2022 WSOP Day 7: Dan Smith Flying High in the $50K High Roller

Matthew Pitt
Senior Editor
5 min read
Dan Smith

Day 7 of the 2022 World Series of Poker (WSOP) is done and dusted, and what an incredible day of poker it turned out to be. No fewer than three players became world champions, while five other events whittled down their fields as they prepare to dish out poker's most coveted piece of poker jewelry.

Amnon Filippi won his first bracelet in Event #7: $1,500 Omaha hi-Lo 8 or Better, a tournament that required an unscheduled fourth day. Chad Eveslage won his maiden bracelet and a cool $1,415,610 when he came out on top in Event #8: $25,000 High Roller.

There was also a first WSOP bracelet for Alex Livingston, who bulldozed his way to victory in Event #9: $1,500 Seven Card Stud.

Away from winning bracelets, Dan Smith is riding high in Event #12: $50,000 High Roller only a couple of days after winning the $25,000 Heads-Up No-Limit Hold'em Championship, while several other players are now within touching distance of realizing their poker dreams of becoming a WSOP champion.

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Smith Riding The Crest of a Wave in the $50,000 High Roller

Dan Smith Bracelet Ceremony

Dan Smith finally shook off the unwanted tag of being the best poker player without a bracelet when he triumphed in the $25,000 Heads-Up No-Limit Hold'em Championship a couple of days ago. Like a shark gets a taste for blood, Smith has a taste for poker gold as is evident by him leading the way in the $50,000 High Roller.

Eighty-three players bought in on Day 1 but only 23 of them made it through unscathed. Smith bagged up 2,035,000 chips and was the only player to break through the two million barrier. However, Michael Rocco (1,990,000) came close, as did David Peters (1,910,000) who is hunting for his fifth WSOP bracelet after securing number four last week.

Eight other players in this stacked field have already tasted victory in a WSOP event. They are Mikita Badziakouski (1,780,000), Chance Kornuth (1,545,000), Andrew Lichtenberger (1,200,000), Erik Seidel (1,200,000), Elio Fox (920,000), Justin Bonomo (685,000), Dylan Linde (565,000), and Eelis Parssinen (545,000).

Play resumes at 1:00 p.m. local time with late registration open until play begins.

Event #12: $50,000 High Roller Top 10 Chip Counts

RankPlayerCountryChip Count
1Dan SmithUnited States2,035,000
2Michael RoccoUnited States1,990,000
3David PetersUnited States1,910,000
4Dario SammartinoItaly1,890,000
5Mikita BadziakouskiBelarus1,780,000
6Chance KornuthUnited States1,545,000
7Chris HunichenUnited States1,400,000
8Andrew LichtenbergerUnited States1,200,000
9Erik SeidelUnited States1,200,000
10Brekstyn Schutten1,190,000 

Find all the $50K High Roller updates right here

Bracelet Winner Hufty in the Mix in The Housewarming Event

Jordan Hufty
Jordan Hufty

Only 12 of the 20,080 players who started The Housewarming event still have chips in front of them, including a certain Jordan Hufty (42,925,000). Hufty won the 2018 Employees Event and is now only 11 eliminations from receiving his second bracelet and what is an incredible $701,215 top prize.

Hufty's stack places him ninth when play resumes at 1:00 p.m. on June 7, and he has plenty of work to do if he wants to reel in the current chip leaders. Christian Taylor is the player to catch courtesy of amassing 221,300,000 chips. Only thre others have more than 100 million. They are Isidro Martinez (155,000,000), Orez Mokedi (125,450,000), and Henry Acain (108,425,000).

Event #5: $500 The Housewarming Top 10 Chip Counts

PlacePlayerCountryChips
1Christian TaylorUnited States221,300,000
2Isidro MartinezUnited States155,000,000
3Orez MokediUnited States125,450,000
4Henry AcainUnited States108,425,000
5Darnell WhiteUnited States76,975,000
6Jen-Yue ChiangUnited States74,775,000
7Yavine BrewerUnited States70,325,000
8Sridhar SangannagariUnited States67,875,000
9Jordan HuftyUnited States42,925,000
10Jared KingeryUnited States30,825,000

Tune into the Housewarming Event updates by clicking here

Ohel Leads $10K Dealers Choice Going Into Day 3

Randy Ohel
Randy Ohel

Only 15 players of the original 123 who started the $10,000 Dealer's Choice remain in contention for the title, the $299,488 top prize and, of course, the tournament's bracelet. It is Randy Ohel (1,101,000) who will be the most confident going into Day 2 because he is in the envious position of chip leader.

