40-minute levels until a winner is crowned.
Keep it locked on PokerNews all summer long for up-to-date coverage of this and all events at the 2023 World Series of Poker!