Day 20 of the 2023 World Series of Poker at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas occurred on June 18. Three events awarded their respective bracelet, while another trio of bracelet-awarding events nudged closer to dishing out theirs.
The first bracelet of the day went to “suited_h13” in Online Event #6: $500 No-Limit Hold’em Turbo. It took a little over six hours for the 1,203-strong field to be reduced to only one player, the tournament’s champion. “suited_h13” took home $134,527 for their efforts, which is an incredible hourly rate!
Chris Brewer reeled in the largest score by far of the series so far, a whopping $5,293,556. Brewer came out on top of the $250,000 Super High Roller, captured his maiden bracelet and denied Artur Martirosian his first piece of poker hardware. Brewer now has more than $15 million in live poker tournament earnings.
Bracelet number three came from the second online event of the day, the $500 PLO 6-Handed, and it was Joe Serock who got their hands on it. They outlasted 601 opponents, including Millard Hale heads-up, to become a WSOP champion for the first time. Oh, and they raked in $93,911 for their efforts.
Big O Reaches Day 3 With 18 Players; Chan in the Mix
Poker legend Johnny Chan has a realistic shot of becoming only the second player in history to win more than ten bracelets because he is still in the mix in Event #41: $1,500 Big O with only 18 players remaining.
Chan currently has ten WSOP bracelets on his resume, the two-time WSOP Main Event champion has not added to his collection since 2005. Could all that change on June 19 when he returns to the action 12th in chips?
Plenty of talented players stand between Chan and his 11th bracelet. They include Victor Ramdin (3,495,000), Bjorn Verbakel (3,090,000), Adam Owen (2,705,000), Robert Williamson III (2,700,000), and Owais Ahmed (2,225,000).
Play resumes at 1:00 p.m. local time on June 19, and continues until a champion is crowned. Will Chan be that champion? Tune into PokerNews to find out.
Event #41: $1,500 Big O Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gary Gwinn | United States | 4,570,000 | 76 |
| 2 | Victor Ramdin | United States | 3,495,000 | 58 |
| 3 | Scott Abrams | United States | 3,200,000 | 53 |
| 4 | Bjorn Verbakel | Netherlands | 3,000,000 | 50 |
| 5 | William Haffner | United States | 2,805,000 | 47 |
| 6 | Adam Owen | United Kingdom | 2,705,000 | 45 |
| 7 | Robert Williamson III | United States | 2,700,000 | 45 |
| 8 | Xu Zhu | United States | 2,410,000 | 40 |
| 9 | Owais Ahmed | United States | 2,250,000 | 38 |
| 10 | Billy Ward | United States | 1,980,000 | 33 |
Terminator Cates Begins his PPC Title Defence; Ivey Bags Second-Largest Stack
Seventy-three players bought into Event #43: $50,000 Poker Players Championship, including back-to-back champion Dan Cates, and a certain Phil Ivey.
Cates entered the mix dressed as the Terminator, and was almost terminated early into proceedings, but fought back to finish with 305,000 and the chance of an epic three-peat.
Ivey fared much better than Cates; he crammed 944,500 chips into an overnight bag. Ivey made an incredible call that showed why many consider him the GOAT. Only Josh Arieh (1,088,000) bagged a larger stack than the ten-time WSOP bracelet winner.
Fifty-four players remained at the close of play, and the list reads like a who’s who of the poker world. James Obst (929,500), John Monnette (800,500), and Viktor Blom (784,000) finished in the top five, while Jeremy Ausmus (737,500), Bryce Yockey (634,000), Elior Sion (620,000), David Williams (585,500), and Matthew Ashton (565,000) find themselves in the top 10.
Play resumes on June 19 at 1:00 p.m. local time, and late registration remains open for the first three levels. Keep with PokerNews as we bring you all of the action from this incredible tournament.
