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The 2024 World Series of Poker (WSOP) is rapidly approaching its conclusion at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas, with only a handful of events remaining on the busy schedule. Day 48 saw eight events running at one stage; here’s what happened on July 14.
Event #81: $10,000 WSOP Main Event World Championship reached its nine-handed final table, and what a final table it is. Each finalist has locked in $1 million for their efforts thus far, but one of them will fly home having scooped an incredible $10 million.
Gary Bolden became a WSOP champion for the first time by taking down Event #91: $3,000 H.O.R.S.E. for $206,321. This event required an unscheduled fourth day, and Bolden defeated John Racener heads-up, denying Racener his second bracelet of the series and the third of his career.
Event #92: $50,000 High Roller No-Limit Hold’em also concluded on Day 48 of the series. Jared Bleznick came out on top of an all-star cast to win his first bracelet and an impressive $2,037,947, a career-best haul for the New Yorker.
Fahredin Mustofov Hopes to Spoil Adrian Mateos’ Party
Spain’s Adrian Mateos has featured in the headlines throughout the 2024 WSOP, and he’s here again thanks to bagging up the second-largest stack in Event #94: $10,000 6-Handed No-Limit Hold’em where only 28 players remain in contention for the $924,922 top prize and the accompanying bracelet.
Mateos has already won four WSOP bracelets and is one of the favorites to clinch this event’s hardware after bagging up 2,860,000 chips, or 114 big blinds, at the end of Day 2. Only Bulgaria’s Fahredin Mustafov (3,300,000) crammed more betting tokens into his overnight bag.
Mustafov and Mateos are being chased down by some of poker’s best-known players. They include James Chen (1,895,000), Team PokerStars’ Alejandro Lococo (1,290,000), Michael Rocco (1,215,000), Sweden’s Viktor Blom (1,160,000), 2023 SCOOP Main Event winner Felipe Boianovsky (1,100,000), Alexandre Reard (1,060,000), Aram Zobian (770,000), Daniel Smiljkovic (620,000), and two-time bracelet winner Eric Baldwin (535,000).
The 28 Day 3 players return to their seats at 1:00 p.m. local time with the plan to crown a worthy champion.
Event #94: $10,000 6-Handed No-Limit Hold’em Championship Top 10 Chip Counts
| Place | Name | Country | Chips | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fahredin Mustafov | Bulgaria | 3,300,000 | 132 |
| 2 | Adrian Mateos | Spain | 2,860,000 | 114 |
| 3 | James Chen | Taiwan | 1,895,000 | 76 |
| 4 | Aleks Dimitrov | Bulgaria | 1,560,000 | 62 |
| 5 | Alejandro Lococo | Argentina | 1,290,000 | 52 |
| 6 | Rodrigo Daher | Brazil | 1,265,000 | 51 |
| 7 | Michael Rocco | United States | 1,215,000 | 49 |
| 8 | Toshikazu Ishii | Japan | 1,200,000 | 48 |
| 9 | Viktor Blom | Sweden | 1,160,000 | 46 |
| 10 | Felipe Boianovsky | Brazil | 1,100,000 | 44 |
Taylor Black Leads the Final 17 in the $3K Mid-Stakes Championship
Only 17 players remain in Event #89: $3,000 Mid-Stakes Championship, and none have more chips than Taylor Black (20,725,000). Black heads into Day 3 with 22 more big blinds than Adam Owen (15,175,000) in second place and 39 more than Dong Chen (10,950,0000 in third place.
Only two of the returning players have captured a WSOP bracelet during their careers. Third-placed Chen is one of them, and Canada’s Xing He (5,750,000) is the other.
Alec Torelli (7,800,000) finds himself within touching distance of his first bracelet. This is Torelli’s first WSOP in-the-money finish of 2024, and his first since finishing 11th in the Main Event last year. Could this be the event where Torelli finally wins some WSOP hardware?
Play resumes at 11:00 a.m. local time on July 15, and continues until a champion is revealed. Return to PokerNews to discover who that champion is.
