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July 3, the 37th day of the 2024 World Series of Poker (WSOP) at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas was one to remember, not least because it was when Event #81: $10,000 WSOP Main Event World Championship shuffled up and dealt.
Day 1a of the 2024 WSOP Main Event had everything, including two players busting on the first hand, a royal flush, and a bunch of poker superstars choosing the first flight to begin their quest to become world champion.
Four players became bracelet winners while the madness of the Main Event went on around them.
Arash Ghaneian won Event #74: $10,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship after the tournament needed an additional day. Ghaneian defeated Richard Sklar heads-up to capture his second bracelet and $376,476.
Team Setna, made up of Jimmy Setna and Jason James, took down Event #75: $1,000 Tag Team No-Limit Hold’em for their first bracelets and $190,910. They outlasted 1,436 other teams on their way to an impressive victory.
The third bracelet of the day found its way to Matthew Lambrecht, the champion of Event #76: $10,000 Mystery Bounty No-Limit Hold’em. Lambrecht defeated Damarjai Davenport heads-up to clinch the $1,018,933 top prize and his first gold bracelet.
Last, but not least, was Wing Liu winning Event #77: $2,500 Mixed Big Bet Event for $209,942 and his second WSOP bracelet. Liu won the €5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha event at the 2023 WSOP Europe, and now has a bracelet to place on his other wrist.
Joshua Feiger and Assaf Zeharia Get Off to a Dream Start in the WSOP Main Event
Reigning world champion Daniel Weinman instructed the dealers to shuffle up and deal shortly after noon on July 3, officially starting the 2024 WSOP Main Event. While most players hunkered down for the long haul, two players found themselves void of chips after the very first hand!
Travis Darroch was eliminated on the first hand of the day when he shoved on the river, having turned a full house only to discover David Williamson had turned quad eights!
On a different table, all of Craig Issod‘s chips went in on the river with a set of sixes only for him to discover Harlan Karnofsky‘s king-queen had improved to a straight. Ouch!
While Darroch and Issod had a day to forget, Joshua Feiger (311,900) and Assaf Zeharia (276,600) thoroughly enjoyed themselves. Feiger won a sizable pot early into proceedings and built on that momentum to be the only player with more than 300,000 chips at the close of play.
Zeharia busted Abby Merk in a straight-over-straight confrontation, eliminated the aforementioned Williamson with a set of queen, and made a royal flush against Aussie superstar Kahle Burns. Zeharia finished Day 1a in second place with 276,600 chips.
Three bracelet winners bagged up top ten stacks when Day 1a ended. Two-time champion Frank Funaro (265,000) finds himself in third place, with Naoya Kihara (228,300) and Pedro Bromfman (224,600) bagging up enough chips for ninth and tenth-place, respectively.
Two past Main Event champions, Qui Nguyen and Greg Merson entered on Day 1a, and both progressed to Day 2. Nguyen and Merson were seated together throughout the day; Nguyen returns with 39,000 chips, and Merson 36,800.
As you would expect, a whole host of stars progressed from Day 1a. They include Rayan Chamas (162,000), Jon Pardy (161,700), Matt Affleck (161,700), Bin Weng (152,000), Parker Talbot (107,600), Barny Boatman (70,000), and PokerNews‘ own Chad Holloway (16,900).
Day 1b of this extraordinary tournament commences at 12:00 p.m. local time on July 4. PokerNews will be on hand to bring you live and exclusive coverage from the most prestigious live poker tournament on the planet.
Event #81: $10,000 WSOP Main Event World Championship Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chips | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joshua Feiger | United States | 311,900 | 390 |
| 2 | Assaf Zeharia | Israel | 276,600 | 346 |
| 3 | Frank Funaro | United States | 265,000 | 331 |
| 4 | Mark Stockton | United States | 260,700 | 326 |
| 5 | Jie Wu | China | 252,300 | 315 |
| 6 | Nan Li | United States | 247,500 | 309 |
| 7 | Vid Zagar | Slovenia | 241,300 | 302 |
| 8 | Jonathan Wong | United States | 239,800 | 300 |
| 9 | Naoya Kihara | Japan | 228,300 | 285 |
| 10 | Pedro Bromfman | Brazil | 224,600 | 281 |
Kyle Williamson Leads Final Five in the Mini Main Event
Only five players remain in Event #78: $1,000 Mini Main Event No-Limit Hold’em, and Kyle Williamson is the man in pole position going into the third and final day. Williamson sits down behind a stack of 146,300,000 chips (49 big blinds) with Cypriot Georgios Skarparis (143,700,000) a solitary big blind behind him.
