2023 WSOP Day 9: Could We See the First Female Champion of the Series?

Matthew Pitt
Senior Editor
7 min read
Sarah Herzali

Day 9 of the 2023 World Series of Poker (WSOP) at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas took place on June 7, and saw a slew of events take place. There were seven in-play events at once stage, although only one of them crowned its champion.

June 7 will always be remembered fondly by Brian Yoon because that is the date that they came out on top in the 2023 WSOP Event #14: $10,000 Seven Card Stud Championship. Only 13 of the original 111 starters were present and correct on the third and final day's action, and Yoon came out on top for the fifth bracelet of their career plus a bankroll-boosting $311,433 in prize money.

Only 15 Remain in the $1,500 6-Handed No-Limit Hold'em Event; Herzali Leads

Sarah Herzali finished Day 1 of Event #15: $1,500 6-Handed No-Limit Hold'em 18th in chips with a 667,000 stack. Fastforward to the conclusion of Day 2, and Herzali now possesses 12,800,000 chips, or almost 20% of the chips in play!

Herzali was involved in an epic hand against Shannon Shorr, a hand that extends Shorr's long-awaited maiden bracelet event victory. The hand boosted Herzali to more than 8.7 million chips, and she added another four million betting tokens to her colossal stack before the curtain came down on Day 2.

Three bracelet holders remain in the hunt to add to their collection. However, Ian Matakis (2,270,000), John Monette (1,580,000), and Upeshka De Silva (1,105,000) and the rest of the chasing pack trail Herzali by some distance.

Event #15: $1,500 6-Handed No-Limit Hold'em Top 10 Chip Counts

RankNameCountryChip CountBig Blinds
1Sarah HerzaliFrance12,800,000128
2Rafael ReisBrazil7,825,00078
3Gabriel SchroederBrazil5,560,00055
4Ryan HohnerUnited States6,200,00062
5Daniel BarriocanalSpain5,455,00055
6Nikolaos AngelouGreece4,535,00045
7Yue LiuChina4,425,00044
8Yun ChoiGreat Britain3,755,00038
9Grant WangUnited States3,045,00030
10Ian MatakisUnited States2,270,00023

Day 3 kicks off at 12:00 p.m. local time on June 8. Tune into PokerNews then to see if Herzali becomes the first female bracelet winner of the 2023 WSOP.

$25,000 High Roller Reaches Day 3; Hrabec Leads the Final 13

Roman Hrabec
Roman Hrabec

Roman Hrabec is the man to catch going into the final day of Event #16: $25,000 High Roller (8-Handed), where the champion receives a most impressive $1,698,215.

Being the chip leader with so few remaining players puts the ball firmly in Hrabec's court, but victory is far from guaranteed when you look at some of the superstars that are still in the mix. They include bracelet winners Aleksejs Ponakovs (4,470,000), Joao Vieira (4,090,000), Brian Rast (3,965,000), and Kristen Foxen (2,675,000), plus such luminaries as Frank Funaro (5,065,000), Isaac Haxton (3,820,000), and Darren Elias (2,790,000).

Event #16: $25,000 High Roller (8-Handed) Chip Counts

RankPlayerCountryChip CountBig Blinds
1Roman HrabecCzech Republic6,050,00060
2Frank FunaroUnited States5,065,00050
3Aleksejs PonakovsLatvia4,470,00044
4Joao VieiraPortugal4,090,00040
5Brian RastUnited States3,965,00039
6Isaac HaxtonUnited States3,820,00038
7Taylor Von KriegenberghUnited States3,280,00032
8Darren EliasUnited States2,790,00027
9Lewis SpencerUnited Kingdom2,705,00027
10Kristen FoxenCanada2,675,00026
11Jorge ConsiglieriUnited States2,650,00026
12Michael JozoffUnited States2,085,00020
13Ryan O'DonnellUnited Kingdom1,570,00015

Play resumes at 12:00 p.m. on June 8 and continues until only one player has all of the chips in play in front of them. Join PokerNews on Day 3 of the $25,000 High Roller, and discover who that player will be.

