2021 WSOP Day 39: Main Event Breaks Through 4,500 Entrants; Ajayi Tops Counts

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Nov 08, 2021 3 min read

The $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em Main Event World Championship was the only tournament running on Day 39 of the 2021 World Series of Poker (WSOP). november 7 saw Day 1d of the Main Event utilize all three cavernous tournament rooms at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino, with more than 2,500 players choosing the fourth flight as the time to begin their quest for WSOP Main Event glory.

The 2,550 entrants on Day 1d were more than the previous three flights’ combined attendances. Some 4,518 players have bought in so far, and that number is set to increase with two more flights taking place on November 8 and November 9, flights that should be full of European stars after the United States lifted COVID-19 related travel restrictions.

Day 1d concluded after five two-hour levels. Some 1,933 players had chips in front of them when the curtain came down on proceedings, with some of poker’s biggest names being among those surviving players.

Adedapo Ajayi Tops Main Event Day 1d Chip Counts

Adedapo Ajayi thoroughly enjoyed himself on Day 1d of the 2021 WSOP Main Event, a day he ended by cramming a tournament-leading stack of 340,900 chips into his overnight chip bag. The man from Colorado has been in hot form during 2021. Ajayi won the $3,700 WPT Choctaw Main Event for a career-best $558,610 in July, and finished fifth in the MSPT Blackhawk Showdown Series Main Event for $32,836 in mid-August.

Ajayi may have secured the chip lead on the fourth Main Event flight, but scores of elite players also punched their Day 2 tickets and gave themselves a chance of becoming this tournament’s champion.

Adedapo Ajayi (340,900), Zachary Grech (318,400), David "Bakes" Baker (247,300), Dan Shak (229,200), and David Stefanski (213,900) each bagged up large stacks at the close of play.

Further notables who will return with a big stack then are James Chen (209,400), Shyam Srinivasan (206,000), Cliff Josephy (198,600), Yevgeniy Timoshenko (194,800), Nick Petrangelo (180,000), Matt Berkey (179,800), Greg Mueller (176,700), Ben Heath (176,000), Roland Israelashvili (173,700), and Jun Obara (169,400).

Relive all the 2021 WSOP Main Event action

Event #67: $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em Main Event Day 1d Top 10 Chip Counts

More than 600 players saw the their dreams of becoming poker’s world champion lay in tatters throughout Day 1d. Adam Levy, Michael Ruane, Jason Somerville, Eric "BarstoolNate" Nathan, Joseph Cheong, Esther Taylor, Brandon Shack-Harris, Ryan Laplante, Julien Martini, Phil Laak, and David Williams all departed before play ended for another day.

Two former WSOP Main Event champions were also among the notable casualties on the fourth starting day. Joe McKeehen and Greg Raymer failed to make it through to Day 2 in pursuit of earning a repeat victory. Raymer's run ended in level three when his dominated ace failed to get there against Victor Peppe.

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Two Main Event Flights Remain

There are two more flights remaining in the Main Event. Day 1e shuffles up and deals on November 8 with Day 1f commencing on November 9. Late registration remains open until approximately 3:40 p.m. local time on November 10, which is during Day 2cef.

Those last two flights should be brimming with international players with the United States relaxing its travel restrictions. Could we see a record turnout for the 2021 WSOP Main Event? Stick with PokerNews to find out.

Matthew Pitt hails from Leeds, West Yorkshire, in the United Kingdom, and has worked in the poker industry since 2008, and worked for PokerNews since 2010. In September 2010, he became the editor of PokerNews. Matthew stepped away from live reporting duties in 2015, and now concentrates on his role of Senior Editor for the PokerNews.

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