Arieh and Bonomo Top Characteristically Slow Day 1 of $50,000 Poker Players Championship

Mo Nuwwarah
3 min read
Phil Ivey, Justin Bonomo, Michael Mizrachi, and Josh Arieh

While the highly anticipated Event #58: $50,000 Poker Players Championship kicked off on Monday, Day 1 served up the usual minute morsels of action.

While plenty of hands were played across the eleven hours that players graced the Amazon Tan section, only one player got felted and only a couple of the grinders were able to climb to twice the starting stack.

After six levels of play — really, three double levels — Josh Arieh and Justin Bonomo are pacing ahead of the 63 players remaining. Arieh finished with 658,500 while Bonomo slightly trails him with 646,100.

Arieh got the honor of playing sole executioner on the day as he sent former champ Mike Gorodinsky packing just before the end of the night to prevent an unusual 64-for-64 bagging time. As is typical in the early PPC stages, it was the big bet games that did it, with Gorodinsky's pet peeve pot-limit Omaha proving his demise. He found a decent spot to get his chips in with a set on the turn, but Arieh's monster draw got there.

It was the cherry on top of a fine day for Arieh, who registered early on and quickly moved from 300,000 starting to over 400,000 and then 500,000, where he remained most of the day.

Bonomo waited slightly longer to hop in, but while he drew a seat on Phil Ivey's right that most players would be eyeing warily, Bonomo was able to extract chips from the legend in a few spots en route to a second-place bag.

Mike Gorodinsky
Former winner Mike Gorodinsky was the only player to fall on Day 1 of the $50K PPC

A few 2019 bracelet winners also had solid days. Adam Friedman (462,100), John Hennigan (444,300), and Stephen Chidwick (411,000) each grinded their ways north of 400,000. On the other hand, Daniel Negreanu (72,700), Anthony Zinno (65,300), and especially Julien Martini (18,900) endured frustrating Day 1s and will be looking to recover on Day 2. Defending champion Michael Mizrachi, who won this event in 2010, 2012, and 2018, will start the second day with 168,100 in chips.

Said Day 2 will begin at 2 p.m. on Tuesday. Tournament organizers will be hoping the 64 entries ticks up as it's a bit behind pace of the 77 who registered on Day 1 last year. Still, registration remains open for several hours on Day 2, so plenty of time remains. Check back in with PokerNews to follow the WSOP $50,000 Poker Players Championship live updates as more impactful play develops on Day 2.

Seat Draw Day 2 Event #58: $50,000 Poker Players Championship

RoomTableSeatPlayerCountryChip Count
Amazon4141Roman YitzhakiUnited States248,800
Amazon4142Julien MartiniFrance18,900
Amazon4143Timofey KuznetsovRussia220,400
Amazon4144Prahlad FriedmanUnited States464,500
Amazon4145David "ODB" BakerUnited States369,700
      
Amazon4151Stephen ChidwickUnited Kingdom411,000
Amazon4152Andrew BrownUnited States436,600
Amazon4153Daniel NegreanuCanada72,700
Amazon4155Shaun DeebUnited States364,600
Amazon4156Jesse MartinUnited States289,200
      
Amazon4162Roy ThungUnited States332,000
Amazon4163Josh AriehUnited States658,000
Amazon4164Matthew AshtonUnited Kingdom390,200
Amazon4165Adam FriedmanUnited States462,100
Amazon4166Eric WassersonUnited States175,000
      
Amazon4171Scott SeiverUnited States358,000
Amazon4172Ben YuUnited States291,400
Amazon4173Brian RastUnited States242,200
Amazon4174Chris VitchUnited States282,000
Amazon4175Dan SmithUnited States204,000
Amazon4176Jake SchwartzUnited States184,400
      
Amazon4181Jason MercierUnited States345,600
Amazon4182Matt GlantzUnited States243,500
Amazon4183Majid YahyaeiUnited States317,000
Amazon4185Phil IveyUnited States344,300
Amazon4186Michael MizrachiUnited States168,100
      
Amazon4191Luke SchwartzUnited Kingdom302,000
Amazon4192Nick SchulmanUnited States125,000
Amazon4193Matthew WoodCanada83,200
Amazon4194Benny GlaserUnited Kingdom280,400
Amazon4195Ray DehkharghaniUnited States252,200
Amazon4196Phil GalfondUnited States189,200
      
Amazon4221Justin BonomoUnited States646,100
Amazon4222Phillip HuiUnited States250,000
Amazon4223Eli ElezraUnited States331,600
Amazon4224Jared BleznickUnited States488,000
Amazon4225Daniel CatesUnited States135,200
Amazon4226Matthew GonzalesUnited States343,600
      
Amazon4231Talal ShakerchiUnited Kingdom386,900
Amazon4233David BachUnited States356,900
Amazon4234Randy OhelUnited States216,500
Amazon4235Robert MackieUnited States303,000
Amazon4236Mike GlickUnited States521,000
      
Amazon4241Dario SammartinoItaly293,900
Amazon4242Lyle BermanUnited States382,300
Amazon4244Brock ParkerUnited States319,200
Amazon4245David BenyamineUnited States141,500
Amazon4246John MonnetteUnited States272,100
      
Amazon4251James ObstAustralia189,200
Amazon4252John EspositoUnited States585,000
Amazon4253David OppenheimUnited States48,000
Amazon4254Anthony ZinnoUnited States65,300
Amazon4255Yong WangChina343,700
      
Amazon4261Mikael ThuritzUnited States411,500
Amazon4262Paul VolpeUnited States242,700
Amazon4263John HenniganUnited States444,300
Amazon4264Robert MizrachiUnited States284,600
Amazon4266Bryce YockeyUnited States198,000
      
Amazon4271Elior SionUnited Kingdom150,500
Amazon4273Isaac HaxtonUnited States410,200
Amazon4274Mike WattelUnited States192,400
Amazon4275Daniel ZackUnited States175,400
Amazon4276Gus HansenDenmark238,700

Day 4 and the Final Table of this illustrous event are broadcasted LIVE via PokerGO! Sign up now and watch the greatest poker player's alive battle it out for millions!

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Mo Nuwwarah

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