Bohdanov Leads, Salas in the Top 5 After Day 1b of the GGMillion$ High Roller Championship
The second live flight of Event #3: GGMillion$ High Roller Championship at World Series of Poker Paradise has come to an end and Renat Bohdanov is the chip leader after nearly 18 levels of play.
A total of 533 entries turned out over two days and the previous online flight, with 43 moving on from Day 1b. The returning players will join the other survivors at Atlantis Paradise Island on Thursday at 3 p.m. for Day 2 of this three day event.
Bohdanov is the only player from Day 1b above four million, while Daniel Smiljkovic trails in second with 3,860,000. Jun Obara is in third with 3,705,000 and 2020 WSOP Main Event champion Damian Salas is in fourth with 2,900,000. Brandon Wilson rounds out the top five with 2,800,000.
GGMillion$ Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Renat Bohdanov | Ukraine | 4,105,000 |
| 2 | Daniel Smiljkovic | Germany | 3,860,000 |
| 3 | Jun Obara | Japan | 3,705,000 |
| 4 | Damian Salas | Argentina | 2,900,000 |
| 5 | Brandon Wilson | United States | 2,800,000 |
| 6 | Stephen Song | United States | 2,770,000 |
| 7 | Rodrigo Seiji | Brazil | 2,750,000 |
| 8 | Daniel Rezaei | Austria | 2,520,000 |
| 9 | Anatoly Zlotnikov | Russia | 2,035,000 |
| 10 | Jose Rodriguez Zurita | Mexico | 1,910,000 |
Day 1b Highlights
A bumper field turned out on Wednesday for the second and final flight of this jumbo-sized $25,000 high roller. Normally a buy-in that attracts a more modest field size, this one drew 281 players on Day 1b to bring the grand total to 533 entries.
The day kicked off with 61 entries and quickly climbed from there, crossing 100 entries before the end of the first level. Early WSOP champions in the field included Daniel Dvoress, Joao Simao, Nacho Barbero, Jeremy Ausmus, Joao Vieira, Isaac Haxton, Nick Petrangelo, Adrian Mateos, Chris Brewer, Byron Kaverman, and Orpen Kisacikoglu. Barbero, who won the $10,000 Super Turbo Bounty in 2022, will return with a stack of 1,100,000. Mateos and Dvoress also found a bag for Day 2.
Several GGPoker Ambassadors also took their shot, including Ren Lin, who bagged one of the top stacks of the night after he was knocked out on his first entry in the eighth level of the day. Lin had gotten his dwindling stack into the middle with a suited queen-deuce, but Bohdanov was waiting with pocket kings to send him to the rebuy window. His fellow ambassadors Felipe Ramos, Kevin Martin, and Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier also joined the fray, but only Grospellier could find his way to Day 2.
Popular chess streamer Alexandra Botez also jumped in — the latest stop in a year where she branched out with poker tournament appearances all over the world. Botez failed to find a bag for Day 2 after she committed the rest of her chips on a river bet from Kenny Hallaert’s full house.
As the night wore on, Salas, Rodrigo Seiji, and Stephen Song emerged as some of the bigger stacks in the field. Song is picking up where he left off at the most recent WSOP Circuit stop at Harrah’s Cherokee where he won two circuit rings before jumping on a plane for The Bahamas. His most satisfying hand of the night may well have been a clash with Martin Kabrhel, who got it in with pocket sixes. Song called with nines and held on to send the chatty Czech to the rail in Level 11.
Seiji seeks his first live WSOP bracelet and second overall after a win in the $1,500 Closer during the 2023 WSOP Online series in October. Salas, the 2020 WSOP Main Event champion, is also looking for his second bracelet.
In the end it was Bohdanov who stood tall over the field. The Ukrainian crossed the one million mark with the aforementioned hand against Lin, and he bounced back to take the overall lead after he surrendered a late double to Vladimir Minko. Bohdanov previously won a bracelet at the 2019 edition of WSOP Europe in the €350 Opener.
Day 1b ended in Level 18 with 14:48 left on the clock. The 43 returning players from Day 1b will join the 24 survivors from Day 1a — plus 13 players from GGPoker’s OnLive format to create a final Day 2 field of 80 runners. Players will return at 3 p.m. on Thursday and the plan is to play down to the final six. Keep an eye on PokerNews for seat draw information as it becomes available.
Be sure to keep it with the PokerNews team for live updates from WSOP Paradise at Atlantis Paradise Island Resort in The Bahamas.