Event #62: $50,000 Poker Players Championship (6-Handed) Day 1 | 2017 World Series of Poker

07-03-2017 02:56 UTC-7

Ashton Tops Day 1 of the $50,000 Poker Players Championship

[user250068]

Level 6 : 2,500/5,000, 0 ante

British professional poker player Matthew Ashton is leading the 2017 $50,000 Poker Players Championship at the end of Day 1 which saw 93 players take to the felt, already beating last year's audience by two runners. 87 of those 93 players survived, and late registration remains open until the start of Day 2.

Ashton bagged up 705,500 tonight, vaulting to the lead after eliminating Ben Sulsky in the last level of the day in pot-limit Omaha. Ashton raised all in on a queen-high flop, putting the high stakes legend at risk. Sulsky called off with a top set but failed to avoid Ashton's wrap outs. Ashton made a straight on the turn, and the board didn't pair on the river, leaving Sulsky empty-handed.

Ashton has already tasted success in the Poker Players Championship, winning the title and a whopping $1,774,089 back in 2013.

Another contender for the chip lead was Aaron Katz, who took over the pole position with the last few hands before the end of the day, but he eventually finished with 682,700, good for second place. Four-time WSOP bracelet winner Robert Mizrachi rounds out the top three with 485,500.

One of the main heroes of the opening day was Mark Gregorich, who scored the first knockout of the tournament. Gregorich tangled with Daniel Cates in a no-limit hold'em hand that saw Cates five-bet shoving for over 200 big blinds preflop. Gregorich snap-called with pocket aces, leaving Cates' ace-king of diamonds drawing very thin. Cates spiked two diamonds on the flop to keep his hopes alive, but the turn and river bricked, eliminating Cates.

The four other those who failed to make it through to Day 2, were David Benyamine, Dan Shak, Iraj Parvizi, and Jared Bleznick.

The Poker Players Championship always boasts some of the world's most talented fields and this year is no exception. Reigning champion Brian Rast will come back with 335,300 while the only other two-time PPC winner Michael Mizrachi has 267,000.

Jens Lakemeier was busy with winning the $2,500 Big Bet Mix event in the afternoon, and he entered in the second half of the day. He managed to build up but eventually bagged just over the starting stack to continue with 257,000.

Many other notable players will be back in action at 2 p.m. PDT. PokerNews reporters will once again be on the ground to provide you with live updates from one of the most prestigious tournaments in the poker world.

Room	Table	Seat	Player	Country	Chip Count
Brasilia	713	1	Mike Wattel	United States	302,800
Brasilia	713	2	Anthony Zinno	United States	224,000
Brasilia	713	4	Isaac Haxton	United States	401,500
Brasilia	713	6	Bryce Yockey	United States	224,500

Brasilia	714	1	Robert Goldfarb	United States	205,200
Brasilia	714	2	David "ODB" Baker	United States	167,800
Brasilia	714	3	Johannes Becker	Germany	333,100
Brasilia	714	4	Jens Lakemeier	Germany	275,000
Brasilia	714	5	Brock Parker	United States	135,300
Brasilia	714	6	Daniel Alaei	United States	446,100

Brasilia	715	1	Warwick Mirzikinian	Australia	213,800
Brasilia	715	2	Felipe Ramos	Brazil	160,300
Brasilia	715	3	Phil Hellmuth	United States	307,500
Brasilia	715	4	Gus Hansen	Danmark	96,300
Brasilia	715	5	Andrey Zaichenko	Russia	232,300
Brasilia	715	6	Michael Mizrachi	United States	267,000

Brasilia	716	1	Bruno Fitoussi	France	210,400
Brasilia	716	2	Ryan Miller	United States	223,600
Brasilia	716	3	Esther Taylor-Brady	United States	18,400
Brasilia	716	4	Aaron Katz	United States	682,700
Brasilia	716	5	Johnny Chan	United States	408,500
Brasilia	716	6	Paul Volpe	United States	345,600

Brasilia	717	1	Albert Daher	Lebanon	15,600
Brasilia	717	2	Adam Owen	United Kingdom	407,300
Brasilia	717	3	Marco Johnson	United States	422,900
Brasilia	717	5	Jake Abdalla	United States	205,400
Brasilia	717	6	Alex Luneau	France	187,000

