Play has concluded on Day 1 of Event #79: $2,500 No-Limit Hold'em at the 2023 World Series of Poker at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas and after 17 levels of action Seth Davies has surged among the chip leaders by bagging 1,113,000.
Davies won a substantial pot during the 16th level of the day when his pocket jacks won a coinflip against the ace-king of his opponent. That hand improved Davies' stack to over one million chips.
A total of 2,068 players entered, which smashed last year’s entry total of 1,349 participants, generating a prize pool worth $4,601,300. First place will pay $682,436. The bubble burst at 312 players in Level 17. Play resumed through that level and 310 players bagged as the curtain came down on Day 1. Each surviving player is guaranteed $4,002.
End of Day 1 Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Seth Davies | United States | 1,113,000 | 111 |
| 2 | Ramon Fernandez | Spain | 1,025,000 | 103 |
| 3 | Alex Lindop | United Kingdom | 858,000 | 86 |
| 4 | Valentyn Shabelnyk | Ukraine | 776,000 | 78 |
| 5 | Daniel Rudd | United Kingdom | 774,000 | 77 |
| 6 | Diego Vaz Sorgatto | Brazil | 757,000 | 76 |
| 7 | Galen Hall | United States | 743,000 | 74 |
| 8 | Alex Greenblatt | United States | 739,000 | 74 |
| 9 | Elias Fisz | Netherlands | 690,000 | 69 |
| 10 | Ignas Jasinevicius | Lithuania | 682,000 | 68 |
In addition to Davies, others who enjoyed a fruitful Day 1 and finished near the top of the overnight leaderboard include Eli Fisz (690,000) from the Netherlands, two-time bracelet winner Brett Shaffer (560,000), Vladimir Revniaga (535,000), and Marcus Stein, (511,000) who recently final-tabled the tag team event.
Some of the other stars to look out for in our Day 2 updates include Michael Acevedo (218,000), Justin Saliba (208,000), Lara Eisenberg (154,000), Nick Palma (102,000), and Joseph Serock (93,000).
On the flip side, the tournament saw its fair share of high-profile casualties over 17 levels. Five-time bracelet winner and Poker Hall of Famer Scotty Nguyen, bracelet winner Blair Hinkle, two-time bracelet winner Erick Lindgren, poker coach and high stakes player Jonathan Little, world class soccer player Sergio Agüero, American rapper Hoodie Allen , Internet sensation Ryan Depaulo and PokerStars Ambassador Benjamin Spragg.
Play is scheduled to resume at 10:00 a.m. local time on July 11th. They will play a total of ten 60-minute levels. Blinds will resume at 5,000/10,000 with a 10,000 ante. There will be 15-minute breaks every two levels and a 60-minute dinner break after Level 23 at approximately 4:30 p.m. local time.
The PokerNews team will be there providing all the live updates as the field continues to get whittled down on Day 2.