Italy’s Alexandre Barbaranelli (36,800,000) only has 12 big blinds at his disposal, while Mikhail Zavoloka (20,200,000) and Dirk Bruns (17,500,000) are shorter still.
All five returning players have earned at least $158,191 for their efforts and are only four eliminations away from earning a $554,925 score and their first WSOP bracelet.
Day 3 starts at 2:00 p.m. local time on July 4 and plays down to a winner.
Event #78: $1,000 Mini Main Event Final Day Chip Counts
| Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kyle Williamson | United States | 146,300,000 | 49 |
| 2 | Georgios Skarparis | Cyprus | 143,700,000 | 48 |
| 3 | Alexandre Barbaranelli | Italy | 36,800,000 | 12 |
| 4 | Mikhail Zavoloka | Russian Federation | 20,200,000 | 7 |
| 5 | Dirk Bruns | Germany | 17,500,000 | 6 |
Danny Tang On Course for His Second Bracelet
Event #79: $50,000 High Roller Pot-Limit Omaha is another tournament where only five players remain, including chip leader Danny Tang (20,725,000). Tang leads his four opponents back into battle on Day 3 knowing a victory will award him a career-best score.
Tang won the $50,000 High Roller No-Limit Hold’em event in 2019 for $1,608,406 for his first bracelet, a month after winning the equivalent of $1,796,498 in Montenegro. Should Tang come out on top in this tournament, he’ll receive his second bracelet and a career-best $2,100,325.
Dutchman Ronald Keijzer (13,275,000), Germany’s Daniel Perkusic (12,150,000), Jim Collopy (5,100,000), and Santhosh Suvarna (4,850,000), the recent $250,000 Super High Roller champion, are hoping to spoil Tang’s party.
These five heroes return to their seats at 1:00 p.m. local time on July 4, with play only ending when one man has all of the chips in play in front of him.
Event #79: $50,000 High Roller Pot-Limit Omaha Final Day Chip Counts
| Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Danny Tang | Hong Kong | 20,725,000 | 69 |
| 2 | Ronald Keijzer | Netherlands | 13,275,000 | 44 |
| 3 | Daniel Perkusic | Germany | 12,150,000 | 41 |
| 4 | Jim Collopy | United States | 5,100,000 | 17 |
| 5 | Santhosh Suvarna | India | 4,850,000 | 16 |
Mark Seif Shines on Day 1a of the Independence Day Celebration Event
Mark Seif (1,895,000) got off to a blistering start in Event #80: Independence Day Celebration, finishing the first of two flights third in chips. The two-time bracelet winner came close to adding a third piece of WSOP hardware to his collection when he finished 12th in the Seniors Championship earlier in the series.
Only Bulgaria’s Ivan Denev (2,480,000) and Michael Phillips (2,010,000) bagged and tagged more chips than Seif. Phillips has been in superb form for the past 18 months, amassing more than $530,000 in cashes. He hopes his eighth in-the-money finish of the 2024 WSOP ends with a bracelet to show for his efforts.
Also safely through to Day 2 are such luminaries as Brandon Sheils (1,865,000), Men Nguyen (703,000), Martin Zamani (640,000), Dan Heimiller (540,000), John Dolan (510,000), and Ari Engel (215,000).
Day 1b starts at 10:00 a.m. on July 4 and should see another couple of thousand players hand over $800 for the chance to become a WSOP champion.
Event #80: $800 Independence Day Celebration Event Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chips | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ivan Denev | Bulgaria | 2,480,000 | 62 |
| 2 | Michael Phillips | United States | 2,010,000 | 50 |
| 3 | Mark Seif | United States | 1,895,000 | 47 |
| 4 | Lukas Hafner | Austria | 1,875,000 | 47 |
| 5 | Brandon Sheils | United Kingdom | 1,865,000 | 47 |
| 6 | Yoshiya Agata | Japan | 1,860,000 | 47 |
| 7 | Shalom Elharar | United States | 1,785,000 | 45 |
| 8 | Agharzi Babayev | Azerbaijan | 1,780,000 | 45 |
| 9 | Alexander Petrucelli | United States | 1,505,000 | 38 |
| 10 | Yuzu Wang | China | 1,485,000 | 37 |
What to Expect on Day 38 of the 2024 WSOP
Unsurprisingly, the $10,000 WSOP Main Event takes center stage on Day 38, with Day 1b starting at 12:00 p.m. local time; no new events shuffle up and deal until July 6 because the Main Event field is expected to be so huge.
Event #78: $1,000 Mini Main Event No-Limit Hold’em and Event #79: $50,000 High Roller Pot-Limit Omaha will crown their champions, while Day 1b of Event #80: $800 Independence Day Celebration also runs.