Brasilia	718	1	Josh Arieh	United States	273,600
Brasilia	718	2	Keith Gipson	United States	178,400
Brasilia	718	4	James Obst	Australia	417,000
Brasilia	718	5	Tomer Daniel	United States	233,800
Brasilia	718	6	Brandon Shack-Harris	United States	179,000

Brasilia	719	1	Elior Sion	United Kingdom	314,500
Brasilia	719	2	Fabrice Soulier	France	280,000
Brasilia	719	4	Matt Glantz	United States	121,300
Brasilia	719	5	Phillip Hui	United States	296,200
Brasilia	719	6	Brett Richey	United States	455,300

Brasilia	720	1	Dan Smith	United States	352,200
Brasilia	720	2	Matthew Ashton	United Kingdom	705,500
Brasilia	720	3	Nick Schulman	United States	196,000
Brasilia	720	4	Leon Tsoukernik	Czech Republic	323,000
Brasilia	720	5	Joseph Couden	United States	166,200

Brasilia	721	1	Dzmitry Urbanovich	Poland	353,000
Brasilia	721	2	Brian Rast	United States	235,300
Brasilia	721	4	Wil Wilkinson	United States	126,500
Brasilia	721	5	Robert Mizrachi	United States	485,500
Brasilia	721	6	Eugene Katchalov	Ukraine	277,300

Brasilia	722	1	Harry Madoff	United States	478,600
Brasilia	722	2	Justin Bonomo	United States	367,000
Brasilia	722	4	Mike Leah	Canada	227,100
Brasilia	722	5	Daniel Negreanu	Canada	360,100
Brasilia	722	6	Ivo Donev	Austria	274,000

Brasilia	723	2	John Racener	United States	333,000
Brasilia	723	3	Stephen Chidwick	United Kingdom	142,700
Brasilia	723	4	Mike Glick	United States	233,100
Brasilia	723	5	Todd Brunson	United States	215,300
Brasilia	723	6	Roy Thung	United States	257,000

Brasilia	724	1	Brian Tate	United States	199,000
Brasilia	724	2	Benny Glaser	United Kingdom	239,800
Brasilia	724	3	Mattias De Smidt	Belgium	196,100
Brasilia	724	4	Scott Seiver	United States	319,200
Brasilia	724	6	Chris George	United States	50,100

Brasilia	725	1	Timofey Kuznetsov	Russia	378,500
Brasilia	725	2	Jason Mercier	United States	325,700
Brasilia	725	3	Mike Sexton	United States	225,400
Brasilia	725	5	Ray Dehkharghani	United States	219,700
Brasilia	725	6	Mike Matusow	United States	185,700

Brasilia	726	1	Shaun Deeb	United States	237,500
Brasilia	726	2	Tommy Chen	United States	148,500
Brasilia	726	3	Minh Ly	United States	207,400
Brasilia	726	5	Jesse Martin	United States	189,900
Brasilia	726	6	Randy Ohel	United States	186,300

Brasilia	727	1	Eric Wasserson	United States	325,000
Brasilia	727	2	Jon Turner	United States	398,400
Brasilia	727	4	Daniel Zack	United States	91,800
Brasilia	727	5	Ian Johns	United States	264,600
Brasilia	727	6	Gary Benson	Australia	168,800

Brasilia	728	1	Mike Gorodinsky	United States	154,400
Brasilia	728	2	Jeff Lisandro	Australia	96,200
Brasilia	728	3	Abe Mosseri	United States	198,000
Brasilia	728	4	Mark Gregorich	United States	465,700
Brasilia	728	6	Talal Shakerchi	United Kingdom	116,600

Brasilia	729	1	Michael Ross	United States	373,800
Brasilia	729	2	David Oppenheim	United States	345,000
Brasilia	729	3	John Monnette	United States	264,600
Brasilia	729	4	David Bach	United States	333,800
Brasilia	729	5	Bertrand Grospellier	France	367,900

Tags: Aaron Katz Ben Sulsky Brian Rast Dan Cates Dan Shak David Benyamine Iraj Parvizi Jens Lakemeier Mark Gregorich Matthew Ashton Michael Mizrachi Robert Mizrachi

07-03-2017 02:17 UTC-7

Obst Makes A Big Call, Cripples Daher

Yori Epskamp

Level 6 : 2,500/5,000, 0 ante

No-Limit Hold'em

Albert Daher raised to 3,000 from the cutoff, James Obst three-bet to 12,000 from the small blind, and Daher called. Obst checked on the flop, Daher bet 11,500, and Obst called.