That said, any of the 14 players in the chasing pack would also make a worthy champion and they certainly are not only there to make up the numbers. Ten other bracelet winners are still in the hunt, including three-time champions Nick Schulman (904,000) and Greg Mueller (377,000), four-time champion Jeff Madsen (573,000), and five-time bracelet winner Brian Rast (574,000).

Everything points this this even having a thrilling finale, and PokerNews will be with you every step of the way from 2:00 p.m. local time on June 7.

Event #10: $10,000 Dealer's Choice 6-handed Championship Top 10 Chip Counts

RankPlayerCountryChip Count
1Randy OhelUnited States1,101,000
2Naoya KiharaJapan927,000
3Nick SchulmanUnited States904,000
4Tuan LeUnited States635,000
5Brian RastUnited States574,000
6Jeff MadsenUnited States573,000
7Christopher ClaassenUnited States521,000
8Joao VieiraPortugal440,000
9Greg MuellerCanada377,000
10Ben DieboldUnited States325,000

Will Ohel get the job done in the $10K Dealer's Choice?

Big Field Specialist Fashakin Stacks 'em high in the $600 Deepstack

Femi Fashakin
Femi Fashakin

Femi Fashakin knows his way around big field tournament. In 2019, Fashakin won The Big 50, topping a filed of 28,371 to win a WSOP bracelet and $1,147,449 in prize money. He now finds himself at the top of the chip counts of the $600 No-Limit Hold'em Deepstack, a tournament that drew in 5,720 entrants.

Fashakin finished Day 1 with 3,215,000 chips, a stack so large that WSOP staff had to color him up so he could fit his chips into a single overnight bag. His stack contains almost one million more than second-placed Roberto Bendeck (2,235,000). While there are still 289 players remaining in this event, the ball is firmly in Fashakin's court.

Further down the chip count you find Georgios Sotiropoulos, a three-time WSOP bracelet winner. The Greek star returns to the action armed with 1,125,000 chips. Ankush Mandavia (605,000) is another owner of some poker hardware who is through to Day 2, as are Yuri Dzivielevski (540,000), Kevin MacPhee (510,000), and Men "The Master" Nguyen (409,000).

Play resumes at noon local time on June 7.

Event #11: $600 No-Limit Hold'em Deepstack Top 10 Chip Counts

RankPlayerCountryChip Count
1Femi FashakinUnited States3,215,000
2Roberto BendeckUnited States2,235,000
3Ryan DoddUnited States1,890,000
4Junxiu ZhangUnited States1,775,000
5Stanislav SnitsarUnited States1,725,000
6Jiwoo HyulUnited States1,695,000
7Kfir NahumIsrael1,555,000
8Erik CajelaisCanada1,490,000
9Raul BravoUnited States1,475,000
10Felipe ValdezUnited States1,470,000

Don't miss any of the $600 Deepstack action

Fixed Limit Guru Hsiung Tops $1,500 Limit Hold'em Day 1 Counts

Kenny Hsiung
Kenny Hsiung

Kenny Hsiung (248,500) topped the chip counts after Day 1 of the $2,500 Limit Hold'em event, where the 522 strong field was reduced to a more manageable 160 after 15 levels of action. Hsiung won his bracelet in the $3,000 version of this event back in 2012 and is now in pole position to secure a second.

Venkata Tayi (238,000) returns to the action in second place. Tayi came close to winning this event in 2017 but ultimately fell in second place. No doubt he'll be going all out to finish one place deeper this time around.

There are some very talented fixed limit players among the 160 returning players, including Jon Kyte (168,500), Tom Schneider (157,500), Rami Boukai (129,000), former Main Event champion Joe McKeehen (114,000), Brandon Shack-Harris (48,500), and defending champion Yuval Bronshtein (42,500).

Play resumes at 2:00 p.m. local time with the plan to play ten one-hour levels.

Event #12: $1,500 Limit Hold'em Top 10 Chip Counts

RankPlayerCountryChip Count
1Kenny HsiungUnited States248,500
2Venkata TayiUnited States238,000
3Did Not ReportUnited States208,000
4David GeeUnited States188,000
5Frank YakubsonUnited States173,000
6Jon KyteNorway168,500
7Wendy FreedmanUnited States164,000
8Brian NicholsUnited States163,000
9Thanh CaoUnited States158,000
10Tom SchneiderUnited States157,500

Follow along with the $1,500 Limit Hold'em updates

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Matthew Pitt
Senior Editor

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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