2023 WSOP Day 20: Johnny Chan in the Hunt for Bracelet No. 11

Matthew Pitt
Senior Editor
5 min read
Johnny Chan

Day 20 of the 2023 World Series of Poker at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas occurred on June 18. Three events awarded their respective bracelet, while another trio of bracelet-awarding events nudged closer to dishing out theirs.

The first bracelet of the day went to "suited_h13" in Online Event #6: $500 No-Limit Hold'em Turbo. It took a little over six hours for the 1,203-strong field to be reduced to only one player, the tournament's champion. "suited_h13" took home $134,527 for their efforts, which is an incredible hourly rate!

Chris Brewer reeled in the largest score by far of the series so far, a whopping $5,293,556. Brewer came out on top of the $250,000 Super High Roller, captured his maiden bracelet and denied Artur Martirosian his first piece of poker hardware. Brewer now has more than $15 million in live poker tournament earnings.

Bracelet number three came from the second online event of the day, the $500 PLO 6-Handed, and it was Joe Serock who got their hands on it. They outlasted 601 opponents, including Millard Hale heads-up, to become a WSOP champion for the first time. Oh, and they raked in $93,911 for their efforts.

Big O Reaches Day 3 With 18 Players; Chan in the Mix

Johnny Chan
Johnny Chan

Poker legend Johnny Chan has a realistic shot of becoming only the second player in history to win more than ten bracelets because he is still in the mix in Event #41: $1,500 Big O with only 18 players remaining.

Chan currently has ten WSOP bracelets on his resume, the two-time WSOP Main Event champion has not added to his collection since 2005. Could all that change on June 19 when he returns to the action 12th in chips?

Plenty of talented players stand between Chan and his 11th bracelet. They include Victor Ramdin (3,495,000), Bjorn Verbakel (3,090,000), Adam Owen (2,705,000), Robert Williamson III (2,700,000), and Owais Ahmed (2,225,000).

Play resumes at 1:00 p.m. local time on June 19, and continues until a champion is crowned. Will Chan be that champion? Tune into PokerNews to find out.

Event #41: $1,500 Big O Top 10 Chip Counts

RankPlayerCountryChip CountBig Blinds
1Gary GwinnUnited States4,570,00076
2Victor RamdinUnited States3,495,00058
3Scott AbramsUnited States3,200,00053
4Bjorn VerbakelNetherlands3,000,00050
5William HaffnerUnited States2,805,00047
6Adam OwenUnited Kingdom2,705,00045
7Robert Williamson IIIUnited States2,700,00045
8Xu ZhuUnited States2,410,00040
9Owais AhmedUnited States2,250,00038
10Billy WardUnited States1,980,00033

Terminator Cates Begins his PPC Title Defence; Ivey Bags Second-Largest Stack

Dan Terminator Cates
Dan Cates

Seventy-three players bought into Event #43: $50,000 Poker Players Championship, including back-to-back champion Dan Cates, and a certain Phil Ivey.

Cates entered the mix dressed as the Terminator, and was almost terminated early into proceedings, but fought back to finish with 305,000 and the chance of an epic three-peat.

Ivey fared much better than Cates; he crammed 944,500 chips into an overnight bag. Ivey made an incredible call that showed why many consider him the GOAT. Only Josh Arieh (1,088,000) bagged a larger stack than the ten-time WSOP bracelet winner.

Phil Ivey
Phil Ivey

Fifty-four players remained at the close of play, and the list reads like a who's who of the poker world. James Obst (929,500), John Monnette (800,500), and Viktor Blom (784,000) finished in the top five, while Jeremy Ausmus (737,500), Bryce Yockey (634,000), Elior Sion (620,000), David Williams (585,500), and Matthew Ashton (565,000) find themselves in the top 10.

Play resumes on June 19 at 1:00 p.m. local time, and late registration remains open for the first three levels. Keep with PokerNews as we bring you all of the action from this incredible tournament.

