Former Main Event Champs Kick Off WSOP Paradise Main Event; Hellmuth Coming?
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On Saturday at Noon local time, the first-ever World Series of Poker (WSOP) Paradise $5,300 Main Event kicked off. Executive Director Ty Stewart was flanked by a half dozen former Main Event champions – Daniel Weinman, Espen Jorstad, Koray Aldemir, Jamie Gold, Damian Salas, and Ryan Riess – to officially get things underway in the flagship tournament.
The first starting flight included bracelet winners Jessica Teusl, Daniel Smiljkovic, Mark Ioli, Ami Barer, Alexandros Kolonias, Christian Roberts, and Alexandre Vuilleumier; as well as GGPoker Twitch Squad member Patrick Tardif, philanthropist Scott Wellenbach, and Phil Nagy.
What’s more, 17-time bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth is slated to play the Main Event, though we don't know exactly when. Whenever he does jump into action, he will do so in grand fashion with a costumed entrance planned. Stay tuned to PokerNews for more on that as we’ll be capturing the arrival of the “Poker Brat” on our social media channels.
https://twitter.com/ChadAHolloway/status/1733541170356040181
The WSOP Paradise Main Event, which boasts a $15 million guarantee, offers four starting flights. Days 1b and 1c (40-minute levels) will take place at Noon local time on Sunday and Monday respectively, while a turbo Day 1d flight (15-minute levels) will be offered at 10 a.m. local time on Monday, December 12 before the 3 p.m. Day 2 restart.
Follow live updates from the 2023 WSOP Paradise here!
Dov Markowich in Action
Another player who is in action today is Canada’s Dov Markowich, who qualified for the tournament via GGPoker.
“I hadn’t played online poker in a few months, so I decided to play a $55 tourney to which I came in first place winning $1,033.95,” he told PokerNews. “It was then that I learned about the WSOP hosting events in the Bahamas by seeing the ‘Road to the Bahamas’ icon on the GGPoker. I saw the steps and noticed the $1,500 buy-in for a shot at the package to which I was reluctant to buy in directly so I opted to play the $150 tournament to win a seat into the $1,500.”
"I had gone into the final table as one of the shortest stacks and clawed my way to a second-place finish winning a package.”
He continued: “I played the $150 and came in first place and won my $1,500 ticket. Two hours after winning the $150 tournament, I was playing in the $1,500 two packages guaranteed tourney. I had gone into the final table as one of the shortest stacks and clawed my way to a second-place finish winning a package.”
Markowich now finds himself in The Bahamas competing in the WSOP Paradise Main Event, and he’s looking to make his third final table in the last 18 months. During the 2022 WSOP, Markowich finished fifth in Event #25: $800 No-Limit Hold’em for a career-high score of $95,363, and a month later he placed ninth in Event #76: $1,979 Poker Hall of Fame Bounty.
Markowich has $145,859 in live tournament earnings according to the Hendon Mob, and only time will tell if he can add to that down here in paradise. The PokerNews Live Reporting Team will be keeping a close eye on Markowich throughout the tournament.
Remaining 2023 WSOP Paradise Schedule
| Start Date | Event | Buy-in | Guarantee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat 9 Dec | #9: Ultra High Roller No-Limit Hold'em | $103,000 | $5,000,000 |
| #10: Main Event Championship | $5,300 | $15,000,000 | |
| Tue 12 Dec | #11: Flip & Go | $800 | |
| Wed 13 Dec | #12: No-Limit Hold'em Freezeout (Online) | $1,050 | $1,000,000 |
| #13: Pot-Limit Omaha Championship | $10,400 | $1,000,000 | |
| #14: The Closer Turbo Bounty | $2,200 | $1,000,000 | |
| Thu 14 Dec | #15: High Roller No-Limit Hold'em 6-Handed | $10,400 | $1,000,000 |
In this Series
- 1 Bracelet Chasing in the Bahamas: First Ever WSOP Paradise Planned for December
- 2 WSOP Paradise in Bahamas Bracelet Schedule Released; $50M in GTDs over 15 Events
- 3 5 Fun Non-Poker Activities in the Bahamas During WSOP Paradise
- 4 WSOP Announces 9 Days of Paradise Livestreams
- 5 WSOP Paradise Parlay Gives Players Shot at $100K in Bahamas; Player Reactions
- 6 Negreanu Shares WSOP Paradise Plans; Which of His Poker Friends Will Be There?
- 7 Here Are the Celebrities & Poker Pros Confirmed to Attend WSOP Paradise
- 8 Ontarian Engineer Matthew Aquino Wins WSOP Paradise Ticket on GGPoker
- 9 Dana Karlson Wins WSOP Paradise Package After Years Away From Poker
- 10 Ontario Player Matthew Silva Wins WSOP Paradise Package on GGPoker
- 11 Qualifier Dorin Barban Traveling to WSOP Paradise All the Way from Romania
- 12 Canada's Slava Royale Hopes to Buy Porsche 911 Turbo After WSOP Paradise
- 13 WSOP Paradise to Be First Live Event for GGPoker Qualifier Aurel Cotos
- 14 Brazil's Ivan Ost Mystery Bounties His Way to WSOP Paradise on GGPoker
- 15 The Best Ways to Win Your Way to WSOP Paradise Online and Live
- 16 UK’s Callum Gordon Wins Way to WSOP Paradise Via GGPoker Freeroll
- 17 Former Main Event Champs Kick Off WSOP Paradise Main Event; Hellmuth Coming?
- 18 WSOP Paradise Main Event Winner to Take Home One-of-a-Kind Bracelet
- 19 Alleged Home Burglar & EPT Champ Jordan Saccucci Removed from WSOP Paradise
- 20 “Poseidon” Hellmuth Makes Grand Entrance in WSOP Paradise Main Event
- 21 WSOP Paradise Hands of the Week: Ryan Riess Bubbles & Aces Cracked By Quads... Twice!
- 22 WSOP Paradise Main Event Hands of the Week: Kabrhel Antics, Jamming into Quads & a Royal Flush
- 23 WSOP Paradise Proves Successful w/ Big Names & Prize Pools; Only One Missed GTD
