WSOP What To Watch For: Phil Hellmuth Eyes Bracelet #14
If you thought Day 5 of the 2014 World Series of Poker was a spectacle, Day 6 is going to be an absolute circus. After nearly 8,000 players participated in the $1,500 Millionaire Maker event on Saturday (1,466 of which survived to Day 2), thousands of players will return on Sunday for Event #9, a $1,000 no-limit hold'em event that kicks off Sunday afternoon.
The big story, though, is Phil Hellmuth's quest for his 14th bracelet. We'll lead off there for the Sunday edition of What to Watch For.
Event #7: $1,500 Seven-Card Razz
Phil Hellmuth is best known for his accomplishments in no-limit hold'em. Twelve of his 13 bracelets have come in the hold'em variant, and Hellmuth has determinedly proclaimed himself as the greatest hold'em player in the world.
But in the past few years we've seen Hellmuth turn a corner, focusing more on mixed games. In 2011 he had three runner-up finishes — a second in a stud eight-or-better, a second in a no-limit deuce-to-seven, and a second in the $50K H.O.R.S.E. Then in 2012 he won the razz event for his 12th bracelet.
Last month, Hellmuth even told PokerNews' Rich Ryan that he expects to win more mixed-game bracelets than no-limit hold'em bracelets for the rest of his poker career.
He just might follow through with that prediction. Hellmuth made the final table of Event #7: $1,500 Seven-Card Razz – a tournament that attracted 352 runners and created a prize pool of $475,200. He'll return on Sunday second in chips, putting him in prime position to make a run at the $121,196 first-place prize and his 14th gold bracelet.
However, to capture it he’ll have to top an incredibly stacked final table of mixed-game stars. Greg Pappas, a poker industry veteran, will start the final table as chip leader with 391,500, while last year’s runner-up, David “Gunslinger” Bach sits in third with 295,000. The final table also includes Brandon Cantu (175,000) and Ted Forrest (171,000).
We'll be covering the Event #7 from start to finish beginning at 2 p.m. on Sunday. Be sure to tune in!
Event #6: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em Shootout
The first shootout of the summer is down to its final 12 players. Bracelet winners Josh Arieh, Shawn Busse and Alex Bolotin are in contention for the $259,211.
However, due to the unique shootout format of the shootout event it is truly anyone's tournament to win as less than three big blinds separate leader Steven Loube (361,000) and short stack Steven Geralis (346,000) in chip counts. Here's a look at the lineup:
| Table | Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 446 | 1 | Shawn Busse | USA | 354,000 |
| 446 | 2 | Alex Bolotin | USA | 353,000 |
| 446 | 3 | Colin York | USA | 353,000 |
| 446 | 4 | Dimitar Danchev | Bulgaria | 352,000 |
| 446 | 5 | Maxx Coleman | USA | 354,000 |
| 446 | 6 | Josh Arieh | USA | 358,000 |
| 450 | 1 | Jon Lane | USA | 350,000 |
| 450 | 2 | Steven Loube | USA | 361,000 |
| 450 | 3 | Jared Jaffee | USA | 354,000 |
| 450 | 4 | David Trager | USA | 354,000 |
| 450 | 5 | Douglas Foster | USA | 358,000 |
| 450 | 6 | Steven Geralis | USA | 346,000 |
Players will resume the tournament at 1 p.m. on Sunday and an unofficial final table will be set after two players are eliminated. Be sure to tune back in to PokerNews for the conclusion of Event #6.
Event #8: $1,500 Millionaire Maker
That's right. Nearly 1,500 players will return for Day 2 of the Millionaire Maker on Sunday. So many, in fact, that WSOP organizers had to push back the restart in order to secure enough space in the Rio.
The incredible turnout in Event #8 created a top prize of $1,319,587, a sizable increase over the $1,199,104 that Benny Chen received for his title last year. The plan on Day 2 is to play down through the money and as close to a final table as possible, but we're sensing that it will take a minimum of four days to complete this historic event.
Among the notables returning with healthy stacks on Sunday are Greg Mueller, Trevor Pope, Maurice Hawkins, Tony Gregg, Matt Glantz and Andrew Seidman, who bagged 137,000 late Saturday night — good for second overall on the leaderboard.
Check out the live reporting blog at 2 p.m. as we bring you up-to-the-minute coverage of the second largest tournament in WSOP history.
Also kicking off on Sunday are Event #9: $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em and Event #10: $10,000 Limit Omaha Hi-Low Championship. Here's a look at the full schedule of Events on Day 6:
- 12:00 p.m. — Event #9: $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em (Day 1 of 3)
- 1:00 p.m. — Event #6: $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em Shootout (Day 3 of 3)
- 2:00 p.m. — Event #8: $1,500 Millionaire Maker (Day 2 of 3)
- 2:00 p.m. — Event #7: $1,500 Seven-Card Razz (Day 3 of 3)
- 4:00 p.m. — Event #10: $10,000 Limit Omaha Hi-Low Championship (Day 1 of 3)
Stay tuned to the PokerNews Live Reporting blog for extensive coverage the World Series of Poker, including Hellmuth's quest for his 14th WSOP bracelet!
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