WSOP What to Watch For: June 4, 2017
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The first Saturday of the WSOP saw plenty of action with seemingly something for everyone – from an online one-day bracelet event to some lowball fun to Day 2 of the $111,111 One Drop High Roller. With Day 2 of this high-stakes affair coming to a close, it was Bertrand Grospellier atop the heap – hoping for his second bracelet and 29th WSOP cash. Numerous other pros are also in contention and ready to battle it out on Day 3.
Event #6: $111,111 HIGH ROLLER for ONE DROP
Play continued in this prestigious four-day event capping the night with Grospellier leading the pack with 7,040,000 in chips and 23 players still remaining. Only 20 will make the money with a min-cash paying $166,666 for places 17-20. The event attracted 130 entries for a prize pool of almost $14 million – with some players even firing a second bullet in hopes for the top prize of $3,686,865.
Following Grospellier were Dario Sammartino with 6,080,000 and Scott Seiver with 4,920,000. Other major names still alive in the field include Big One for One Drop winners Dan Colman with 4,100,000 and Antonio Esfandiari with 2,105,000. Day 1 leader Martin Jacobson is still alive with 3,805,000, as are Doug Polk (3,500,000), Phil Hellmuth (2,870,000), and Phil Galfond (1,685,000). Polk seemed pleased with where he stood as he returned for Day 3, while Hellmuth steamed over a laydown he made against Grospellier on the final hand of the night.
Ended the day with exactly 3.5m, 23 players remain! 3 lucky players get to come back tomorrow and bubble.
— gN Doug Polk (@DougPolkPoker)
Can't play any better @WSOP $111,111 One Drop, except when Elky put 1.6 million in w straight draw (J-10) on KQQ3 and I had Q9 and folded!
— phil_hellmuth (@phil_hellmuth)
This high roller bracelet would be a nice bullet point on the poker resumé for any of the rounders remaining. Players will return for Day 3 on Sunday at 2 p.m. in Level 16 with blinds at 30,000/60,000 and play down to the final table. Play will then pick up on Monday until a champion is crowned. PokerNews will have all the live updates right here.
Event #5: THE COLOSSUS III - $565 No-Limit Hold'em
The massive fields continued as Day 1c and 1d starting flights got underway at 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. The first flight ended with 3,102 total entries, the largest of the first three. Mark Johnson Jr. finished as the chip leader with 368,000. Johnson has seven WSOP cashes and $309,000 in tournament earnings. Rounding out the top three are Alexander Borteh with 365,000 and Matt Holtzman with 356,000
The second flight attracted 2,324 entries and came to a conclusion early Sunday morning with 82 players players remaining in the field, all of whom will at least take home a minimum cash of $1,668. They will return Monday for Day 2 with all those who advance from the three six starting flights. Matt Joyce leads with 440,000 in chips, followed by Cord Garcia with 415,000. Garcia won this event in 2015 and is fresh off a win on the Heartland Poker Tour in February for almost $249,000. Other big stacks include Dan Healey (341,000), James Manganaro (319,000) and 2015 Borgata Spring Poker Open/WPT World Championship winner Asher Conniff (314,000).
The last starting flights are set for Sunday at 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. with Day 2 set for Monday at 2 p.m. The four-day tournament will play to a winner on Wednesday. An interesting change for this event is the increase levels from 30 minutes to one hour beginning on Day 2. PokerNews will offer all the live updates for this event, don’t miss a hand.
Event #7: $2,500 Mixed Triple Draw Lowball
The triple-draw lowball action got underway today and plenty of rounders were ready for these unique poker variants. After 10 levels of play, Wes Self leads the field with 97,000 chips, followed by Jared Bleznick with 91,300, and Joe "Bubba" Wagner with 85,300. Self has six WSOP cashes and $175,413 in tournament earnings, but is still looking for that first bracelet.
Eric Wasserson (78,000) and Matt Scrhieber (79,000) also had nice stacks going into Day 2. Other notable names still alive are Brandon-Shack Harris, Jason Mercier, and David "ODB" Baker. Last year’s champion Christopher Vitch was eliminated as were Daniel Negreanu, Robert Mizrachi, and Marco Johnson. Play resumes on Sunday at 2 p.m. and follow all the lowball action with PokerNews’ live updates by clicking here.
Event #9: $10,000 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship
This is a major event as many pros look to win the championship of this popular variant. While Benny “The Razor” Glaser did not cash in the $1,500 version Omaha Hi-Lo (he won the event in 2016), he shines in this game and will look to add another bracelet to his trophy case. And by the way, Glaser won this event in 2016 also. Play gets underway at 3 p.m. and PokerNews will have all the live updates from this three-day tournament.
