In the run up to this year’s World Series of Poker some people had their doubts that participation would reach the levels of the recent past; complications with the economy and potential difficulties with international travel suggested we may need to temper expectations.
Happily, so far, there’s been no noticeable decline in attendance. If anything, it appears that numbers are up in a lot of events compared with last year.
Spot the empty seat: It's busy over in the Paris.Of course, bigger fields present their own problems. This year’s series has a huge live schedule of 100 events, and the logistical issues around organizing so many players in so many tournaments are considerable. Luckily, that’s bread and butter for the WSOP — you don’t get to the age of 55 without picking up a few tricks of the trade.
Of course, mistakes will happen in even the best-run events, and an interesting one cropped up on Tuesday in the $25K Mixed PLO/NLH High Roller event.
What a difference a chip makes
With the bubble fast approaching, a new level started and play began with the big blind ante set at 40K. However, it quickly came to light that it should actually be 35K. Some tables had already played a hand, while others had paused to clarify the situation. Not ideal, but how much difference could a single 5K chip in the pot really make?
For one player, the difference was $50,000.
Cherish Andrews made it into the money on fumes for a $50K score.That was the amount Cherish Andrews (above) received for a min-cash when, with the ante situation resolved and her stack consisting of just a single 5K chip, she saw a big confrontation developing on the stone bubble. She folded, kept that single chip in front of her — which she may not have had, had the big blind ante not been corrected — and watched on as Allan Le busted out. With that, she was in the money to the tune of $50K.
17 will return at noon for the final day of the tourney, with $1,302,233 up top. Brandon Mitchell is chip leader with a stack just about as big as 2nd and 3rd combined.
Bam! Brick wall halts Negreanu’s progress to bracelet number 8
Fans and friends of Daniel Negreanu, as well as anyone who added him to their team in one of this year’s WSOP fantasy leagues, would have been delighted to watch his progress to the final table in the $10K O8 Championship.
Daniel Negreanu will have to wait for bracelet number 8, thanks to Ryan Bambrick.Ultimately, however, Negreanu would have to settle for a runner-up spot — and $313,615 — after Ryan Bambrick of the USA took control of the final table early on, and didn’t let up til he had all the chips.
The win, which awarded $470,437 in prize money, is Bambrick’s biggest ever cash and his second WSOP bracelet, following a victory in the $1,500 PLO event in 2018.
Bambrick told us he’d been gunning for Negreanu since the latter had made a YouTube video about a hand he’d played against him online, saying "Ever since then I've wanted to get him back. I finally did." You can read more of the juicy details here.
Hands up who knows how many bracelets Ryan Bambrick has won?More, more, more
Is that everything that went down on Tuesday at the Horseshoe and Paris casinos? Of course not! Tournaments are starting and ending all over the place, including the $10K Mystery Bounty, which saw Yosef Fox win $729,333 and join his son Jorden in the pantheon of WSOP bracelet winners.
Then there’s Brad Ruben, who picked up an astonishing fifth bracelet in five years, winning the $1,500 No-Limit 2-7 Single Draw event after defeating his buddy from back home, Han Liu, in heads-up play. It turns out Liu had never played a 2-7 tourney before, and had only previously played one WSOP event. Easy, right?
Five-time winner Brad Ruben.Want more? Keep it locked on PokerOrg for the biggest stories from the WSOP all summer, and remember: Cherish every chip, they all count.