Cartwright Flying High in the $1,500 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better

Kyle Cartwright
Kyle Cartwright

Only 33 of the original 1,143 entrants have chips in Event #17: $1,500 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better, and the top two stacks going into Day 3 belong to a pair of Kyles.

Kyle Burnside bagged up 2,345,000 chips, which are enough for the overnight chip lead, but Kyle Cartwright (2,310,000) is nipping at Burnside's heels. Cartwright will see this tournament as his best chance to bag himself a second WSOP bracelet.

There are a handful of players heading into Day 3 that are also hunting to add to their bracelet collection. Jim Collopy (1,275,000) has a top ten stack, Giuseppe Pantaleo (1,175,000) is lurking outside the top ten, while James Obst (720,000), John Cernuto (635,000), and Nick Kost (495,000) have a little more work ahead of them when play resumes on June 8.

Event #17: $1,500 Omaha Hi-Low 8 or Better Top 10 Chip Counts

RankPlayerCountryChip CountBig Blinds
1Kyle BurnsideUnited States2,345,00059
2Kyle CartwrightUnited States2,310,00058
3Erik PerryUnited States1,935,00048
4Eric VarnadoUnited States1,750,00044
5Qinghai PanUnited States1,680,00042
6Ryan ScullyUnited States1,300,00033
7Jim CollopyUnited States1,275,00032
8Tomomitsu OnoJapan1,270,00032
9Jeffrey MitseffUnited States1,215,00030
10Mark BixlerUnited States1,205,00030

The cards are back in the air from 1:00 p.m. local time on June 8, and PokerNews will be on hand to bring you all of the updates as this event crowns its champion.

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Monster-Sized Field Competes on Day 1a of the Gladiators of Poker

Patrick White
Patrick White

Day 1a, the first of four flights in Event #18: $300 Gladiators of Poker, attracted 3,940 players but only 129 progressed to Day 2. There is every chance that this event grows into the largest-ever WSOP bracelet-awarding tournament, as latter flights tend to be more popular with players.

Patrick White soared into the chip lead close to the end of Day 1a after winning the largest pot of the night. White's 3,405,000 stack is joined in the three million club by Olav Prinzvonsachsen (3,085,000) and Dawn Dixon (3,045,000).

A certain six-time WSOP winner Daniel Negreanu (2,250,000) enjoyed a fruitful Day 1, bagging up 2,250,000 chips at the close of play. We are more used to seeing Negreanu in tournaments that have buy-ins far greater than $300, but he will take this event seriously after accumulating a front-running stack.

Event #18: $300 Gladiators of Poker Day 1a Top 10 Chip Counts

RankPlayerCountryChip CountBig Blinds
1Patrick WhiteUnited States3,405,00068
2Olav PrinzvonsachsenUnited States3,085,00062
3Dawn DixonUnited States3,045,00061
4Daniel NegreanuCanada2,250,00045
5Juan CisnerosUnited States2,250,00045
6Waikiat LeeUnited Kingdom2,225,00045
7Bohdan SlyvinskyiUnited States2,090,00042
8David TranUnited States2,040,00041
9Benjamin KlierUnited States1,760,00035
10Julio NavaUnited States1,700,00034

Day 1b shuffles up and deal at 10:00 a.m. on June 8, so fire up the PokerNews live reporting pages then to see how large this event's field swells.

Day 1 of the $2,500 NLHE Freezeout Is Over; Alt Captures Early Lead

Dinesh Alt
Dinesh Alt

Dinesh Alt secured the chip lead in Event #19: $2,500 No-Limit Hold'em Freezeout, cramming 1,212,000 chips into his overnight chip bag, a figure far larger than any of the 144 surviving players.

