2024 WSOP Day 45: Gus Hansen is Deep in the $10K 8-Game

Matthew Pitt
Senior Editor
6 min read
Gus Hansen

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Day 45 of the 2024 World Series of Poker (WSOP) at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas had everything you could want from a poker festival. Bad beats, big fields, and superstar players turning out in droves. Someone winning a bracelet was the only thing missing from the day's shenanigans.

You should be surprised to learn that most of the craziness went on during Event #81: $10,000 WSOP Main Event World Championship, where the field was reduced to only 160. Stephen Song remains at the top of the chips counts, but those counts do not feature Adrian Mateos' name because he was eliminated in dramatic fashion.

Be sure to check out PokerNews' dedicated WSOP Main Event recap when you get the chance.

Friedman Leads But Hansen's Lurking in the $10K Eight Game Championship

Adam Friedman
Adam Friedman

Event #88: $10,000 Eight Game Mix Championship progressed to its third and final day, and only 22 players remain in the hunt for the title, the $413,446 top prize, and the accompanying bracelet.

Adam Friedman (1,098,000) hold the advantage going into Day 3 as he attempts to rescue what has been, in his own words, a frustrating summer for the mixed game Goliath. Two-time bracelet winner Tom Koral (1,055,000) returns in second place, but it is the superstar in third who has gotten tongues wagging.

Gus Hansen (948,000) doesn't play as many tournaments as he once did, but he flicked in the $10,000 to enter this one. It seems like a solid decision on the Great Dane's part because he has locked in $22,643 and has a realistic chance of adding a second bracelet to his wrist. Hansen's only bracelet was won 14 years ago in a £10,350 No-Limit Hold'em Heads-Up event at WSOP Europe in London.

As you would expect, the remaining players read like a who's who of the poker world. Ali Eslami (834,000), who was involved in a controversial bubble hand, is fourth, with Maxx Coleman (741,000), Yuri Dzivielevski (626,000), Fu Wong (612,000), Danny Wong (608,000), Maksim Pisarenko (539,000), and Calvin Anderson (489,000) rounding out the top ten.

The final day shuffles up and deals at 2:00 p.m. local time on July 12, so return to PokerNews then to see if Hansen can get the job done in this brand new event.

Event #88: $10,000 Eight Game Mix Championship

PlacePlayerCountryChip CountBig Bets
1Adam FriedmanUnited States1,098,00027
2Tom KoralUnited States1,055,00026
3Gus HansenDenmark948,00024
4Ali EslamiUnited States839,00021
5Maxx ColemanUnited States741,00019
6Yuri DzivielevskiBrazil626,00016
7Fu "Grasshopper" WongUnited States612,00015
8Danny WongUnited States608,00015
9Maksim PisarenkoRussian Federation539,00013
10Calvin AndersonUnited States489,00012

Extra Day Needed in the $1,000 PLO Mystery Bounty

Sascha Wilhelm
Sascha Wilhelm

As predicted in yesterday's WSOP recap, Event #86: $1,000 Mystery Bounty Pot-Limit Omaha failed to crown its champion on Day 2; the 463 returning players proved too many to whittled to a winner.

When the tournament staff called time on proceedings, ten players had chips in front of them, but nobody had more than Sascha Wilhelm (36,250,000). Bryce Yockey, hoping for his third bracelet, is in second place (33,950,000), with Adam Adams (25,625,000) completing the podium places.

Ten mystery bounties remain in the pot: one is worth $5,000, while nine weigh in at $1,000. Shout-out to Emmanuel Poznanski and Weimin Hou, who both pulled $100,000 in mystery bounties before they fell by the wayside.

The cards are back in the air from 1:00 p.m. local time on July 12, and a champion will 100% be crowned before the end of the night! Stay tuned!

Event #86: $1,000 Mystery Bounty Pot-Limit Omaha Final Day Chip Counts

PlaceNameCountryChip CountBig Blinds
1Sascha WilhelmGermany36,250,00073
2Bryce YockeyUnited States33,950,00068
2Adam AdamsUnited States25,625,00051
4Brandon CaputoUnited States16,625,00033
5Amit BenyacovIsrael15,850,00032
6James CavanaughUnited States15,700,00031
7Oshri LahmaniIsrael12,250,00025
8Daisuke OgitaJapan10,675,00021
9Robert CowenUnited States2,975,0006
10Juan LapidoSpain1,575,0003

Moncek Bags Top 10 Stack in the $3,000 Mid-Stakes Championship

Michael Moncek
Michael Moncek

Michael Moncek will sleep well tonight after bagging up a top ten stack in Event #89: $3,000 Mid-Stakes Championship, another new addition to the 2024 WSOP schedule. Day 1a of this tournament attracted 1,161 entrants, with 324 progressing to Day 2.

Moncek bagged and tagged 357,000 chips at the close of play, enough for ninth place in the overnight counts. Jonathan Newman (573,500) leads the way followed by Herve Gouzil (505,000), the only other players to surpass the half-a-million chip barrier.

Dozens of top-tier players chose Day 1a of this event to continue their quest to capture some WSOP hardware. Many are continuing on that journey, including Florian Duta (389,000), Adam Hendrix (166,500), Taylor Paur (161,500), Samuel Laskowitz (156,000), Jake Schwartz (134,000), Qiang Xu (102,500), Dong Chen (72,000), and three-time bracelet winner Chad Eveslage (34,000).

Day 1a also saw Hall of Famer Billy Baxter (86,500) roll back the years and reach Day 2, while Main Event winner Scott Blumstein (43,000) progressed, albeit with one of the shorter stacks.

