Brian Yoon Chases Sixth Bracelet; Phil Hellmuth Still in Contention For No. 17 After Day 2 of $10,000 H.O.R.S.E.
Brian Yoon might not attract the same attention hoisted on some other players when he sits down at a poker table, but he put his name right among the game’s elite when he won his fifth World Series of Poker bracelet earlier in the 2023 Word Series Of Poker at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas. Now Yoon’s in a prime position for more WSOP glory after topping the Day 2 chip counts of Event #54: $10,000 H.O.R.S.E.
Yoon, who won this year's $10,000 Seven Card Stud Championship to become the 36th player in WSOP history with five bracelets, eclipsed the million-chip mark with a Razz pot against Alex Livingston and finished the night with 1,465,000, putting him atop the 17 remaining players heading into tomorrow’s Day 3.
Right behind him is another bracelet winner, Connor Drinan, who knocked out two players near the end of the night and then took a pot off Phil Hellmuth to end up with 1,200,000. Christopher Claassen (1,070,000), Scott Seiver (965,000), and Carol Fuchs — who survived an all in on the money bubble but built her stack up to 865,000 in the last level — round out the top five.
Day 2 Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brian Yoon | United States | 1,465,000 |
| 2 | Connor Drinan | United States | 1,200,000 |
| 3 | Christopher Claassen | United States | 1,070,000 |
| 4 | Scott Seiver | United States | 965,000 |
| 5 | Carol Fuchs | United States | 865,000 |
| 6 | Roman Verenko | Ukraine | 855,000 |
| 7 | Brad Ruben | United States | 775,000 |
| 8 | Phil Hellmuth | United States | 700,000 |
| 9 | Mike Gorodinsky | United States | 635,000 |
| 10 | David "Bakes" Baker | United States | 620,000 |
Hellmuth took full advantage of late registration, showing up right at the start of the day and amassing a stack of 700,000 after seven 90-minute levels. Mike Gorodinsky (635,000), David “Bakes” Baker (620,000), and four-time bracelet winner Brad Ruben (775,000) are also in a position to add more WSOP hardware to their collection. Meanwhile, Livingston (370,000), Esther Taylor (180,000), Nick Guagenti (155,000), and John Racener (130,000) are coming back tomorrow on short stacks.
Day 2 began with 91 surviving players from Day 1 being joined by 21 late entrants to create a field of 185 total entries and a $1,720,500 prize pool. Phil Ivey was one of those late arrivals as he took his seat right beside Daniel Negreanu. Ivey and Negreanu didn’t catch any momentum and busted early, while they were joined by the likes of Shaun Deeb and Benny Glaser. Play went hand-for-hand two eliminations away from the money, and it took nearly an hour before Paul Volpe was knocked out in 30th place. Another half-hour went by before Andrew Barber was sent to the rail as the unfortunate bubble boy.
Jerry Wong (28th), Brandon Shack-Harris (21st), and Phil Hui (18th) were then part of a flurry of post-bubble bust outs that brought the field down to the 17 who will return when action resumes for Day 3 on June 25 at 2:00 p.m. local time.
Yoon is chasing more WSOP history. Drinan and Seiver are looking to solidify their WSOP resumes. And then there’s Hellmuth and his ever-present quest for bracelet No. 17. That journey continues tomorrow, and PokerNews will be back to follow all the action and provide live updates.