Event #43: $50,000 Poker Players Championship Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Chip Count | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Josh Arieh | 1,088,000 | |
| 2 | Phil Ivey | 944,500 | |
| 3 | James Obst | 929,500 | |
| 4 | John Monnette | 800,500 | |
| 5 | Viktor Blom | 784,000 | |
| 6 | Jeremy Ausmus | 737,500 | |
| 7 | Bryce Yockey | 634,000 | |
| 8 | Elior Sion | 620,000 | |
| 9 | David Williams | 585,000 | |
| 10 | Matthew Ashton | 565,000 |
Vohra Bags Big on Day 2 of the Monster Stack
Only 389 of the 8,317 players that bought into Event #39: $1,500 Monster Stack remain, and it is David Vedral (4,350,000) who leads them back into battle on Day 3.
Eight of the overnight top ten have at least three million chips in their stacks. Ahmed Karrim (3,890,000), Rayane Bouibeb (3,830,000), Raj Vohra (3,780,000), Robert Bickley (3,240,000), Frederic Normand (3,095,000), Jesse Yaginuma (3,060,000), and Koveh Waysei (3,000,000) being those players.
Further down the counts you find the likes of David Jackson (1,995,000), Kyle Julius (1,915,000), Nate Silver (1,430,000), poker legend Barry Greenstein (1,225,000), and Joe Cada (800,000).
Event #39: $1,500 Monster Stack Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | David Vedral | Austria | 4,350,000 | 145 |
| 2 | Ahmed Karrim | South Africa | 3,890,000 | 130 |
| 3 | Rayane Bouibeb | France | 3,830,000 | 128 |
| 4 | Raj Vohra | United States | 3,780,000 | 126 |
| 5 | Robert Bickley | United Kingdom | 3,240,000 | 108 |
| 6 | Frederic Normand | Canada | 3,095,000 | 103 |
| 7 | Jesse Yaginuma | United States | 3,060,000 | 102 |
| 8 | Koveh Waysei | United States | 3,000,000 | 100 |
| 9 | Adam Fellon | United States | 2,795,000 | 93 |
| 10 | Christopher Marcadet | United States | 2,765,000 | 92 |
Chino Rheem Leads the $800 NLHE Deepstack
Chino Rheem finds himself at the top of the chip counts in Event #42: $800 No-Limit Hold’em Deepstack where a record-breaking crowd of 3,778 players turned out. At the close of play and the completion of 22 levels, only 238 players remain, and Rheem’s 2,450,000) stack is the largest of them all.
Pat Lyons (2,360,000) finished just behind Rheem in the chip leader race, with Paul Grande (2,055,000) rounding out the top three.
Antoine Saout (1,620,000) is also through to Day 2, as are 2021 WSOP Main Event champion Koray Aldemir (1,465,000), Joe Kuether (1,005,000), Dylan Linde (615,000), Martin Finger (510,000), and David Pham (450,000).
The cards are back in the air from 10:00 a.m. local time on June 19, and PokerNews‘ live reporting team will be on the ground throughout the day.
Event #42: $800 No-Limit Hold’em Deepstack Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chino Rheem | United States | 2,450,000 | 82 |
| 2 | Pat Lyons | United States | 2,360,000 | 79 |
| 3 | Paul Grande | United States | 2,055,000 | 69 |
| 4 | DID NOT REPORT 5 | United States | 1,815,000 | 61 |
| 5 | Antoine Saout | France | 1,620,000 | 54 |
| 6 | Alphonsus Yoon | Canada | 1,600,000 | 53 |
| 7 | Ryan Goindoo | Trinidad & Tobago | 1,600,000 | 53 |
| 8 | Tsubasa Sasaki | Japan | 1,595,000 | 53 |
| 9 | Camille Brown | United States | 1,535,000 | 51 |
| 10 | David Bullinger | United States | 1,520,000 | 51 |
What to Expect on Day 21 of the 2023 WSOP
Two new tournaments begin on Day 21 of the 2023 WSOP. June 19 sees Event #45: $1,500 Mixed Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better shuffle up and deal. The other fresh event is Event #44: $3,000 No-Limit Hold’em.
Event #39: $1,500 Monster Stack will be strides towards its final table, while Event #41: $1,500 Big O will hand out its bracelet. Event #42: $800 No-Limit Hold’em Deepstack (8-Handed) will also play down to a worthy winner, while the star-studded Event #43: $50,000 Poker Players Championship also continues.