An impressive field of 1,139 is now down to a more manageable figure, and it is Alt who is the man to catch on Day 2.

Alt's stack is massive. Indeed, he is the only player with more than one million chips. Second-placed Byung Eun Shin (797,000) is more than 400,000 chips, or 41 big blinds, behind him.

Others who enjoyed a fruitful Day 1 and finished in the top ten included Jared Jaffee (780,000), Artem Metalidi (761,000), Adrian Mateos (758,000), and Taylor Paur (624,000).

Some of the other stars to look out for in our Day 2 updates include Matt Stout (342,000), Alexandre Reard (338,000), Marton Czuczor (337,000), Mike Sowers (288,000), Maurice Hawkins (246,000), and Niall Farrell (220,000), the latter being a Triple Crown winner.

Event #19: $2,500 No-Limit Hold'em Freezeout Top 10 Chip Counts

RankPlayerCountryChip CountBig Blinds
1Dinesh AltAustria1,212,000121
2Byung Eun ShinSouth Korea797,00080
3Jared JaffeeUnited States780,00078
4Artem MetalidiUkraine761,00076
5Adrian MateosSpain758,00076
6Mark SeifUnited States713,00071
7Valentino KonakchevBulgaria709,00071
8Romel MendozaUnited States665,00067
9Ian O'haraUnited States626,00063
10Taylor PaurUnited States624,00062

This event's action resumes at 12:00 p.m. local time on June 8, with the plan to complete another ten hour-long levels.

Adam Owen Bags $1,500 Badugi Top 5 Stack

Adam Owen
Adam Owen

Any worries that a Badugi tournament would not be popular were soon quashed when 516 players bought into Event #20: $1,500 Badugi. Of those starters, only 183 bagged up chips at the close of play, and only four players reported stacks larger than Adam Owen.

Owen, a British mixed game specialist, finished Day 1 with a 192,000 stack. Only chip leader William Toh (239,000), Yingui Li (217,500), Adam Clegg (212,500), and Jon Turner (198,500) return to the fray on Day 2 with a more substantial arsenal.

Others to look out for on Day 2 include Adam Friedman (126,500), Daniel Zack (120,500), Brian Hastings (118,000), the in-form Chad Eveslage (109,000), and Anthony Zinno (77,000).

Event #20: $1,500 Badugi Day 1 Top 10 Chip Counts

RankPlayerCountryChip CountBig Blinds
1William TohUnited States239,00080
2Yingui LiChina217,50073
3Adam CleggUnited States212,50071
4Jon TurnerUnited States198,50066
5Adam OwenUnited Kingdom192,00064
6Roberto MarinUnited States183,50061
7Patrick MoulderUnited States157,50053
8Antonio PayneUnited States152,50051
9Valentin VornicuUnited States147,00049
10Paul MartinoUnited States146,00049

If you love Badugi, return to PokerNews from 1:00 p.m. on June 8 to follow all of the Day 2 action from this star-studded tournament.

What to Expect on Day 10 of the 2023 WSOP

You are in luck if you love seeing your fellow poker players capture World Series of Poker bracelets because there will be three gold bracelets dished out on June 8, or Day 10 of the 2023 WSOP, if you prefer.

Event #15: $1,500 6-Handed No-Limit Hold'em crowns its champion, as does Event #16: $25,000 High Roller (8-Handed), and Event #17: $1,500 Omaha Hi-Low 8 or Better.

Event #19: $2,500 No-Limit Hold'em Freezeout and Event #20: $1,500 Badugi will edge closer to their respective finales, while another huge turnout is expected for Day 1b of Event #18: $300 Gladiators of Poker.

Just as you thought the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas could not fit in any more poker players, Event #21: $1,000 Pot-Limit Omaha and Event #22: $10,000 Limit Hold'em Championship get underway! Get ready to smash that F5 button all day long on June 8 as the PokerNews live reporting team bring you live and exclusive coverage of the 2023 WSOP.

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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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