2023 WSOP Day 18: First Bracelet For Wong; Kornuth Bags Big in $250K

6 min read
Chance Kornuth

Another day at the 2023 World Series of Poker (WSOP) wrapped up inside the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas. A total of four bracelets were awarded throughout the day and the biggest buy-in tournament of the summer kicked off.

Event #40: $250,000 Super High Roller attracted some of the biggest names in poker. The 56 entries on Day 1 share an incredible 79 bracelets among them. Of course with Phil Hellmuth having the most, 16.

Businessman Dustin Bailey sits on top of the leaderboard after Day 1, leading 37 survivors to Day 2. Bailey increased his starting stack of 1,500,000 to 4,850,000. He’s being chased by Chance Kornuth (4,315,000), Henrik Hecklen (4,285,000), and Artur Martirosian (3,785,000).

Other familiar faces who bagged are Koray Aldemir (3,535,000), Espen Jorstad (2,800,000), Phil Hellmuth (1,590,000), and Phil Ivey (1,235,000).

Late registration is still open until the start of Day 2 and so it looks like last year’s number of 56 entries will be broken.

Jerry Wong Claims First WSOP Bracelet in $10K Razz Championship

Jerry Wong

An extra day was needed in Event #33: $10,000 Razz Championship to play down to a winner and Jerry Wong emerged victorious to capture the $298,682 first-place prize and his first WSOP gold bracelet.

Wong, who finished eighth in the 2016 WSOP Main Event, had been a perennial name on the “Best Without a Bracelet” list having made 11 prior WSOP final tables. That included two runner-up finishes over the past two years, a third-place finish in 2019, and a pair of fourth-place finishes the two years before that.

2023 WSOP Event #33 Final Table Results

PlacePlayerCountryPrize
1Jerry WongUnited States$298,682
2Carlos ChadhaUnited States$184,599
3Michael MoncekUnited States$133,177
4Elior SionUnited Kingdom$97,960
5Talal ShakerchiUnited Kingdom$73,495
6John HenniganUnited States$56,265
7Bryce YockeyUnited States$43,970
8Yuval BronshteinUnited States$35,092

Chris Klodnicki Wins Bracelet No. 2 in Event #35: $10,000 No Limit Hold'em Secret Bounty

Chris Klodnicki

After many ups and downs from chip leader, to short stack, to bracelet glory, Chris Klodnicki emerged victorious in Event #35: $10,000 No Limit Hold'em Secret Bounty.

It marked Klodnicki's second bracelet and $733,317 in prize money was added to his already impressive earnings at the WSOP.

Klodnicki navigated his way through a field of 568 runners, including a stacked final table that had three other bracelet winners and multiple players with seven figures in earnings such as Jeremy Ausmus and Barak Wisbrod.

2023 WSOP Event #35 Final Table Results

PlacePlayerCountryPrize
1Chris KlodnickiUnited States$733,317
2Aram OganyanMexico$453,226
3Barak WisbrodIsrael$323,181
4Jeremy AusmusUnited States$233,690
5Tracy NguyenUnited States$171,389
6Angel GuillenMexico$127,515
7Daniel RezaeiAustria$96,265
8Eric YanovskyUnited States$73,756

Ryutaro Suzuki Becomes Japan's Mixed-Game Master in Event #36: $3,000 Nine Game Mix

Ryutaro Suzuki

A total of 361 players showed up to Event #36: $1,500 Nine Game Mix, generating a prize pool of $963,870 and first-place prize of $221,124.

Ryutaro Suzuki, just 22 years old, became just the seventh World Series of Poker bracelet winner from Japan when he defeated Walter Chambers in a short heads-up match, bringing an end to a dominating final table performance. Suzuki won an online Circuit ring in 2021 for $140,050 but his previous best live WSOP cash was for a 69th place finish in the Eight Game Mix less than a week ago for just over $3,000.

2023 WSOP Event #36 Final Table Results

PlacePlayerCountryPrize
1Ryutaro SuzukiJapan$221,124
2Walter ChambersUnited States$136,667
3Jason PedigoUnited States$92,860
4Tamon NakamuraJapan$64,320
5Ian SteinmanUnited States$45,434
6Renan BruschiBrazil$32,741
7Per HildebrandSweden$24,081

Sean Troha Cements Himself a Winner in Event #34: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha

Sean Troha

Sean Troha was left standing after a fun and exciting three days here in Event #34: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha, capturing his second career WSOP gold bracelet.

Coming into Day 3, only ten players remained and it was anyone’s game. When the dust settled, it was Troha took home the top prize of $298,192, adding to his victory in Event #69: $10,000 Pot Limit Omaha Championship in 2022.

“I guess I’m as confident as I’ve been, there are still better players out there, but I’ve done a little bit of work and I guess I’m just trying to do my best”, Troha told PokerNews following his win on his confidence level in Omaha.

