2023 WSOP Day 22: Ashton Hunting for Second $50K PPC Title

Matthew Pitt
Senior Editor
6 min read
Matthew Ashton

There may have only been one bracelet awarded on Day 21 of the 2023 World Series of Poker at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas, but there was no shortage of action. Several events fill the vast tournament areas, and plenty of stellar names find themselves still in the hunt for some poker gold.

The eighth online event of the 2023 WSOP, the $3,200 No-Limit Hold'em High Roller, revealed its winner, and Jeremy "ChipChecka" Ausmus is that champion. Ausmus outlasted a star-studded field of 321 entrants, and captured $360,036 of the $1,489,600 prize pool plus a much sought-after piece of WSOP hardware, the sixth of his career.

Poker Players Championship Reaches Day 4; Ashton Leads Final 12

Matthew Ashton (4,450,000) is looking to join an exclusive club of stars that have won the $50,000 Poker Players Championship more than once. Michael Mizrachi has won this event three times, while Brian Rast and Dan Cates are both two-time champions.

Ashton clinched the title in the 2013 edition of this prestigious event, and is now the chip leader of Event #43: $50,000 Poker Players Championship, where only 11 opponents stand between him and a place in poker's history books.

Eight of Ashton's remaining 11 opponents are bracelet winners. The aforementioned Rast (3,365,000) is hot on his heels, while Phil Ivey (3,135,000) has his eyes on an 11th piece of poker gold.

Josh Arieh (2,360,000), Ray Dehkharghani (2,285,000), Daniel Alaei (1,885,000), James Obst (1,805,000), Johannes Becker (1,520,000), and Marco Johnson (375,000) are the other bracelet-sporting competitors.

This star-studded tournament resumes at 1:00 p.m. local time on June 21. Join PokerNews then for all the PPC updates you can handle.

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

RankPlayerCountryChip Count
1Matthew AshtonUnited Kingdom4,450,000
2Hal RotholzUnited States3,900,000
3Talal ShakerchiUnited Kingdom3,430,000
4Brian RastUnited States3,365,000
5Phil IveyUnited States3,135,000
6Josh AriehUnited States2,360,000
7Ray DehkharghaniUnited States2,285,000
8Daniel AlaeiUnited States1,885,000
9James ObstAustralia1,805,000
10Johannes BeckerGermany1,520,000
11Kristopher TongUnited States1,190,000
12Marco JohnsonUnited States375,000

Cada Reaches Final Seven of the Monster Stack But Is Short

Joe Cada
Joe Cada

The 2009 WSOP Main Event champion Joe Cada (16,600,000) navigated his way to the final table of Event #39: $1,500 Monster Stack, but he did so with the shortest stack of the seven remaining players.

Cada, a four-time bracelet winner, enters the final table with a meager eight big blinds at his disposal, while the chip leader has 57 big blinds.

Nicholas Gerrity (112,300,000) is that leader. Gerrity and Cada are joined at the table by Jesse Rockowitz (94,500,000), Braxton Dunaway (54,900,000), Colin Robinson (47,400,000), Loic Dobrigna (47,100,000), and Joshua Adcock (43,200,000).

Cards are back in the air at 5:00 p.m. local time on June 21, a later time than usual due to PokerGO streaming the final table action. You can follow the text live updates here at PokerNews.

Event #39: $1,500 Monster Stack Final table Seat Draw

SeatPlayerCountryChipsBig Blinds
2Jesse RockowitzUnited States94,500,00047
3Nicholas GerrityUnited States112,300,00056
4Loic DobrignaFrance47,100,00024
5Colin RobinsonUnited States47,400,00024
6Joshua AdcockUnited States43,200,00022
7Braxton DunawayUnited States54,900,00027
8Joe CadaUnited States16,600,0008

Simao in the Hunt for the $3,000 NLHE Bracelet

Joao Simao
Joao Simao

Brazilian sensation Joao Simao (1,830,000) finds himself second in chips going into Day 3 of Event #44: $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em, where only 108 opponents stand between him and a third bracelet.

Simao won an online bracelet in 2021 before adding to his collection in 2022, doing so in the $5,000 Nixed No-Limit Hold'em/Pot-Limit Omaha event. Can he capture his third piece of WSOP hardware?

China's Yang Zhang (1,880,000) is the only player with more chips than Simao at the restart.

Other stellar names still in contention include Eliot Hudon (1,340,000), David Miscikowski (1,005,000), Shannon Shorr (975,000), start-of-the-day chip leader Ramiro Petrone (735,000), British star Chris Moorman (695,000), and reigning WSOP Main Event champion Espen Jorstad (505,000).

The action resumes at 11:00 a.m. on June 21, with the plan to play another ten hour-long levels. As always, PokerNews is the place for your WSOP live updates.

Event #44: $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em Top 10 Chip Counts

RankPlayerCountryChip CountBig Blinds
1Yang ZhangChina1,880,00094
2Joao SimaoBrazil1,830,00092
3Aleks DimitrovBulgaria1,655,00083
4Eliot HudonCanada1,340,00067
5Kartik VedIndia1,335,00067
6[Removed:435]Greece1,270,00064
7John MarinoUnited States1,255,00063
8Frederic NormandCanada1,225,00061
9Andrei StoenescuRomania1,225,00061
10Christian RobertsVenezuela1,205,00060

Couden On Course for the $1,500 Mixed Omaha Hi-Lo Title

Joey Couden
Joey Couden

Joey Couden (2,885,000) has given himself every chance of becoming a two-time WSOP bracelet winner by bagging up the Day 2 chip lead in Event #45: $1,500 Mixed Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better.

