Limits: 3,000-6,000
Despite impressive results both online and live, Viktor Blom is still chasing his first World Series of Poker bracelet. Will 2025 finally be the year he gets it?
The Swedish player came close at the start of the series with two final table appearances, but the bracelet remains just out of reach for now. Event #41: $10,000 Limit Hold’em Championship could be another opportunity, and so far, Blom seized this opportunity as he ended Day 1 as the chip leader out.
Out of a field of 91 entries, his stack kept growing throughout the day to reach 372,000. He is closely followed by Canada’s Benjamin Underwood (361,000), while Joe McKeehen, who won this event back in 2017, is third in chips with 319,000.
Event #41: $10,000 Limit Hold’em Championship Day 1 Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Viktor Blom | Sweden | 372,000 |
| 2 | Benjamin Underwood | Canada | 361,000 |
| 3 | Joe McKeehen | United States | 319,000 |
| 4 | Justin Smith | United States | 246,000 |
| 5 | Daniel Negreanu | Canada | 241,000 |
| 6 | Anthony Zinno | United States | 240,000 |
| 7 | Dzmitry Urbanovich | Poland | 212,000 |
| 8 | David Lieberman | United States | 191,000 |
| 9 | Corel Theuma | United States | 190,000 |
| 10 | Peter De Best | United States | 181,000 |
Defending champion John Racener was absent on Day 1, but other experienced players were in the mix, including Daniel Negreanu (241,000), Anthony Zinno (240,000), Dzmitry Urbanovich (212,000), and 2019 champion Juha Helppi (163,000).
Eduards Rakuss also secured a big stack on Day 1 thanks to a strong start. He first hit a straight flush against an ace-high flush, then eliminated Jonathan Tamayo to finish the day with 125,000 chips.
Erick Lindgren (116,000) and Ryan Bambrick (106,000) also made it through to Day 2, along with Pedro Neves (93,000), who had already qualified for Day 2 of the $1,500 Monster Stack and remains in contention for a back-to-back win.
Tom McCormick (57,000) and Jeremy Ausmus (56,000) bagged close to a starting stack, as did Florian Pesce (51,000), who endured “a tough last two hours.” Among the chip leaders after Level 8, Pesce lost “several small pots,” dropping from 230,000 to 51,000 by the end of the day.
Michael Mendelson and David Hellmold had an even tougher time, ending the day as the bottom two stacks with 25,000 and 16,000 chips respectively. However they are still among the 43 players who qualified for Day 2, which is not the case anymore for almost 50 players such as Jesse Lonis, a very talkative Martin Kabrhel, or Nick Schulman who were eliminated during the day.
The 43 remaining players will be joined on Day 2 by new entrants, as late registration remains open for one 60-minute level after play resumes at 1 p.m. local time here at the Horseshoe and Paris, Las Vegas. A total of eight new levels are scheduled to be played on Day 2 as the field moves closer to the final table.
Be sure to stay tuned to PokerNews as its live reporting team continues to provide coverage of Event #41: $10,000 Limit Hold’em Championship through to its conclusion.