Event 89: $3,000 Mid-Stakes Championship Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chips | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Taylor Black | United States | 20,725,000 | 83 |
| 2 | Adam Owen | United Kingdom | 15,175,000 | 61 |
| 3 | Dong Chen | China | 10,950,000 | 44 |
| 4 | Clement Richez | France | 9,575,000 | 38 |
| 5 | Boris Kuzmanovic | Croatia | 9,350,000 | 37 |
| 6 | Stefan Dimitrov | Bulgaria | 8,900,000 | 36 |
| 7 | David Uvaydov | United States | 8,725,000 | 35 |
| 8 | David Brehme | United Kingdom | 8,575,000 | 34 |
| 9 | Alec Torelli | United States | 7,800,000 | 31 |
| 10 | Xing He | Canada | 5,750,000 | 23 |
Wheeler On Course For His 21st Cash of the Series
Day 1b of Event #93: $777 Lucky 7’s No-Limit Hold’em attracted 1,559 entrants, but they were reduced to only 77 after the completion of 22 fast-paced levels. Brazil’s Victor Dermendjian (2,820,000) soared to the top of the chip counts, with Dominick Sarle (2,150,000) and Brandon Hamlet (1,975,000) claiming podium places.
In fifth place with 1,725,000 chips is Jason Wheeler. The popular American grinder has racked up 20 cashes at the 2024 WSOP, including a final table appearance in the Tag Team event. Wheeler will be hopeful of bagging the second bracelet of his career by the time this event is done and dusted.
Some of the other notable players through from Day 1b include Jason Daly (1,770,000), Shawn Daniels (1,600,000), Dan Heimiller (1,420,000), Maurice Hawkins (1,390,000), and Dejuante Alexander (245,000).
Day 1c, the third and final flight, starts at 10:00 a.m. local time on July 15. Day 1c entrants will battle for 22 levels of 30 minutes each, with surviving players returning to the action at 10:00 a.m. local time on July 16.
Event #93: $777 Lucky 7’s No-Limit Hold’em Day 1b Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chips | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Victor Dermendjian | Brazil | 2,820,000 | 71 |
| 2 | Dominick Sarle | United States | 2,150,000 | 54 |
| 3 | Brandon Hamlet | United States | 1,975,000 | 49 |
| 4 | Jason Daly | United States | 1,770,000 | 44 |
| 5 | Jason Wheeler | United States | 1,725,000 | 43 |
| 6 | Shawn Daniels | United States | 1,600,000 | 40 |
| 7 | Anastasia Knapp | United States | 1,455,000 | 36 |
| 8 | Anthony Ruttler | United States | 1,450,000 | 36 |
| 9 | Seth Fischer | United States | 1,425,000 | 36 |
| 10 | Dan Heimiller | United States | 1,420,000 | 36 |
Poker Legend Jack McLelland Reaches of the HOF Bounty Event
Event #95: $1,979 Poker Hall of Fame Bounty No-Limit Hold’em was always going to be star-studded because every living Poker Hall of Fame member was invited to play, each with a bounty on their head. The bounty amount is the year they were inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Jack McClelland‘s $2014 bounty is still intact after the legendary former tournament director progressed to Day 2 with 209,000 chips, placing him in the middle of the pack at the close of play. In total, 1,124 players bought in, but only 169 chip counts were received when the curtain came down on the first day’s action.
Preston McEwen (786,000) finished the night at the top of the chip counts, followed by Luan Coelho (699,000), and Yang Lei (616,000).
Hall of Famers McClelland, Erik Seidel (95,0000, and Mori Eskandani (46,000) also progressed to Day 2, but fellow HOF members Billy Baxter, Barbara Enright, Tom McEvoy, Eli Elezra, Johnny Chan, Scotty Nguyen, Barry Greenstein, and Phil Hellmuth bowed out before the close of play.
The added value of the bounties proved a strong lure for some of the game’s most familiar faces. Martin Finger (554,000), Adam Hendrix (320,000), Martin Jacobson (154,000), and Sean Troha (81,000) progressed to Day 2.
Day 2 starts at 12:00 p.m. local time on July 15, with action continuing until a champion emerges.