On the turn, Obst check-called a 27,000 bet from Daher. The river completed the board with the and Obst checked a third time. Daher moved all in for slightly more than Obst's remaining stack of 77,700.

The razz champion spent minutes in the tank before making the call for his tournament life.

Daher:
Obst:

Daher's big bluff was unable to fold out Obst's second pair and left him behind with 16,500 in chips.

Player	Chips	Progress
James Obst	270,000	105,000
Albert Daher	16,500	-238,500

Tags: Albert Daher James Obst

07-03-2017 02:10 UTC-7

Ben Sulsky Eliminated by Matthew Ashton

Mickey Doft

Level 6 : 2,500/5,000, 0 ante

Pot-Limit Omaha

Matthew Ashton (who filled us in on the betting action) raised the pot from the button, Ben Sulsky three-bet from the small blind, and Ashton called.

The flop came down and Sulsky bet about half pot. Ashton raised the pot and Sulsky called all in for about 130,000.

Ashton:
Sulsky:

Sulsky was in the lead with top set against Ashton's wrap, but the turn fell to give Ashton an eight-high straight. Sulsky found no help from the river and was eliminated.

Player	Chips	Progress
Matthew Ashton	645,000	193,000
Ben Sulsky	Busted

Tags: Ben Sulsky Matthew Ashton

07-03-2017 01:16 UTC-7

Dan Shak Loses to a Straight for Third and Final Time

Jan_Kores

Level 6 : 2,500/5,000, 0 ante

Pot-Limit Omaha

Once again a pass by Dan Shak's table, saw the poker aficionado lose an Omaha hand, getting shown a straight by his opponent.

While Justin Bonomo hurt Shak twice in Omaha/8, Shak's swan song was played in a PLO hand.

Bonomo raised to 3,200 from the hijack and Daniel Negreanu flatted in the next seat. Shak announced, "Pot," from the button, and the dealer informed him the bet was 14,600.

Mike Matusow cold-called from the small blind while the open-raiser Bonomo folded. Negreanu came along.

Three-way to the flop, Matusow checked to Negreanu who bet out 12,000. Shak moved all in for under 20,000, and Matusow left the hand, letting Negreanu go solo against Shak.

Dan Shak:
Daniel Negreanu:

"Wow, you have a straight already," Shak observed. He was calling for a four for a chop, and one would arrive in the on the turn. However, it did no service to Shak who spotted he was still trailing.

The river finished his painful hour as he lost his tournament life, losing to a straight again.

Negreanu raked in the pot to climb back over 200,000.

Player	Chips	Progress
Daniel Negreanu	215,000	17,000
Dan Shak	Busted

07-03-2017 00:26 UTC-7

Mercier Flops the Nuts, Gets Tons of Value

Jan_Kores

Level 5 : 2,000/4,000, 0 ante

Pot-Limit Omaha

Jared Bleznick raised to 3,000 from the hijack. Jason Mercier called from the cutoff, and big blind Brett Richey joined the action, as well.

The flop was checked to Mercier, who bet 5,500. Richey folded, and Bleznick called.

Mercier bet another 16,800 on the turn, and Bleznick check-called again.

Bleznick checked in the dark, leaving the action to Mercier before the landed on the river. Mercier thought for a bit, and then reached to his stack for a final barrel. He made it 48,000. Bleznick didn't snap-call, but it didn't take him long to throw in the required chips.

Mercier turned up his for the flopped nut flush, which remained the nuts all the way through.

Bleznick showed his for a flopped flush and an open-ended straight flush draw, but his hand had been trailing the whole time.

Player	Chips	Progress
Jason Mercier	370,000	90,000
Jared Bleznick	50,000	-220,000

Tags: Jared Bleznick Jason Mercier

07-03-2017 00:25 UTC-7

Matusow Gets Some From Negreanu

Mickey Doft

Level 5 : 2,000/4,000, 0 ante

No-Limit Hold'em

On a flop, Mike Matusow (with 5,000 committed post-flop) was facing a raise to 13,000 from Ivo Donev (under the gun) and a call from Daniel Negreanu (button). Matusow called after a little while to see the turn, which was checked around. The river was the and action checked to Negreanu, who bet 32,000. Matusow called after about 90 seconds, and Donev folded.

