On a board of 3♦3♥10♣ the action was checked to Nicholas Unaro on the button who bet 15,000. The action was then on Jorge Ribeiro in the big blind who put in a check-raise to 45,000.
The action was back on Unaro who tanked for a moment and then called before the 4♣ rolled off on the turn.
The action checked through and the 9♣ hit the river. The action checked through again and Unaro tabled 10♣2♠ and Ribeiro mucked as he said "nice hand."
Daniel Rezaei checked all streets out of the big blind against Harpreet Gill, who checked behind the Q♣9♠3♣ flop and J♦ turn. Gill bet the 10♦ river for 35,000 and Rezaei tank-called to get shown K♠7♠ for a straight and see his short stack cut in half.
Jessica Cai then jammed for 51,000 in the cutoff. Zhen Cai folded two seats over but Dongwuk Moon called in the big blind.
Jessica Cai: A♦K♦
Dongwuk Moon: K♣J♣
The 10♦6♥6♣4♠2♦ board gave Cai the double.
Dave Alfa also jammed first to act with Q♥10♥ and Karim Lehoussine looked him up with the barely covering stack, turning over A♠K♠. The K♥J♠5♦A♣4♥ board gave Alfa broadway to survive.
There were three all-in and call at the same time, potentially ensuring that the bubble would burst.
As fate would have it, Day 1a joint bubble boy Chin Wei Lim was all-in for 28,000 out of the dead button and called by Clemen Deng in the big blind.
Chin Wei Lim: J♦10♥
Clemen Deng: 9♠6♥
The 7♥3♦2♥J♠A♦ board locked up the double for Lim on the turn, and he avoided the Day 1a fate when he was eliminated on the bubble.
One table over, Matas Cimbolas was all-in for 166,000 on the button and looked up by Rayan "Beriuzy" Chamas.
Matas Cimbolas: K♣K♥
Rayan Chamas: J♦J♣
Cimbolas was way out in front and had both suits covered. There was no threat on the A♦5♣2♣ flop but the J♥ turn put a dagger into Cimbolas' hopes of survival. Last but not least, the A♣ river only improved Chamas to a full house and Cimbolas bowed out two spots away from the end of the night.
Last but not least, there was a lot of confusion about a possible option to reraise on table 30 when Karim Lehoussine had been all-in already. He had jammed for 22,000 from under the gun and Serhii Holodiuk min-raised in the cutoff. Russell Dohan called in the small blind and it took a while to sort out the correct amount for the side pot.
The two active players then checked down the A♣8♦4♣5♥Q♥ board. Holodiuk tabled the 10♣8♥, Dohan had the 9♦7♠ and Lehoussine's K♥4♠ was no good.
With two seat open and a double, the field was reduced to 99 hopefuls and a table broke to balance ahead of the stone-cold money bubble.
Russell Dohan opened in middle position to 16,000 before the action made it to the table chip leader Nicholas Funaro in the big blind who moved all in.
It was back on Dohan who only took a moment and then called.
Russell Dohan: Q♥J♥
Nicholas Funaro: A♠5♦
The J♦7♠K♦ flop landed and Dohan jumped into the lead until the A♦ landed on the turn vaulting Funaro into the lead. The 10♦ river landed giving Funaro a flush and Dohan hit the rail on the stone bubble.
With three eliminations in two consecutive hands, Day 1c has concluded just shy of 4 a.m. local time. The full chip counts and a recap of today's action are to follow.
The flagship tournament of the 2023 World Series of Poker Paradise at the five-star Atlantis Resort & Casino has wrapped up the third of four starting days in Event #10: $5,000 Main Event Championship. Day 1c drew a total of 648 entries and another 98 players locked up a cash prize on The Bahamas.
How big the slice of the eight-figure prize pool will be is not finalised yet because one further starting day remains. So far, the marquee event is on track to reach the ambitious $15 million guarantee on Paradise Island with more than 2,700 total entries already recorded. That includes the online flight on GGPoker and all those wishing to take another shot can do so in the morning hours of Tuesday, December 12, 2023.
Four players finished Day 1c within ten big blinds for the money stages with Serhii Holodiuk claiming the honours of chip leader after he accumulated 1,185,000 in chips. Ljubomir Josipovic follows right behind with 1,158,000, Yoo Sin Kang (1,110,000) and Rayan Chamas (1,103,000) also have seven figure stacks to their names as well.
Both Holodiuk and Chamas were responsible for the night to end as they scored two eliminations during hand-for-hand play. The exit of Matas Cimbolas was perhaps the most cruel one when the kings of the Lithuanian poker pro were cracked by the jacks of Chamas. Chin Wei Lim, who had already bubbled on Day 1a, avoided the same fate and survived in the third showdown.
Rank
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Blinds
1
Serhii Holodiuk
Ukraine
1,185,000
119
2
Ljubomir Josipovic
Austria
1,158,000
116
3
Yoo Sin Kang
South Korea
1,110,000
111
4
Rayan Chamas
Canada
1,103,000
110
5
Ignacio Moron
Spain
932,000
93
6
Nicholas Unaro
United States
914,000
91
7
Renji Mao
China
860,000
86
8
Timothy Adams
Canada
826,000
83
9
Troy Quenneville
Canada
802,000
80
10
Kevin Martin
Canada
767,000
77
Among the top ten stacks are several other standout names in the international poker scene. 2023 WSOP bracelet winner Renji Mao (860,000), High Roller regular Timothy Adams (826,000), and GGPoker streamer Kevin Martin (767,000) all established an excellent base for a deep run.
GGPoker ambassador and WSOP Hall of Fame member Daniel Negreanu also advanced with an above-average stack of 393,000, joined by the likes of Chanracy Khun(429,000), Justin Saliba (348,000) and 2021 WSOP Player of the Year Josh Arieh (336,000) achieved the same feat. Among the former WSOP Main Event champions, Koray Aldemir, Jamie Gold and Ryan Riess joined the fray but failed to bag up chips.
Daniel Negreanu
Starting Days so Far
Flight
Entries
Survivors
GG Online
883
127
Day 1a
657
98
Day 1b
515
78
Day 1c
648
98
Total so far
2,703
401
So far, the action on Day 2 will recommence with 08:20 minutes left in level 17 unless Day 1d finishes earlier than that. The final turbo heat will feature 20-minute levels and kicks off at 10 a.m. local time on Tuesday, December 12, 2023. Once it has whittled down the field to the top 15 percent like all other previous online and live starting days, those with chips at their disposal have locked up a cash prize.
All survivors of the four live flights at the Atlantis Hotel and Casino and the online heat on GGPoker will return to their seats at 5 p.m. local time. As of Day 2, the level duration increases to 60 minutes each and Day 2 is currently scheduled to play until the end of level 24.
Stay tuned for the exclusive live updates for this marquee event right here on PokerNews to find out who will retain their chances to win the one-of-a-kind WSOP Paradise Main Event bracelet. The winner is set to be crowned on December 14, 2023.
