WSOP: Seiver Takes Down $10K Limit, Nguyen Wins MONSTER STACK
Yet another millionaire was made on Wednesday at the 2018 World Series of Poker. Nine players have now banked seven-figure scores this summer, with Tommy Nguyen the latest recipient of a bracelet and potentially life-changing score.
Meanwhile, Scott Seiver was busy doing Scott Seiver-like things, winning his second bracelet in the $10K Limit Hold’em Championship. Wednesday also saw the $10K Razz and the ever-popular Tag Team event kick off.
Here’s everything you need to know from Wednesday June 27.
Scott Seiver Victorious, Wins Bracelet #2 in $10K Limit ($296,222)
There are a few players who can truly be considered a ‘pro’s pro’. That means being great in high-stakes cash games. Great in tournaments. And great online to boot.
Scott Seiver is no doubt one of those dudes, and added more accolades to his CV by winning Event #52: $10,000 Limit Hold’em Championship late on Wednesday night. “I’ll be honest,” he said. “It matters a lot to me. It really does. I feel that I’ve really accomplished most things that I’ve set out to do in poker so far and honestly, even more than that.”
The win takes Seiver up to $2.3M in live earnings, but with the likes of bracelet winner Anthony Zinno, Matt Glantz, and start-of-day chip leader Dan Zack on the final table, Seiver really had to earn it. By the time they got to three-handed play, Seiver hit a three-outer to felt Zinno, before making a 2:1 comeback to defeat Matt Szymaszek heads-up.
Seiver added: “I feel I like to be judged by what my peers think of me more than my actual results. But, the World Series still has a certain panache that you don’t find in other situations. So, this is very special to get this bracelet and I hope to get many more in the future.”
Final Table Results:
- Scott Seiver – $296,222
- Matt Szymaszek – $183,081
- Anthony Zinno – $129,186
- Christopher Chung – $93,009
- Matt Glantz – $68,352
- Philip Cordano – $51,296
- Dan Zack – $39,329
- Michael Moore – $30,821
- Ken Deng – $24,700
A $1,037,451 Win for Nguyen in MONSTER STACK
Tommy Nguyen had never been to the WSOP before this year. His debut trip to the Rio this summer was bankrolled from a $100K score he enjoyed a couple of months ago. But one thing’s now for sure: He’ll definitely be back next year.
Nguyen’s WSOP debut has made him a millionaire, as on Wednesday night he took down Event #48: $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em MONSTER STACK for $1,037,451. “I dreamed of this and I always believed I could make it,” he said afterwards. “I never doubted that I was going to win. I was just focusing on winning a bracelet. That was my goal when I came here.”
Poker is rarely easy though, and this final table had lots of swings and plenty of action. But prior to that there were 29 hopefuls returning at the start of the day, before eventual runner-up James Carroll broke off with an early lead.
Once they got to the finale, Rittie Chuaprasert was the first to fall, followed by Harald Sammer. The latter jammed with ace-king only for Shyam ’s_dot111’ Srinivasan to wake up in the big blind with queens, which held. Srinivasan would be the next to bust though, running his pocket nines into Nguyen’s ace-king, which flopped top two.
Michael Benko, Daniel Corbett, Chris Chong, and Francis Rusnak would then depart leaving Nguyen heads-up with Carroll. Nguyen held the chip lead, but despite doubling Carroll up was able to keep him at arm’s length and eventually see it through. Carroll would three-bet shove with king-deuce off which Nguyen snapped with ace-king off, and the board bricked for both.
Nguyen credits his recent success of recognising weaknesses in his game, and studying to fix them. He said: “I knew I wasn’t a winning player but I was stubborn. Just in the last two years, I started winning more. I tried to fix my game and started learning more.”
Final Table Results:
- Tommy Nguyen – $1,037,451
- James Carroll – $640,916
- Francis Rusnak – $475,212
- Chris Chong – $354,903
- Daniel Corbett – $266,987
- Michael Benko – $202,327
- Shyam Srinivasan – $154,463
- Harald Sammer – $118,802
- Rittie Chuaprasert – $92,061
Tag Teams Out In Force
Aside from staking and swaps, poker is often considered a solitary pursuit. However, the popularity of teaming up with friends/peers has proved very popular at the WSOP in recent years.
