The most action-packed day so far of the 2024 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event wrapped up early Thursday morning with 464 players remaining and 2022 GPI Player of the Year Stephen Song in front with a stack of 4,740,000. Other big stacks at the end of the day include Nazar Buhaiov (3,875,000), Biao Ding (4,265,000) and four-time bracelet winner Adrian Mateos (4,500,000).
"It went good," Mateos told PokerNews. "I won many pots. All my value-bets got paid, all my bluffs were folded to."
Also among those who bagged is poker G.O.A.T. Phil Ivey, who already won his 11th bracelet this summer after a decade-long drought and now looks to add a Main Event title to his untouchable resume as he enters Day 5 with 650,000.
Rising star Jesse Lonis is looking to make yet another deep Main Event run after finishing 25th in 2021. The young poker pro started the day with a heroic bluff with ace-high that included a flop three-bet and a turn shove and finished the day with just over 2.5 million.
“That was the very first hand off the deck, actually," Lonis said at the end of the day. "(There were) a lot of dynamics into it. Once the flop action happened … everything about it. I played with the guy before. I just really was confident that he was floating me really light. And I thought it was pretty much gonna be the last guy to put a chip in the pot was gonna win that hand. So I just went with my gut and said screw it, let’s go. You gotta pull it off to win the tournament.”
Others who bagged on Day 4 include Ren Lin, Aleksejs Ponakovs, Josh Reichard, Poker Hall of Famer John Hennigan, poker commentators Maria Ho and Tony Dunst, reigning POY Bin Weng and Alex Livingston, who finished third in this event in 2019 for $4 million.
"I think my style matches up well for this event. I have a lot of experience playing cash games, so playing deeper stacks. I think one of my bigger strengths is adjusting to my opponents and kind of taking creative lines against different players, and this tournament is kind of like the perfect opportunity for that because you just tailor your game to whoever is around you."
When asked about his chance at another deep Main Event run, the Canadian said, "I just don’t want to get ahead of myself. We’re on to Day 5, still about 476 players left. But, obviously, it’s great to have the opportunity."
End of Day 4 Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chips | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stephen Song | United States | 4,745,000 | 190 |
| 2 | Adrian Mateos | Spain | 4,500,000 | 180 |
| 3 | Will Berry | United States | 4,465,000 | 179 |
| 4 | Aloisio Dourado | Brazil | 4,335,000 | 173 |
| 5 | Biao Ding | China | 4,265,000 | 171 |
| 6 | Malo Latinois | United States | 4,130,000 | 165 |
| 7 | Luis Vazquez | United States | 4,055,000 | 162 |
| 8 | Nazar Buhaiov | United Kingdom | 3,875,000 | 155 |
| 9 | Kevin Theodore | United States | 3,760,000 | 150 |
| 10 | Ryan Hoenig | United States | 3,665,000 | 147 |
Two Players Bubble on Day 4
With 1,529 players returning on Day 4 and 1,517 places paid, it didn't take long for hand-for-hand play to begin on the money bubble.
There were six called all-ins on the stone bubble and first up was Lucas Reeves, who seven-bet jammed pocket kings into the aces of Marcelo Tadeu Aziz Junior for the rare instance of a big stack going out on the bubble.
Thankfully for Reeves, Christian Stratmeyer was eliminated at another table and the two of them split a min-cash of $15,000, while Yue Du, Asko Muratovic and David "ODB" Baker all doubled on the bubble. As co-bubbles, Reeves and Stratmeyer drew cards for a free seat in the 2025 WSOP Main Event and Stratmeyer pulled a jack to claim the $10,000 seat.
From there, players quickly dropped from the field as Xuan Liu, Alexandros Theologis, Ladies Event champion Shiina Okamoto and Poker Hall of Famers Daniel Negreanu and Erik Seidel all earned a $15,000 payout.
The last two Main Event champions, Espen Jorstad and Daniel Weinman, were also among those who min-cashed, while their predecessor, Koray Aldemir, was eliminated during the last level of play in cruel fashion as he ran kings into aces. Later in the level, 2015 winner Joe McKeehen, the last Main Event champion standing, was eliminated.
Dwan's First Main Event Cash, Another Run for Daniels
The Main Event champions weren't the only big names who made money-extending runs. Other big names in the field included:
Online legend Tom Dwan secured his first WSOP cash in over a decade as he spent most of his time on one of the feature tables before being eliminated by High Roller champion Jans Arends. Dwan, whose last WSOP cash dates back to 2011 from a fifth-place finish in the $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship, had never cashed in the Main Event until today and also noted that it was the first time he'd been over a million chips in the marquee event.
Someone else who made a deep run into Day 4 was Cody Daniels, who has inspired the poker community with his strength and determination by playing through terminal illness. Daniels, who was put into the event by Alan Keating, also made a run in last year's event.
"I mean, when I didn't expect to be here this year or even play the tournament and then go back-to-back in the two biggest Mains of all time, it's just pure elation," he told PokerNews.
Daniels made it to the second to last level of the evening before running jacks into aces to finish in 590th for $32,500, besting his 635th-place finish last year that earned him $30,000.
Other players who were eliminated late in the evening include $250,000 Super High Roller champion Santhosh Suvarna, two-time bracelet winner Keith Lehr, Barstool Sports' Eric Nathan, poker media member Terrance Reid and Jared Jaffee.
Day 5 will pick back up at noon local time Thursday, with Level 21 featuring blinds of 10,000/25,000/25,000. The plan is to play another five levels with 20-minute breaks after every level and a 75-minute dinner break after Level 23.
Stay tuned as the PokerNews live reporting team will be back tomorrow for continued coverage of the record-breaking 2024 Main Event. Be sure to check out the live reporting portal in the meantime.