Event #43: $50,000 Poker Players Championship Top 10 Chip Counts

 RankPlayerChip Count
 1Josh Arieh1,088,000
 2Phil Ivey944,500
 3James Obst929,500
 4John Monnette800,500
 5Viktor Blom784,000
 6Jeremy Ausmus737,500
 7Bryce Yockey634,000
 8Elior Sion620,000
 9David Williams585,000
 10Matthew Ashton565,000

Vohra Bags Big on Day 2 of the Monster Stack

Raj Vohra
Raj Vohra

Only 389 of the 8,317 players that bought into Event #39: $1,500 Monster Stack remain, and it is David Vedral (4,350,000) who leads them back into battle on Day 3.

Eight of the overnight top ten have at least three million chips in their stacks. Ahmed Karrim (3,890,000), Rayane Bouibeb (3,830,000), Raj Vohra (3,780,000), Robert Bickley (3,240,000), Frederic Normand (3,095,000), Jesse Yaginuma (3,060,000), and Koveh Waysei (3,000,000) being those players.

Further down the counts you find the likes of David Jackson (1,995,000), Kyle Julius (1,915,000), Nate Silver (1,430,000), poker legend Barry Greenstein (1,225,000), and Joe Cada (800,000).

Event #39: $1,500 Monster Stack Top 10 Chip Counts

RankPlayerCountryChip CountBig Blinds
1David VedralAustria4,350,000145
2Ahmed KarrimSouth Africa3,890,000130
3Rayane BouibebFrance3,830,000128
4Raj VohraUnited States3,780,000126
5Robert BickleyUnited Kingdom3,240,000108
6Frederic NormandCanada3,095,000103
7Jesse YaginumaUnited States3,060,000102
8Koveh WayseiUnited States3,000,000100
9Adam FellonUnited States2,795,00093
10Christopher MarcadetUnited States2,765,00092

Chino Rheem Leads the $800 NLHE Deepstack

Chino Rheem
Chino Rheem

Chino Rheem finds himself at the top of the chip counts in Event #42: $800 No-Limit Hold'em Deepstack where a record-breaking crowd of 3,778 players turned out. At the close of play and the completion of 22 levels, only 238 players remain, and Rheem's 2,450,000) stack is the largest of them all.

Pat Lyons (2,360,000) finished just behind Rheem in the chip leader race, with Paul Grande (2,055,000) rounding out the top three.

Antoine Saout (1,620,000) is also through to Day 2, as are 2021 WSOP Main Event champion Koray Aldemir (1,465,000), Joe Kuether (1,005,000), Dylan Linde (615,000), Martin Finger (510,000), and David Pham (450,000).

The cards are back in the air from 10:00 a.m. local time on June 19, and PokerNews' live reporting team will be on the ground throughout the day.

Event #42: $800 No-Limit Hold'em Deepstack Top 10 Chip Counts

RankPlayerCountryChip CountBig Blinds
1Chino RheemUnited States2,450,00082
2Pat LyonsUnited States2,360,00079
3Paul GrandeUnited States2,055,00069
4DID NOT REPORT 5United States1,815,00061
5Antoine SaoutFrance1,620,00054
6Alphonsus YoonCanada1,600,00053
7Ryan GoindooTrinidad & Tobago1,600,00053
8Tsubasa SasakiJapan1,595,00053
9Camille BrownUnited States1,535,00051
10David BullingerUnited States1,520,00051

What to Expect on Day 21 of the 2023 WSOP

Two new tournaments begin on Day 21 of the 2023 WSOP. June 19 sees Event #45: $1,500 Mixed Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better shuffle up and deal. The other fresh event is Event #44: $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em.

Event #39: $1,500 Monster Stack will be strides towards its final table, while Event #41: $1,500 Big O will hand out its bracelet. Event #42: $800 No-Limit Hold'em Deepstack (8-Handed) will also play down to a worthy winner, while the star-studded Event #43: $50,000 Poker Players Championship also continues.

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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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