Couden leads the final 33 players back into battle on June 21, and what an elite group they are. Nick Kost (2,010,000) is second in chips and the only other player with more than two million chips.

Elsewhere in the overnight top 10, you find Shaun Deeb (1,490,000), Alex Livingston (1,340,000), Allan Le (1,290,000), and Raj Vohra (1,020,000).

The you have such luminaries as Vangelis Kaimakamis (850,000), Martin Zamani (625,000), and Leif Force (320,000).

The 33 bracelet hopefuls return to their seats from 1:00 p.m. on June 21, with the PokerNews live reporting team watching them like a hawk.

Event #45: $1,500 Mixed Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Top 10 Chip Counts

RankPlayerCountryChip Count
1Joey CoudenUnited States2,885,000
2Nick KostUnited States2,010,000
3Carlos GuerreroUnited States1,606,000
4Shaun DeebUnited States1,490,000
5Chris DeMaciUnited States1,455,000
6Alex LivingstonCanada1,340,000
7Allan LeUnited States1,290,000
8William KerkaertUnited States1,030,000
9Zhen CaiUnited States1,025,000
10Raj VohraUnited States1,020,000

Huge Crowd of 5,342 Turn out for the $500 NLHE Freezeout

Preston McEwen
Preston McEwen

Another huge crowd of 5,342 players entered Event #46: $500 No-Limit Hold'em Freezeout but only 238 of those starters remained after the completion of 22 levels. Weathering the storm the best was Preston McEwen, who bagged and tagged a stack of 2,040,000 at the close of play, the only player with at least two million chips.

Nicholas Ronalds (1,960,000) almost eclipsed two million, but had to settle for 1,960,000.

As you would expect from a $500 buy-in live event, most of the field comprised of keen amateur and recreational players. However, a host of the game's stars jumped into the fast-paced event, with some progressing to Day 2.

David Jackson (805,000), Erik Cajelais (615,000), Jamie Kerstetter (495,000), Justin Pechie (365,000), Brett Richey (280,000), and Ian Matakis (270,000) being some of those high-profile survivors.

10:00 a.m. local time on June 21 is when the Day 2 players return to their seats, where they hope to remain throughout the day. A champion will be crowned, so stay tuned to PokerNews to discover who that champion is.

Event #46: $500 No-Limit Hold'em Freezeout Top 10 Chip Counts

RankPlayerCountryChip CountBig Blinds
1Preston McEwenUnited States2,040,00068
2Nicholas RonaldsUnited States1,960,00065
3Yita ChoongAustralia1,840,00061
4Kenneth HernandezUnited States1,800,04560
5Alcioni PollermannBrazil1,690,00056
6Marc DesantisUnited States1,600,00053
7Derek BrumbaughUnited States1,585,00053
8Spencer ChamplinUnited States1,580,00053
9Russell KochUnited States1,495,00050
10Enjamin MirsaidiGermany1,490,00050

Thorpe Gallops Off With $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. Chip Lead

Mike Thorpe
Mike Thorpe

Event #47: $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. kicked off with 836 players but only 260 had chips requiring bagging and tagging at the end of 15 levels of mixed game fun and frolics. Mike Thorpe (252,500) bagged the most chips, closely followed by Yueqi Zhu (243,000), and Israel Garcia (237,000).

Non-hold'em events always attract well-known pros, and this tournament was different. Phillip Hui (212,000), Dan Colpoys (193,500), and Yuri Dzivielevski (189,500) return to the Day 2 action with top ten stacks.

Lower down the counts, you find such luminaries as Frank Kassela (164,000), Joao Vieira (158,000), David "Bakes" Baker (130,000), the 2021 WSOP Main Event champion Koray Aldemir (130,000), six-time bracelet winner Jeff Lisandro (120,000), and five-time WSOP champion Brian Yoon (101,000).

The surviving horses are back under starters orders from 1:00 p.m. local time on June 21, with PokerNews bringing you all the twists and turns as the players navigate their way through another ten 60-minute levels.

Event #47: $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. Top 10 Chip Counts

RankPlayerCountryChip Count
1Mike ThorpeUnited States252,500
2Yueqi ZhuChina243,000
3Israel GarciaUnited States237,000
4Phillip HuiUnited States212,000
5Liam MurphyUnited States208,500
6William ShortUnited States194,000
7Dan ColpoysUnited States193,500
8Yuri DzivielevskiBrazil189,500
9Joseph PalmaUnited States188,000
10Lawrence CesareoUnited States187,500

What to Expect on Day 23 of the 2023 WSOP

Hold onto your hats because Day 23 of the 2023 WSOP is going to be huge. In addition to Event #39: $1,500 Monster Stack, Event #43: $50,000 Poker Players Championship, Event #44: $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em, Event #45: $1,500 Mixed Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better, Event #46: $500 No-Limit Hold'em Freezeout, and Event #47: $1,500 H.O.R.S.E continuing, another three tournaments shuffle up and deal for the first time; each should attract big crowds.

Event #48: $1,000 Seniors Championship will be massive; last year's event drew in 7,188 entries. Event #49: $1,500 Super Turbo Bounty No-Limit Hold'em should also see circa 3,000 entrants, while Event #50: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship will feature a more compact field in the region 700-800 players. All-in-all, the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas could see close to 8,000 players dotted across both venues!

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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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