Defending champion Ryutaro Suzuki was spotted in the field with a stack below what he started with. Yet the title defence is still very doable with another three and a half levels to be played on Day 1.
Defending champion Ryutaro Suzuki was spotted in the field with a stack below what he started with. Yet the title defence is still very doable with another three and a half levels to be played on Day 1.
Pot-Limit Omaha
Wing Po Liu had lost a big pot and then joined the fray when four players invested 2,100 each to see a flop of A♥10♦2♦. It checked to Liu and he bet the pot by tossing in two T-5,000 chips, which won the pot uncontested.
Fellow Hong Kong PLO bracelet winner Anson Tsang can also be found in the field and has more than three times as many chips right now after the end of the late registration.
Level nine is underway with around 380 entries and a short waiting line is at the late registration desk. Maksim Pisarenko is among those to enter at the last minute, soon joining the field which already includes Mike Leah. They have paused their heads-up battle for the WSOP gold bracelet in the $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship to get into this one before the entries closed.
Level: 9
"Limit Flop/Draw: 800-1,500, 1,500-3,000 Limits
Stud Games: 300 Ante, 500 Bring-In, 1,500 Completion 1,500-3,000 Limits
Pot-Limit & No-Limit: 800/1,200 Ante, 400-800 Blinds"
At the end of level eight, a field of 370 entries has emerged to surpass the attendance of the 2023 edition (361 entries) to make it the second-biggest field in the fourth time running. The late registration will close at the end of the 15-minute break.
Razz
Joe Hachem approached the live reporting to recall a three-way Razz hand in which the boards rather resembled other Stud variants and he "had to check the plaques four times "to make sure he was not going crazy.
According to Hachem, he had the KxAx8x2x showing and was up against two opponents which ended up with 4x3xAx / Qx7x2xJx and Qx6x2x / AxJx7x3x respectively to see the Aussie lose a pot of around 60,000 with two raises going into the middle on fourth and fifth street. That would have boosted his stack significantly while he instead dropped to fewer than the starting stack.
New on Hachem's table is Ben Yu, while Christian Roberts remains the biggest stack.
Below are further assorted counts in the field
The late registration remains open until the end of the current level and following break, and among the latest entries were Mike Leah and Matt Waxman. Leah is one of two finalists in Event #45: $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship (8-Handed), which bagged up in heads-up play so he could enter this tournament near the end of the registration period.
Maksim Pisarenko is yet to show up but may also enter at the last minute as well.
Pot-Limit Omaha
On a flop of A♦7♥5♠, Adam Friedman folded when Andrew Kelsall had three T-5,000 chips out in front. Before collecting the pot, Kelsall flashed the A♠K♣6♠3♣.
One hand later, Bruno Portaro in the blinds popped it up to 2,500 with Friedman and Gary Benson on the button to call. Portaro led the A♦9♠3♣ flop for 4,000 from the small blind, Friedman folded and Benson called.
They checked the Q♣ turn and Portaro bet another 5,000 on the 3♥ river. Benson reluctantly called and Portaro showed the A♥K♦J♥10♣ already. Benson studied his cards for a few seconds and first showed his A♠K♣ before also exposing 10♠8♥ as well.
"You slow roll me for a chop?" Portaro grinned and later added "nice hand Gary" after the pot was divided evenly between the two Aussies.
Pot-Limit Omaha
In a duel cutoff versus button, Eoghan O'Dea made it 5,600 to go and his bet was eventually called to see a flop of 9♦9♥6♠. Both players checked and did so again on the Q♦ turn. The Q♥ river was checked to O'Dea and his bet of 7,000 won the pot without showdown.