The World Series of Poker Main Event gets the media attention, but there is one event all the top pros have circled on their calendars all year: the $50,000 Poker Players Championship.
It’s this event, more than any other, that determines the best all-around player in the world and bolsters legacies. It has been a year since Daniel Negreanu ended his long bracelet drought by winning the title he coveted most of all, but the wait finally ended today on Day 1 of Event #66.
A total of 88 players arrived in the Horseshoe and Paris, Las Vegas to begin the chase for the reintroduced Chip Reese Memorial Trophy and the prize they all desire. Just 68 survived six 100-minute levels, and bracelet winner Ali Eslami ended up atop the leaderboard with 903,000.
Right behind him is someone who’s all too familiar with capturing this title. Michael Mizrachi was the first to win this tournament three times and was back for a shot at an unprecedented fourth title today. “The Grinder,” in top form so far this series with 10 cashes already, sat beside Negreanu for much of the day and got off to such a fast start that Negreanu predicted he would wrap up the tournament by Level 5. That didn’t happen, but Mizrachi was still the first player to eclipse the 1,000,000-chip mark before sliding back down to 849,000 to end the night, still good for third on the leaderboard.
Day 1 Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds | Big Bets |
|---|
| 1 | Ali Eslami | United States | 903,000 | 301 | 75 |
| 2 | Jeremy Ausmus | United States | 886,500 | 296 | 74 |
| 3 | Michael Mizrachi | United States | 849,500 | 283 | 71 |
| 4 | Chris Hunichen | United States | 828,000 | 276 | 69 |
| 5 | Christopher Vitch | United States | 809,000 | 270 | 67 |
| 6 | Mike Gorodinsky | United States | 781,000 | 260 | 65 |
| 7 | Justin Liberto | United States | 739,500 | 247 | 62 |
| 8 | Maxx Coleman | United States | 721,500 | 241 | 60 |
| 9 | Erick Lindgren | United States | 710,500 | 237 | 59 |
| 10 | Jon Kyte | Norway | 699,500 | 233 | 58 |
Jeremy Ausmus (886,500), Chris Hunichen (828,000), and Christopher Vitch (809,000) round out the top five. Negreanu began his title defense by bagging up 662,000, while Erick Lindgren (710,500), James Obst (526,000), $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. champion Kristopher Tong (500,000), and Chino Rheem (488,500) also ended up as big stacks.
Further down the leaderboard are 2019 champion Phil Hui (470,000), Poker Hall of Famer and 2014 champion John Hennigan (438,000), eight-time bracelet winner Benny Glaser (392,500), Phil Ivey (380,500), and Mike Matusow (365,000). Others who survived the day were Josh Arieh (302,000), Scott Seiver (227,500), Ben Lamb (217,500), Shaun Deeb (204,000), Nick Schulman (162,500), Brad Owen (146,500), and Viktor Blom (138,000).
Dan Cates made history when he became the first player to win this event back-to-back in 2022. Widely known for his flamboyant outfits and table antics, the man known as “Jungleman” made a subdued entrance today but didn’t last long. He first lost a massive all in with top two pair against Matt Glantz’s set of kings, then had his aces cracked by Glantz’s eights to become the first player to hit the rail. Glantz also sent out Eric Wasserson by spiking a two-outer on the river after both players were poised to chop the pot with two aces. Unlike Mizrachi, Brian Rast had his quest for a fourth title end early today, while Brad Ruben, Paul Volpe, Yuri Dzivielevski, Alex Livingston, and Dylan Smith will all have to wait until next year.
The 68 remaining players return tomorrow for Day 2 at 1 p.m. local time. The field is already within one of last year’s total, and with late registration open for the first three levels of the day, that mark would be well-exceeded. The action picks up on Level 7 with limits of 6,000/12,000 and blinds of 1,500/3,000.
PokerNews will be back tomorrow as one of the most anticipated events of the year rolls on into its second day.
Tags:
Ali EslamiBenny GlaserBrad OwenChino RheemChris HunichenChristopher VitchDaniel NegreanuErick LindgrenJames ObstJeremy AusmusJohn HenniganJon KyteJosh AriehKristopher TongMatt GlantzMichael MizrachiMike MatusowNick SchulmanPhil HuiPhil IveyScott SeiverShaun DeebViktor Blom