Final Table Results

PlacePlayerCountryPrize
1Sean TrohaUnited States$298,192
2Ryan CoonUnited States$184,305
3Matthew ParryUnited States$134,156
4Benjamin VorelandNorway$98,575
5Matthew BeinnerUnited States$73,530
6Naor SlobodskoyIsrael$55,381
7Robert MizrachiUnited States$42,200
8Jason BullockUnited States$32,537
9Ryan ChristophersonUnited States$25,387

Benny Glaser Leads 10 Players into the Final Day of Event #38: $10,000 Limit 2-7 Triple Draw Championship

Benny Glaser

Day 2 of Event #38: Limit $10,000 Limit 2-7 Triple Draw Championship is over and Benny Glaser is chip leading the final 10 into the final day of play. Glaser is looking to add his name to the increasingly prestigious list of players that have won their fifth bracelet.

The tournament drew a field of 130 players and the prize pool of $1,209,000 paid out to the top 20 finishers. The grand prize is $311,428 and all 10 returning players are guaranteed $25,822.

Glaser is taking 1,695,000 with him to Day but at Glaser’s heels is Finnish poker player Sampo Ryynanen (1,240,000). The other player above the one million mark is Joao Vieira who takes 1,105,000 into Day 3.

End of Day 2 Top 10 Chip Counts

RankPlayerCountryChip CountBig Blinds
1Benny GlaserUnited Kingdom1,695,00085
2Sampo RyynanenFinland1,240,00062
3Joao VieiraPortugal1,105,00055
4Jason PapastavrouUnited States860,00043
5David "Bakes" BakerUnited States750,00038
6Michael RodriguesPortugal735,00037
7Julien MartiniFrance660,00033
8Oscar JohanssonSweden500,00025
9George AlexanderUnited States120,0006
10Alexander WilkinsonUnited States85,0004

Yuan Li Bags the Lead Going Into Day 3; Multiple Big Names Still in the Hunt

Yuan Li

Day 2 of Event #37: $2,000 No-Limit Hold’em ended with only 28 players remaining. Those returning for Day 3 will battle it out for the remainder of the $3,492,360 prize pool with $534,777 and a coveted WSOP gold bracelet reserved for the eventual champion.

Yuan Li bagged the overnight chip lead with 5,350,000 in stack but will have no easy path to victory as he is closely followed by Patrick Truong (5,220,000), and Jeremy Joseph (3,930,000). All three will be gunning to win their first WSOP bracelet when the tournament plays to a winner.

Other notables to make it through to Day 3 include 2017 WSOP Main Event final tablist Antoine Saout (3,615,000), Day 1 chip leader Lee Piniatoglou (2,610,000), bracelet winners Ankush Mandavia (1,240,000) and Carlos Chang (975,000) and the 2023 PSPC champion Aliaksandr Shylko (1,275,000).

End of Day 2 Top 10 Chip Counts

RankPlayerCountryChip CountBig Blinds
1Yuan LiChina5,350,00089
2Patrick TruongUnited States5,220,00087
3Jeremy JosephUnited States3,930,00065
4Mark SeifUnited States3,850,00064
5Antoine SaoutFrance3,615,00060
6Darryl RonconiUnited States3,585,00060
7Daniel LeCanada3,290,00055
8Pavels SpirinsLatvia3,000,07550
9Marc MacDonnellIreland2,970,00050
10Lee PiniatoglouUnited States2,610,00044

Pavlin Karakikov Bags Chip Lead on Day 1a of Event #39: $1,500 Monster Stack

Pavlin Karakikov

A total of 3,945 players entered Day 1a of Event #38: $1,500 Monster Stack, the first of two Day 1 flights. The number smashed the attendance of 2,947 set on Day 1A of last year's event

The gargantuan field generated a massive prize pool of $5,266,575, a number that will continue to grow as Day 1B on Saturday is expected to be an even bigger flight.

After 11 hours of play a total of 1,242 players found a bag for Sunday's Day 2. Pavlin Karakikov ended the day as the chip leader, bagging 593,500 at the end of the day. Other notable big stacks at the end of the day include Arun Malhotra (563,500), Adrian Bertini (549,500) and Fabian Gumz (512,000).

What to Expect on Day 19 of the 2023 WSOP

The PokerNews live reporting team will bring you live and exclusive coverage of all events on June 17th, which is the 19th day of the 2023 World Series of Poker.

For the first time ever at the World Series of Poker there is a Big O tournament as Event #41: $1,500 Big O starts. Event #39: $1,500 Monster Stack has it’s second and final starting day, while late registration closes at the start of Day 2 of Event #40: $250,000 Super High Roller.

Bracelets will be awarded in Event #37: $2,000 No-Limit Hold’em and Event #38: $10,000 Limit 2-7 Triple Draw Championship.

Make sure to head to our 2023 WSOP hub for everything you need to know about this year’s series.

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