Event #55: $1,000 Tag Team No-Limit Hold’em kicked off Wednesday, with 1,032 teams taking part to create a $928,800 prize pool. After ten levels of play, it was the team consisting of Juan Ramirez, Isai Coello, and Dustin Pattinson who topped the survivors with 193,000, followed by bracelet winner Michael Wang, Dan Zack and Ajay Chabra who ended with 113,800.
A few other teams who managed who finish well include Victor Chong, Pete Chen, Michael Soyza, and Phachara Wongwichit s team (86,900), Mohsin Charania and Sunny Patel’s team (78,700), Jason Wheeler and Ludovic Geilich’s team (64,500), and Rob Perelman and Joseph Cheong’s team (49,100).
More than three quarters of the total teams who entered went busto throughout the day. Some of those teams to depart included Allen Kessler/Lena Evans/Roland Israelashvili/Jeremiah Degreef, Alex Papazian/Sorin Drajneanu, Duff Charette/Alex Foxen/Kristen Bicknell/Chance Kornuth, Jonathan Tamayo/Joe McKeehen, Theo Tran/Tim and Tom West, Felipe Ramos/Natasha Mercier/Albert Daher/Aylar Lie, and Jared Jaffee/Phil Kessel/Blake Kessel/Jeff Palarino.
Day 2 kicks off at 12pm Thursday, with all teams looking to divide up the $175,805 first-place prize. The bubble bursts at 155 teams.
Top 10 Team Stacks:
- Juan Ramirez – Isai Coello – Dustin Pattinson – 193,000
- Michael Wang – Dan Zack – Ajay Chabra – 113,800
- Alex Rocha – Megan Milburn – Joanne Milburn – 102,400
- Steven Wolansky – Zach Efland – 99,100
- Team Du – 89,600
- Bret McCown – Mike Beattie – Jeff Ferrera – 87,000
- Victor Chong – Pete Chen – Michael Soyza – Phachara Wongwichit – 86,900
- Erwann Pecheux – Sarah Herzali – Jonathan Therme – 86,400
- Mohsin Charania – Sunny Patel – 78,700
- Jason Wheeler – Ludovic Geilich – 64,500
Four Remain In $1,500 Bounty
Another ten levels were played Wednesday in Event #51: $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em BOUNTY, taking the 29 Day 3 players (out of 1,982) down to just four. They’ll all return on Thursday to play down to a winner.
The guy leading the way overnight is Ryan Leng, bagging up 5,440,000. Second in chips is the guy who has led most of the way in this one: Ranno Sootla, who finished with 3,835,000. Christian Nolte heads to bed third in chips (3,405,000), followed by 2013 Main Event runner-up Jay Farber (2,195,000).
Those who have already departed from the final table include Quyen Hoang busted in 10th place ($16,928), Mikhail Semin in 9th ($21,741), Mark Mazza in 8th ($28,225), John Gulino in 7th ($37,034), Russell Rosenblum in 6th ($49,107), and Javier Gomez in 5th ($65,799).
Action kicks back off at 12pm Thursday, with all four guaranteed $89,079. The winner will get $272,504.
Final Four Stacks:
- Ryan Leng – 5,440,000
- Ranno Sootla – 3,835,000
- Christian Nolte – 3,405,000
- Jay Farber – 2,195,000
Down to 20 in $1,500 PLO 8, Negreanu, Matusow, Elezra Still In
With 20 players remaining, the chip leader heading into the third and final day in Event #53 $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better is a familiar face: defending champion, Nathan Gamble.
Gamble ran over the final table last year, and sits in pole position to defend his title with 834,000. He’s followed by Joseph Couden (776,000), Robert Campbell (565,000), Brad Albrinck (564,000), and four-time bracelet winner Mike Matusow (436,000).
There are plenty of big names still fighting too, with Eli Elezra bagging up 419,000, and Daniel Negreanu ending with 96,000 – the third shortest stack.