This new event's second and final flight kicks off at 10:00 a.m. local time on July 12. Entrants will play the same ten 60-minute levels before bagging up for the night. A field in excess of 2,000 is highly likely, which will lead to a substantial top prize, as almost $3.1 million has already been collected.

Event #89: $3,000 Mid-Stakes Championship Day 1a Top 10 Chip Counts

RankPlayerCountryChipsBig Blinds
1Jonathan NewmanCanada573,500229
2Herve GouzilFrance505,000202
3Mantas UngulaitisLithuania451,500181
4Maher AchourUnited States433,000173
5Florian Dimitrie DutaRomania389,000156
6Bahar MusaBulgaria381,500153
7Rytis PranarauskasLithuania360,000144
8Edgaras KausinisLithuania360,000144
9Michael MoncekUnited States357,000143
10Ananth GanesanUnited States349,000140

David Shaw Leads the $1,500 PLO 6-Max After an Explosive Day's Action

David Shaw
David Shaw

What happens when you combine a six-handed Pot-Limit Omaha tournament with a 40-minute clock? You see more than 93% of the field bust, at least that's what happened in Event #90: $1,500 6-Handed Pot-Limit Omaha. Some 1,304 entrants started but only 89 made it through Day 1 unscathed.

David Shaw (1,028,000) was the only player to bag up a seven-figure stack, although a handful of the chasing pack came close to achieving the same feat. Billy Tarango (983,000), Zachary Reinbold (964,000), and Long Tran (962,000) are just one raised pot away from claiming the chip lead.

Germany's Sebastian Pauli (547,000) finished outside the top ten, with Pedro Neves (456,000) scrapping into the top 20. Elsewhere, Kyle Bowker (410,000), Mike Leah (410,000), David Docherty (338,000), Nenad Medic (289,000), Brad Ruben (271,000), Jessica Teusl (171,000), Chris Hunichen (168,000), and Ludovic Geilich (116,000) survived.

John Racener (126,000) is also through to Day 2 where he'll have an interesting situation on his hands. Racener bagged in this event but also reached Day 2 of the $3,000 H.O.R.S.E. Multi-tabling is not confined the online poker world it seems.

Multitasking Racener and the other 88 surviving players return to the action from 12:00 p.m. local time on July 12 to play another ten levels, which extend to 60 minutes from that point.

Event #90: $1,500 6-Handed Pot-Limit Omaha Day 1 Top 10 Chip Counts

RankPlayerCountryChipsBig Blinds
1David ShawUnited States1,028,000103
2Billy TarangoUnited States983,00098
3Zachary ReinboldUnited States964,00096
4Long TranUnited States962,00096
5Thomas PaulUnited States937,00094
6Alfred KarlssonSweden880,00088
7Tsugunari TomaJapan816,00082
8J WardUnited States799,00080
9Jannick SchobUnited States775,00078
10Arie KliperIsrael766,00077

"ODB" Baker is the Man to Catch After Day 1 of the $3K H.O.R.S.E.

David Baker
David \"ODB\" Baker

David "ODB" Baker finished top of the chip counts after Day 1 of Event #91: $3,000 H.O.R.S.E. Day 1 attracted 357 entrants, with only 141 of those starters reaching Day 2. Baker returns with 353,500 chips, over 100,000 more than Paul Campbell (251,000) in second place.

$25K Fantasy Draft pick Dario Alioto (21,500) returns in the top 10, while recent first-time bracelet winner Arash Ghaneian (199,500) continues to ride his hot streak and will sit back down a big bet outside the top ten.

Lower down the counts but not out of contention just yet are such luminaries as the aforementioned John Racener (189,000), David Williams (179,500), Andrew Kelsall (157,500), Scotty Nguyen (155,500), Jeremy Ausmus (147,500), Brian Hastings (142,500), 11-time bracelet winner Phil Ivey (129,500), Patrick Leonard (101,000), Scott Seiver (78,000), and Hall of Famer Barry Greenstein (67,000).

The 141 horses will hear the starter's pistol at 1:00 p.m. local time on July 12. Once it sounds, another ten hour-long levels are on the cards.

Event #91: $3,000 H.O.R.S.E. Top 10 Chip Counts

RankPlayerCountryChips
1David "ODB" BakerUnited States353,500
2Paul CampbellUnited States251,000
3Jared HymanUnited States220,000
4Ariel MantelArgentina215,500
5Sean YuUnited States213,500
6Dario AliotoItaly212,500
7Jonathan WilliamsUnited States205,500
8Curtis PhelpsUnited States204,500
9Nghia LeUnited States202,500
10Mark GregorichUnited States201,500

What to Expect on Day 46 of the 2024 WSOP

WSOP 2024 Main Event

Main Event Fever tightens its grip on the poker community on July 12, with 160 players returning for another five two-hour levels. That should be plenty of time to reduce the field into double digits and see the surviving players lock in six-figure sums.

Event #86: $1,000 Mystery Bounty Pot-Limit Omaha will award its bracelet, as will Event #88: $10,000 Eight Game Mix Championship.

Day 1b of Event #89: $3,000 Mid-Stakes Championship should see upwards of 2,000 fresh faces enter the mix, with Event #90: $1,500 6-Handed Pot-Limit Omaha and Event #91: $3,000 H.O.R.S.E. playing out their respective Day 2s.

One new event starts on July 12, Event #92: $50,000 High Roller No-Limit Hold'em. The final high roller of the series should prove popular and could even surpass the 176 entries from last summer. Alex Kulev is the reigning champion; he collected $2,087,073 in 2023.

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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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