In a limped pot to the Q♥6♠3♣ flop, Nikolai Mamut and Mike Shi checked the action through from the big blind and button respectively.
Mamut led out for 18,000 on the 5♥ turn and was called, He sized up to 32,000 on the 2♣ river. Shi used up his last time bank before raising to 105,000 before the clock nearly killed his hand.
Mamut audibly exhaled, checked his cards one more time and then folded.
In just a couple hands, John Smith went from being on the brink of elimination to gaining a 2:1 chip lead over his opponent, Young Ko.
Ko raised on the button to 46,000 and Smith three-bet all-in for about 130,000. Ko quickly called to put Smith at risk.
John Smith: 10♦10♥
Young Ko: J♣8♣
The board ran out 9♠8♠7♣Q♠2♣ to earn Smith the double up.
A few hands later, action picked up on the river on a board of Q♥7♣2♥Q♣4♦ . Smith check-raised to 125,000 over Ko's bet of 30,000 and Ko eventually put in the call. Smith turned over A♠Q♠ to take down the pot and reclaim a 2:1 chip lead.
Cary Katz called the 16,000 on the button, and Thomas Boivin elected to check in the big blind.
The flop came out 7♠7♣4♥.
Bovin checked over to Katz, who fired out 16,000, which Boivin then decided to raise up to 40,000, and Katz made the call.
The turn was the 2♦. Bovin bet 30,000. Katz instantly announced "all in," and with no hesitation Boivin flicked in a chip to call for his last 60,000.
Thomas Boivin 7♦6♣
Cary Katz 8♣7♥
It was a cooler for Boivin, needing only a six to double up, however a two or four were chop outs to stay alive. The river brought the Q♣, which officially eliminated Boivin, and Cary Katz advanced to round 3 tomorrow, where he will face Artur Martirosian.
In the last match-up of the day, John Smith limped in from the button and called when Young Ko moved all in for around 190,000.
Young Ko: 7♦7♠
John Smith: A♣10♣
Ko was immediately drawing to two outs as Smith paired up on the A♦K♥Q♠ flop. The 3♥ turn and 5♦ river confirmed Smith as the winner, bringing a close to the first day of the $25,000 Heads-Up Championship.
A recap of today's action will be available shortly.
The 2024 World Series of Poker (WSOP) kicked off its first five-figure buy-in event today with Event #6: $25,000 Heads-Up No-Limit Hold'em Championship, held at the Horseshoe and Paris in Las Vegas.
Sixty-four players began their quest for a coveted WSOP gold bracelet at noon local time. By the end of Day 1, the first two rounds had concluded, narrowing the field to just 16 remaining competitors.
The Day 1 survivors are battling it out for the lion's share of the $1,504,000 prize pool, where the eventual champion will walk away with $500,000 and a shiny new bit of bling to adorn their wrist.
However, half of the remaining players will leave empty-handed as only the top eight players will make the money. Any player who makes it through Round 3 will lock up an $86,000 min-cash.
$25,000 Heads-Up Championship Payouts
Place
Prize
1
$500,000
2
$300,000
3-4
$180,000
5-8
$86,000
Defending Champion Exits in Round 1
Defending champ Chanracy Khun was among the 32 entrants to bow out at the first hurdle after Chance Kornuth's queens remained best against the former's ace-five suited.
Chanracy Khun
There were a plethora of dream matches in the first bracket, with Stephen Chidwick vs. Jeremy Ausmus, John Smith vs. Dario Sammartino and Joao Vieira vs. Nik Airball being a trio of fascinating encounters.
Chidwick, Smith and Vieira overcame their opponents, but the same could not be said for the likes of $25K Fantasy Draft picks Shaun Deeb, Alex Foxen, and Chris Brewer, who were all sent for early showers.
Winner
Defeated
Cary Katz
William Stanford
Thomas Boivin
Bari Sklar
Stephen Chidwick
Jeremy Ausmus
Artur Martirosian
Nicholas Marchington
Masato Yokosawa
Eric Wasserson
Patrick Kennedy
Chris Brewer
Anthony Zinno
Allen Patatanyan
Michael Steele
Nick Schulman
Ian Matakis
Scott Seiver
Darius Samual
James Chen
Linglin Zeng
Matthew Wantman
Eshaan Bhalla
Blake Bohn
Ben Tollerene
Ren Lin
Weston Mizumoto
Joshua Heinzl
Young Ko
Espen Jorstad
John Smith
Dario Sammartino
Mike Shi
Adam Walton
Nikolai Mamut
Henri Puustinen
Matthew Higgins
Julien Martini
James Gorham
Shaun Deeb
David Farber
Euan McNicholas
Marko Grujic
Alex Foxen
Joseph Miller
Keir Sullivan
Chance Kornuth
Chanracy Khun
Faraz Jaka
Rob Hollink
Ignacio Moron
Darren Elias
Sam Soverel
Aram Oganyan
Alex Keating
Koray Aldemir
Owen Messere
Roberto Perez
Joao Vieira
Nik Ariball
Kevin Rabichow
Patrick Leonard
Kane Kalas
Brandon Brown
More Big Names Fall in Second Round
Chance Kornuth
Serbia's Marko Grujic (not the former Liverpool FC midfielder) quickly advanced to Day 2. Grujic flopped top two while David Farber had middle pair and flush draw. The board ran out with bricks to allow Grujic plenty of rest time before tomorrow's restart.
Artur Martirosian picked up queens to leave Stephen Chidwick on fumes. The Englishman exited a few hands later when Martirosian continued to run hot and made a boat against the Chidwick's top pair.
There was another surprising upset when Joseph Miller downed Kornuth with a set of kings. Likewise, 2023 WSOP Player of the Year Ian Matakis was felled by Darius Samual.
Other players to make it through to Day 2 include Faraz Jaka, Patrick Kennedy and Matthew Wantman.
Winner
Defeated
Cary Katz
Thomas Boivin
Artur Martirosian
Stephen Chidwick
Patrick Kennedy
Masato Yokosawa
Michael Steele
Anthony Zinno
Darius Samual
Ian Matakis
Matthew Wantman
Eshaan Bhalla
Weston Mizumoto
Ben Tollerene
John Smith
Young Ko
Nikolai Mamut
Mike Shi
James Gorham
Matthew Higgins
Marko Grujic
David Farber
Joseph Miller
Chance Kornuth
Faraz Jaka
Ignacio Moron
Sam Soverel
Alex Keating
Owen Messere
Joao Vieira
Kane Kalas
Kevin Rabichow
Plan for Day 2
Day 2 of the Heads-Up Championship resumes at 12 p.m. local time in the Gold section of Horseshoe.
Each player will return with 600,000 chips and will have plenty to play with as the blinds will be 1,000/2,500 when the restart whistle blows.
Tomorrow's action will end after two more rounds of play. Day 3, which takes place on Saturday, June 1, will host the semi-finals and grand finale and will be streamed on PokerGO.
Round 3 Bracket
Player 1
Player 2
Cary Katz
vs.
Artur Martirosian
Patrick Kennedy
vs.
Michael Steele
Darius Samual
vs.
Matthew Wantman
Weston Mizumoto
vs.
John Smith
Nikolai Mamut
vs.
James Gorham
Marko Grujic
vs.
Joseph Miller
Faraz Jaka
vs.
Sam Soverel
Owen Messere
vs.
Kane Kalas
As always, be sure to stick with PokerNews throughout the entirety of the 2024 WSOP to keep up with all the action.