Day 3 begins at 12pm Thursday, with $244,370 up top. All 20 have locked up $6,927.
Top 10 Stacks:
- Nathan Gamble – 834,000
- Joseph Couden – 776,000
- Robert Campbell – 565,000
- Brad Albrinck – 564,000
- Mike Matusow – 436,000
- Dustin Pattinson – 432,000
- Eli Elezra – 419,000
- Bryce Yockey – 400,000
- Lee Armstrong – 364,000
- Christopher Conrad – 364,000
31 Left In $3K Big Blind Antes Event
Event #54 Big Blind Antes $3,000 No-Limit Hold’em is really one player’s to lose right now. Poker is never easy, especially when there are still 30 players left in a tournament, but when you hold almost three times as many chips as your nearest competitor, you simply must have your heart set on a bracelet.
That guy is Jonathan Abdellatif, who bagged up an enormous lead with 2,725,000. his closest competitors are Barry Hutter (953,000), Marciano Cruz (807,000), Todd Ivens (780,000), and David Yan (714,000).
Nikita Luther (392,000), Kristen Bicknell (298,000), and Anna Antimony (200,000) are all still in the tournament, hoping to become the second female WSOP champ of the summer. Some of those who had their hopes crushed today include Athanasios Polychronopoulos (153rd – $4,513), Kathy Liebert (139th – $4,513), Matt Salsberg (118th – $4,720), Calvin Anderson (111th – $4,720), Michael Ruane (85th – $5,441), Bertrand Grospellier (65th – $6,712), and Scotty Nguyen (45th – $10,387).
Things get going again at 2pm Thursday, with all players guaranteed $10,387. There’s a massive $522,715 up top though.
Top 10 Stacks:
- Jonathan Abdellatif – 2,725,000
- Barry Hutter – 953,000
- Marciano Cruz – 807,000
- Todd Ivens – 780,000
- David Yan – 714,000
- Kevin Song – 675,000
- Kris Homerding – 628,000
- Ryan Hall – 603,000
- Radoslav Stoyanov – 583,000
- Tom McCormick – 533,000
John Hennigan Leads $10K After Day 1
No surprises over the Day 1 chip leader in Event #56: $10,000 Razz Championship. John Hennigan is having one heck of a summer, and hopes to add to his Player of the Year race in this one, bagging up 302,000 to lead the 52 survivors.
Ted Forrest sits in second with 221,500, just ahead of Per Hildebrand with 221,000. Robert Mizrachi, Allen Kessler, and Dzmitry ‘Colisea’ Urbanovich also bagged up top ten stacks.
Others to advance include James Obst (166,500), Julien Martini (193,000), Bart Hanson (187,000), Larry Wright (167,000), Mike Leah (126,500), Paul ‘paulgees81’ Volpe (116,500), Shaun Deeb (82,500), and Calvin ‘cal42688’ Anderson (79,500).
Registration is still open until the end of Day 2, so the field and prize pool are yet to be confirmed.What we know for sure is that Max Pescatori, Nick Schulman, Matt Glantz, Jason Mercier, Andrey Zhigalov, and Rep Porter busted along the way.
Play resumes at 2pm Thursday.
Top 10 Stacks:
- John Hennigan – 302,000
- Ted Forrest – 221,500
- Per Hildebrand – 221,000
- Julien Martini – 193,000
- Bart Hanson – 187,000
- Robert Mizrachi – 183,500
- Allen Kessler – 183,000
- Dzmitry Urbanovich – 179,000
- Robert Campbell – 175,500
- Larry Wright – 169,000
Tomorrow’s Action (June 28)
Thursday will see the Event #57: $1,000/$10,000 Ladies No-Limit Hold’em Championship get going at 11am. Any fellas thinking it will be ‘funny’ for them to hop in will have to fork out $10,000 to enter, rather than the $1,000 buy-in reserved for females.
Then at 3pm there’s Event #58: $5,000 No-Limit Hold’em 6-Handed, a tournament sure to bring out the best NLHE players in the world.
