Fernando “Jnandez” Habegger Bags Mixed No-Limit Hold'em/Pot-Limit Omaha Chip Lead
A total of 567 entries were whittled down to 48 players on Day 1 of the $5,000 Mixed No-Limit Hold’em/Pot-Limit Omaha event here at the 2023 World Series of Poker at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas. This event generated a whopping total prize pool of $2,608,200. All players returning tomorrow are guaranteed $8,000, but everyone will have their eyes on the $534,499 first-place prize and the gold bracelet that comes with it.
Fernando Habegger is the player to watch tomorrow as he’s returning with the chip lead courtesy of his 1,625,000 stack. Habegger is a Pot Limit Omaha coach, streamer, and high-stakes player from Switzerland.
End of Day 1 Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fernando Habegger | Switzerland | 1,625,000 | 65 |
| 2 | Roman Rogovski | Ukraine | 1,325,000 | 53 |
| 3 | Michael Moncek | United States | 1,210,000 | 48 |
| 4 | Michael Banducci | United States | 1,200,000 | 48 |
| 5 | Christian Harder | United States | 1,125,000 | 45 |
| 6 | Zhen Cai | United States | 1,090,000 | 44 |
| 7 | Greg Kolo | United States | 1,040,000 | 42 |
| 8 | Ferenc Deak | Hungary | 1,025,000 | 41 |
| 9 | Kristen Foxen | United States | 895,000 | 36 |
| 10 | Tyler Brown | United States | 880,000 | 35 |
Like many of the high-stakes games throughout the series, there was a light-hearted air of the day as long time friends and foes mingled. Players including Ben Lamb, Nick Schulman, Chris Brewer, Ari Engel, Brian Rast, Jared Jaffee, Chino Rheem, Anthony Zinno, and Justin Young are just some of the pros who joined the field today.
Only Engel (420,000) progressed from those stellar names mentioned above. Other notable players still in the field include Christian Harder (1,225,000) Kristen Foxen (895,000), Alex Livingston (785,000), and Lawrence Brandt (420,000); the latter won two bracelets last year.
Big names that made it into the money but were unable to bag included Daniel Negreanu and Shaun Deeb, who both gained some points for the Player of the Year race. Jeremy Ausmus also made it into the money but busted to Negreanu during a PLO hand during the 18th level of the tournament.
The surviving players return to the action from 12:00 p.m. on June 2, with the plan to play down to the final table. As always, tune into PokerNews throughout this event and all the other bracelet-awarding tournaments of the 2023 WSOP.