"Do you have quads? asked Matusow.

Negreanu shook his head no.

Matusow tabled for fours full of decues, Negreanu mucked, and Matusow won the pot.

Player	Chips	Progress
Mike Matusow	270,000	80,000
Daniel Negreanu	198,000	-62,000

Tags: Daniel Negreanu Mike Matusow

07-03-2017 00:07 UTC-7

Shak Value Bluffs Matusow

Yori Epskamp

Level 5 : 2,000/4,000, 0 ante

2-7 Triple Draw Lowball

Dan Shak raised under the gun, and Mike Matusow called to his direct left.

Both players took two cards on the first draw. Shak bet, Matusow raised, and Shak called. On the second draw, both players drew one and checked the subsequent betting round. They exchanged another card on the final draw, after which Shak bet. Matusow took some time before flicking in a call.

Shak had his hand ready to muck face-down, but Matusow showed for a pair of deuces.

"Oh, he has a pair?" Shak asked. He then showed for the winner.

"I knew he was bluffing," grumbled Matusow after the hand.

"Yeah, I was," quipped Shak as he stacked up the chips.

Player	Chips	Progress
Mike Matusow	190,000
Dan Shak	40,000	-25,000

Tags: Dan Shak Mike Matusow

07-02-2017 23:45 UTC-7

Sulsky Doubles Through Ashton

Jan_Kores

Level 5 : 2,000/4,000, 0 ante

No-Limit Hold'em

Coming to the river of the , there was already more than 80,000 in the pot. Ben Sulsky was on the button, but there was yet another button lying in front of him — the one indicating an all in. Sulsky had his remaining chips stacked in front of him, making the count easily accessible from a distance. It was 93,600.

Sulsky's head was leaning on the rail with his headphones in his ears. Ashton was stretching his arms, trying to figure out what to do. He took a good amount of time before calling, but Sulsky didn't know about that for a few seconds as he'd been trying to escape into another world.

He moved his head up, finally learning of Ashton's call. Sulsky rolled over for the second nuts, ensured he was going to double up.

Ashton briefly showed his for a lower flush and shipped the required amount of chips Sulsky's way.

Player	Chips	Progress
Matthew Ashton	345,000	-78,000
Ben Sulsky	280,000	115,000

Tags: Ben Sulsky Matthew Ashton

07-02-2017 22:32 UTC-7

Madoff Decimates Benyamine

Yori Epskamp

Level 4 : 1,500/3,000, 0 ante

Pot-Limit Omaha

As relayed to us, Gus Hansen limped in for 800. Leon Tsoukernik made it 3,600, David Benyamine called, Harry Madoff raised to 16,400 from the blinds, Hansen folded, Tsoukernik called, and Benyamine called.

Madoff bet 25,000 on the flop, Tsoukernik folded, and Benyamine called. Madoff checked the turn to Benyamine, who bet 40,000. Madoff wasn't about to give up and called. On the river, Madoff checked, Benyamine shoved, and Madoff called it off to put himself at risk.

Benyamine:
Madoff:

Benyamine had missed every out to crack Madoff's aces and came up second-best. He was left with 40,000 after the hand, while Madoff soared to 470,000.

Player	Chips	Progress
Harry Madoff	470,000	270,000
David Benyamine	40,000	-220,000

Tags: David Benyamine Harry Madoff

07-02-2017 22:11 UTC-7

Cates Becomes First Casualty of 2017 Poker Players Championship

Jan_Kores

Level 4 : 1,500/3,000, 0 ante

No-Limit Hold'em

In the second half of the fourth level, the 2017 Poker Players Championship finally saw its first casualty. Daniel Cates was the first man to leave his seat.

It was a casual start to the crucial hand. More than 200 big blinds deep, Cates three-bet to 6,500 over Mark Gregorich's 2,100-chip raise from under the gun. Action returned to Gregorich, who fired back, four-betting to 22,100. Cates paused for a while and then pushed all of his chips toward the middle. It was around 170,000, and Gregorich had a simple decision, calling instantly.

Daniel Cates:
Mark Gregorich:

What looked to be a disaster for Cates could have turned into a huge bad beat story for Gregorich as the brought a massive sweat. The turn and river, however, left Cates' flush draw incomplete.