Hawkins Ascends to Overall Chiplead at Conclusion of Day 2d in the WSOP Main Event World Championship
Heading into Day 2d of Event #76: $10,000 WSOP Main Event World Championship at the 2023 World Series of Poker at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas, the record for the largest WSOP Main Event field in its 54-year history had already been broken. However, the final number was not yet set, with late registration open until the start of Level 8 today.
Once late registration closed, the final tally stood at an astounding 10,043 entries, generating a total prize pool of $93,399,900 and blowing the previous record of 8,773 entrants, set in 2006, out of the water.
In the 2006 edition of this event, Jamie Gold famously talked his way to victory and a $12,000,000 payday. The eventual winner this year will receive exactly $100,000 more, a symbolic gesture ensuring that the champion of the largest Main Event ever will also be its biggest winner.
Coming into Day 2d, Nicholas "Dirty Diaper" Rigby had the chiplead. Today, he enjoyed another successful outing on the felt, slipping just one spot and bagging 921,500 for the second biggest stack going into Day 3. Of particular note, Rigby coolered Phil Hellmuth early on at the feature table, sending the 17-time bracelet winner to the rail.
While Rigby did add considerably to his already big stack, he did not end up with the most chips. That honor goes to all-time WSOP Circuit Ring leader Maurice Hawkins, who managed to amass a mammoth 941,000 in pursuit of his first WSOP gold bracelet. Other big stacks include Jeffrey Shapiro (832,000), Liran Betito (604,000), and a player so good that when heads-up his opponents simply walk away from the table, Jacob Mitich (660,000).
2023 WSOP Main Event Top 10 Chip Counts Going Into Day 3
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maurice Hawkins | United States | 941,000 |
| 2 | Nicholas Rigby | United States | 921,500 |
| 3 | Christopher Brammer | United Kingdom | 879,000 |
| 4 | Jeffrey Shapiro | United States | 878,000 |
| 5 | Julio Belluscio | Argentina | 825,500 |
| 6 | Beqir Salihu | United States | 801,000 |
| 7 | John Sofillas | United States | 780,000 |
| 8 | Nick Marchington | United Kingdom | 716,000 |
| 9 | Heitor Saraiva | United States | 665,500 |
| 10 | Jacob Mitich | United States | 660,000 |
Main Event Day 2d Action
Many notables took their seat at the start of the day and were able to wend their way successfully through five 120-minute levels of play. Among them is mixed-game specialist and talented tennis player James Obst (593,000). After making a final table appearance at the 2023 Poker Player's Championship just a couple of weeks ago, he will be looking to add to his impressive summer showing. Chance Kornuth is currently on something of a heater, having won over $3.4 million in the last few months. That heater is showing no signs of cooling as he was able to bag an above average 449,500.
One of the more unexpected late entrants was none other than cash game legend Tom Dwan. Even though he only took his seat towards the end of registration, Dwan managed to equip himself with 426,500 as he looks to beef up a somewhat underwhelming tournament resumé for a player of his stature.
Day 3 resumes on July 9th at 12 p.m. local time at which point the entire field will be playing together for the first time. Five more 120-minute levels will be played. Although with 1,507 players getting paid it is unlikely that the money bubble will burst during those five levels, there will still be plenty of action going down.
Be sure to stay tuned to PokerNews as its live reporting team continues to provide comprehensive coverage of Event #76: $10,000 WSOP Main Event World Championship.