2024 WSOP Day 31: Branden Shimamoto Leads the Final 5 in the PokerNews Deepstack Championship

Jun 28, 2024

What an incredible day it was on Day 31 of the 2024 World Series of Poker (WSOP) at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas. It had everything you could wish for and more! Six, yes six players scooped bracelets, and six other events whittled down their fields!

Argentina's Franco Spitale won Event #54: $1,500 Millionaire Maker No-Limit Hold'em in sensational style. Spitale looked dead and buried when he flopped top pair against his opponent's bottom set. However, running aces gifted Spitale a full house, and the title of champion.

The biggest news on Day 31 was Daniel Negreanu capturing his seventh WSOP bracelet, doing so in the $50,000 Poker Players Championship, the event every professional poker player dreams of winning.

Sean Jazayeri came out on top in Event #59: $1,000 Super Seniors No-Limit Hold'em after a spectacular heads-up battle with Yucel "Mad Turk" Eminoglu. Jazayeri added a gold WSOP bracelet to his World Poker Tour title.

Event #60: $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em awarded its bracelet, and Paolo Boi was the recipient. This event could have can any way wit the final five exchanging the chip lead numerous times, but it was Boi who got the job done.

After several near misses over the years, David Funkhouser got his hands on the first bracelet of his career after winning Event #63: $1,500 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw. Funkhouser had a fourth-place finish to his name earlier this series, but managed to go all the way in this event.

The sixth and final bracelet awarded on Day 31 of the 2024 WSOP is in Christopher Moen's possession. The Sioux Falls native took some time from his day job to play a few events at the WSOP but only managed to play Event #64: $600 Deepstack No-Limit Hold'em. He returns to work having clinched his first title and $289,323 in prize money.

Shimamoto Leads the Charge in the PokerNews Deepstack Championship

Event #62: $600 PokerNews Deepstack Championship inched closer to awarding its bracelet, $$282,876 top prize, and commemorative 24-karat gold coin by reducing its field to only five hopefuls.

Branden Shimamoto returns for the final day in pole position, armed with 24 more big blinds than second-placed Luke Varrasso. Harrison Ashdown is in the middle of the pack, followed by Hector Berry of the United Kingdom, and short-stack Darryll Fish, who sits down with only nine big blinds.

Each of the returning players is guaranteed at least $79,418 for their $600 investment, with the top four finishers banking six figures. Of course, whoever comes out on top in this tournament will have their names written into poker's history books as the first-ever winner of a PokerNews bracelet-awarding tournament.

The players sit down again at 12:00 p.m. local time on June 28, playing until a winner is crowned.

Event #62: $600 PokerNews Deepstack Championship Final Day Chip Counts

Seniors High Roller is Down to Ten; Kevin Nathan Leads the Way

Only ten players remain in the hunt for the title of Event #65: $5,000 Seniors High Roller champion, and it is Kevin Nathan who leads them back into battle on June 28.

Nathan already has a WSOP bracelet, having triumphed in a $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em event in 2006; he is the only remaining player with some poker gold on his wrist. Looking to change that fact is Bruno Lopes, the French rapper and actor known as "Kool Shen." Lopes' resume has more than $2 million in live poker cashes, but is sans WSOP hardware so far.

Also hoping to stop Nathan's part is Michael Vela, who returns in fifth place. Vela has over $2.5 million in live cashes, a figure helped by winning a WPT event in 2007 for $1,704,986.

Most neutral poker fans will keep a close eye on Angela Jordison, who started the day as the chip leader but ran her kings into Nathan's aces late into Day 2. Jordison still has the chance to become the first female player to win a live bracelet in 2024.

Play resumes at 12:00 p.m. local time on June 28, to play to a champion. PokerGO will be streaming this event once it reaches its official final table.

Event #65: $5,000 Seniors High Roller Final Day Chip Counts

$10,000 PLO Championship Plays Down to 48; Jonathan Bowers Leads

Jonathan Bowers enjoyed a fruitful day at the tables in Event #66: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship, bagging the chip lead 17 big blinds. Bowers heads into this event's penultimate day as the only player with more than 100 big blinds in his stack.

Although deep-stacked, Bowers knows that PLO is a dangerous game where big stacks can be decimated and short-stacks can double in size almost instantly. Couple that with players such as Uri Reichenstein, Niklas Astedt, Eelis Parssinen, James Carroll, and Amit Ben Yacov returning in the top, a victory for Bowers is far from guaranteed.

Players such as Noah Boeken, Richard Gryko, Stephen Chidwick, Felipe Ramos, Michael Mizrachi, Eric Wasserson, and Jerry Wong are lower down the list but still in contention.

All these stellar names make for what should be an exciting Day 3. That third day commences at 1:00 p.m. local on June 28. The plan is to reduce the field until only five players remain.

Event #66: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship Top 10 Chip Counts

Salute to Warriors Attracts an Incredible 4,517 Entrants Yet the Bubble Bursts

Event #67: $500 Salute to Warriors No-Limit Hold'em drew in 4,517 entrants on Day 1, surpassing last year's total by 214 buy-ins. Despite the huge field, only 678 players remained at the close of play, each in the money.