Event #95: $1,979 Poker Hall of Fame Bounty No-Limit Hold’em Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chips | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Preston McEwen | United States | 786,000 | 98 |
| 2 | Luan Coelho | Brazil | 699,000 | 87 |
| 3 | Yang Lei | New Zealand | 616,000 | 77 |
| 4 | Xiaowen Zhao | China | 614,000 | 77 |
| 5 | Daniel Marques | Brazil | 609,000 | 76 |
| 6 | Daisuke Ogita | Japan | 593,000 | 74 |
| 7 | Martin Finger | Germany | 554,000 | 69 |
| 8 | Roman Korenev | Russia | 529,000 | 66 |
| 9 | Yuzhou Yin | China | 525,000 | 66 |
| 10 | Naseem Salem | United States | 470,000 | 59 |
Paul Volpe Claims the Day 1 Chip Lead in the $25K H.O.R.S.E. High Roller
Ninety-five players entered Event #96: $25,000 High Roller H.O.R.S.E. on Day 1, but only 58 of those made it through to Day 2. Both figures will increase as players can re-enter once, and late registration remains open until the end of the first level on Day 2.
Paul Volpe (650,000) won’t need to re-enter because he finished Day 1 with a tournament-leading stack. Volpe, a three-time WSOP champion, last won some poker gold in 2018, so many will say he is overdue another victory. Should that win come in this event, it will likely come with a career-best score for the Pennsylvania native.
Xixiang Luo (637,000) is hot on Volpe’s heels, with Japanese star Kazuhiko Yotsushika (587,000) behind him. Bracelet winners Scott Bohlman (574,000), Ali Eslami (532,500), Yuval Bronshtein (420,000), Ryan Miller (383,500), and Nick Guagenti (380,000) all finished in the top ten of the overnight counts.
Also still battling away are the likes of Chad Eveslage (338,500), Anthony Zinno (310,000), Matt Glantz (308,000), Todd Brunson (388,000), the legendary Phil Hellmuth (269,000), Adam Friedman (262,500), Shaun Deeb (252,000), and Jeremy Ausmus (172,000) gaming many others.
Day 2 starts at 1:00 p.m. local time on July 15, with ten hour-long levels planned. Late registration remains open until the first level is in the bag, and players will enjoy welcomed breaks every couple of levels, with a 60-minute dinner break after Level 16.
Event #96: $25,000 High Roller H.O.R.S.E. Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chips |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paul Volpe | United States | 650,000 |
| 2 | Xixiang Luo | China | 637,000 |
| 3 | Kazuhiko Yotsushika | Japan | 587,000 |
| 4 | Scott Bohlman | United States | 574,000 |
| 5 | Ali Eslami | United States | 532,500 |
| 6 | Andrew Brown | United States | 424,000 |
| 7 | Yuval Bronshtein | Israel | 420,000 |
| 8 | Eric Wasserson | United States | 400,000 |
| 9 | Ryan Miller | United States | 383,500 |
| 10 | Nick Guagenti | United States | 380,000 |
What to Expect on Day 49 of the 2024 WSOP
July 15 is the 49th day of an incredible 2024 World Series of Poker (WSOP). Only a couple more days of action remain, but the series doesn’t have its foot on the brakes yet.
The Main Event reached its nine-handed final table, and those finalists are enjoying a well-deserved day off, returning on July 16 to play down to four players.
Event #89: $3,000 Mid-Stakes Championship will award its bracelet on July 15, as will Event #94: $10,000 6-Handed No-Limit Hold’em Championship.
There’s an early start for anyone wishing to play Day 1c of Event #93: $777 Lucky 7’s No-Limit Hold’em because cards are in the air from 10:00 a.m. local time.
Two events whittle their fields during their respective Day 2s; Event #95: $1,979 Poker Hall of Fame Bounty No-Limit Hold’em, and Event #96: $25,000 High Roller H.O.R.S.E.
We even have another pair of tournaments starting on Day 49. Event #97: $3,000 6-Handed Pot-Limit Omaha kicks off at 1:00 p.m. local time. This event’s reigning champion, Matthew Parry, sadly passed away last month, so the event will be an emotional one for Parry’s friends and family reading our updates back home.
Event #98: $1,500 The Closer is the penultimate event of the 2024 WSOP. It gets underway at 4:00 p.m. local time. It features a pair of starting flights (Day 1b starts at the earlier time of 12:00 p.m. local time on July 16), with PokerNews‘ traditional coverage commencing on Day 2. Pierre Shum is the reigning champion, having outlasted 3,530 opponents in 2023.