The first World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet event of the summer kicked off today at Commerce Casino in Los Angeles with the Tournament of Champions, a freeroll event that saw hundreds of Circuit ring and bracelet winners from around the country battling for a piece of the $1 million prize pool.
The event was open to to all ring winners from the 2023-24 WSOP Circuit season and bracelet winners from WSOP Paradise, WSOP Online and WSOP Europe.
One of the big stacks at the end of Day 1 with 104 players remaining is three-time bracelet winner Jim Collopy, while others who bagged include six-time ring winner Chris Conrad and seven-time ring winner Ian Steinman.
Commerce Casino Hosts Tournament of Champions
WSOP Tournament of Champions Day 1 Feature Table Chip Counts
| RANK | PLAYER | CHIP COUNT | BIG BLINDS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jim Collopy | 415,000 | 69 | |
| 2 | Cooper Feltham | 297,000 | 50 | |
| 3 | Steven Glasscock | 201,000 | 34 | |
| 4 | Chris Conrad | 180,000 | 30 | |
| 5 | Cody Stanford | 124,000 | 21 | |
| 6 | Guillermo De La Vega | 115,000 | 19 | |
| 7 | Ian Steinman | 111,000 | 19 |
Day 1 Action
There were 559 players who made the trek to Los Angeles to play in the live-streamed freeroll event after winning rings in places like Council Bluffs, Choctaw, Thunder Valley, Lake Tahoe and Tulsa.
Those in the field included reigning WSOP Main Event champion Daniel Weinman, two-time ring winner Kasey Lyn Mills and recent ring winners Christina Gollins and Jessica Vierling, who just yesterday took down the WSOP Commerce Main Event for $328,273.
Maurice Hawkins, who recently won his 16th Circuit ring in the Cherokee Main Event to move to second on the all-time ring list, spent the day at the feature table alongside ring winners like Shane Friedlander and Ryan Remmes. Ari Engel, the only player with more rings than Hawkins, was also in the tournament.
Other ring winners in the Day 1 field included Aram Zobian, Robert Slezak and Jesse Lonis.
Day 2 of the Tournament of Champions will pick back up at noon local time on May 23 and will play for ten 60-minute levels. Day 3 on May 24 will play down to a winner, who will take home the lion’s share of the $1 million freeroll prize pool.
The action will continue to be streamed on the GGPoker YouTube channel with commentary from the likes of Jeff Platt and Brent Hanks.
WSOP Tournament of Champions Stream Schedule
| DATE | EVENT | TIME (PT) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 23 | Tournament of Champions Day 2 | 5 p.m. | |
| May 24 | Tournament of Champions Day 3 | 5 p.m. |