Don Patrick bagged up the chip lead with 1,400,000 chips but 17 other players finished Day 1 with seven figures worth of chips, including Luca Tae, David Gallimore, Ron Schindelheim, and Rami Hammoud.

Although this event's $500 buy-in is at the lower end of the scale, it did not stop some top pros from entering the mix. Brandon Sheils, Joseph Dulaney, Massoud Eskandari, 2006 WSOP Main Event champion Jamie Gold, and Ian Simpson were just a handful of names you're likely familiar with who punched their Day 2 tickets.

Day 2 commences at 11:00 a.m. local time on June 28. Either 15 or 17 levels, each spanning 40 minutes, will play out depending on how quickly the field whittles down.

Event #67: $500 Salute to Warriors No-Limit Hold'em Top 10 Chip Counts

Ivey Bags Big on Day 1 of the $2,500 No-Limit Hold'em

Having won his 11th WSOP bracelet earlier in the series, you would forgive Phil Ivey for taking some time away from the grind. Ivey is not the kind of person to take breaks. Instead, he jumps into Event #68: $2,500 No-Limit Hold'em and bags up a top ten stack.

Ivey isn't averse to playing in cash games where the blinds are similar to this event's buy-in, but he is determined to chase down Phil Hellmuth in the bracelet standings and is playing every event he can.

Of the 2,229 players who entered this tournament, only 335 made it through 18 levels. Joining Ivey on Day 2 are chip leader Andrew Chang, Brazilian ace Alisson Piekazewicz, friend of PokerNews Mike Holtz, and Bart Lybaert; those players finished in the top ten.

The rest of the field is littered with bracelet winners, $25K Fantasy Draft selections, and other notable grinders. They include Andre Akkari, Nick Pupillo, Michael Moncek, Brian Yoon, Jeremy Ausmus, Georgios Sotiropoulos, Jans Arends, Alex Foxen, Nacho Barbero, and Kristen Foxen.

One player who won't return on Day 2 is soccer sensation Neymar. The Brazilian chipped up by the dinner break but ultimately busted short of the money. What would he do with a $667,963 top prize when he earns a reported $2.07 million weekly for his Saudi Arabian team?

Day 2 starts at 12:00 p.m. local time on June 28. Those returning will play ten levels, which increase to 60 minutes from this point onward.

Event #68: $2,500 No-Limit Hold'em Top 10 Chip Counts

Jon Turner Claims an Early Chip Lead in the $2,500 Stud Hi-Lo

An impressive crowd of 611 players turned out for Event #69: $1,500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better, besting last year's total of 566. After 15 levels, only 157 of those starters were bagging chips, and nobody had more to pack into their bag than Jon Turner.

Turner, known as "PearlJammer" in online poker circles, finished Day 1 only 1,500 chips ahead of mixed game phenom Denis Strebkov and a solitary big bet in front of Christian Roberts in third.

This event saw Phil Hellmuth continue his quest for his 18th WSOP bracelet. Hellmuth progressed to Day 2 in the top 20 of the overnight chip counts. With Phil Ivey and Daniel Negreanu adding to their collection of WSOP hardware, perhaps this is the event where Hellmuth increases his total.

Others who made it safely to Day 2 include David "Bakes" Baker, Punnat Punsri, Marcel Vonk, Tom Koral, Max Pescatori, Patrick Leonard, Phillip Hui, Adam Friedman, Eli Elezra, and Brian Hastings.

The star-studded field returns to their seats at 1:00 p.m. local time to play another ten 60-minute levels.

Event #69: $1,500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better Top 10 Chip Counts

What to Expect on Day 32 of the 2024 WSOP

You would be forgiven for thinking Day 32 of the 2024 WSOP would be a quiet affair after the frantic and chaotic nature of today. However, you'd be thinking incorrectly if you indeed thought this way.

Day 32 will see another two bracelets awarded, and seven other events take place, including three newcomers.

Event #62: $600 PokerNews Deepstack Championship will crown its champion and we cannot wait to discover who wins our inaugural event. That champion will be joined in the winner's enclosure by whoever comes out on top in Event #65: $5,000 Seniors High Roller.

You can also tune into the penultimate day's play in Event #66: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship, Day 2 of Event #67: $500 Salute to Warriors and Event #68: $2,500 No-Limit Hold'em, while Event #69: $1,500 Seven-card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better also plays out its second day.

June 28 sees the start of Event #70: $400 Colossus, an event that attracted 15,894 players in 2023. PokerNews' traditional coverage of this tournament starts on Day 2. If you want to show the folks back home how you are getting on during one of the three starting flights, we recommend using the PokerNews MyStack feature.

Event #71: $1,000 Ladies No-Limit Hold'em Championship will bring out the very best of female poker players. Tamar Abraham is the reigning champion, after navigating her way through 1,294 opponents in 2023.

The final newcomer of the day is Event #72: $10,000 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw Championship, a specialist event that Chris Brewer won last year. Expect a star-studded field for this tournament.

Senior Editor

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