A very short-stacked Mitch Garshofsky was all in with his final chips holding J♦6♦ against Daniel Willis, who had 10♥10♣ open in front of him.
Garshofsky missed his outs during the 10♠8♦5♦4♠A♣ rundown and missed out on the three-table redraw.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
6,500,000
5,850,000
|
5,850,000 |
|
||
|
Busted | |
Yoshinori Funayama raised to 240,000 in middle position and Steven Borella three-bet to 900,000 from the small blind. Michael Wang four-bet shoved 2,370,000 from the big blind, and Funayama folded.
"Alright, I call. I have queens," Borella said after briefly sizing up Wang's stack.
Michael Wang: K♥K♦ 
Steven Borella: Q♠Q♥
The dealer fanned out a board of 10♥8♠7♠8♥6♣ for Wang to score a big double.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
5,200,000
-1,100,000
|
-1,100,000 |
|
5,140,000
2,340,000
|
2,340,000 |
|
||
|
4,060,000
1,760,000
|
1,760,000 |
Day 2 hasn’t been kind to Day 1 chip leader Qiang Xu, whose chip stack has been in a steady decline.
It didn’t get better for the WSOP bracelet winner after Xu moved all in from the button, only to see Joshua Hernandez also move all in with a shorter stack.
The big blind immediately folded, prompting a showdown between Hernandez and Xu.
Joshua Hernandez: A♦A♣
Qiang Xu: K♦9♥
Xu never improved his hand after the dealer fanned J♠5♥Q♣3♣J♥ on the board, giving Hernandez a double up and leaving Xu on fumes.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
1,600,000
500,000
|
500,000 |
|
250,000
-850,000
|
-850,000 |
|
||
Poker Hall of Famer Daniel Negreanu raised in early position to 200,000, and then faced an all-in bet from Frank Swarts, who pushed with his remaining 400,000 effective stack.
Action folded to Shawn Smith, who appeared to make an isolation three-bet from the big blind, but Negreanu called to build a side pot of 560,000.
The dealer placed 2♣9♣Q♦ on the flop, and Smith checked. Negreanu bet 600,000, which Smith immediately called.
The turn saw 5♣ on the board. Smith once again checked, only to hear Negreanu announce a 1,200,000 bet, which forced Smith to fold. Negreanu and Swarts then tabled their hands in heads-up play.
Frank Swarts: 10♠10♣
Daniel Negreanu: A♣Q♥
“Can you beat it?” Negreanu asked after showing his cards.
“I need help,” Swarts said before tabling his pocket pair.
The assistance didn’t come, though, as the dealer placed 6♠ on the river to give Negreanu a large pot.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
6,200,000
2,750,000
|
2,750,000 |
|
||
|
5,400,000
-750,000
|
-750,000 |
|
Busted | |
Short-stacked throughout the final hour, Ryan Riess saw action fold to him in the small blind and he committed his final chips with Kx5x. Yoshinori Funayama called with Ax10x in the big blind and held up to eliminate the 2013 Main Event champion.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
2,300,000
300,000
|
300,000 |
|
Busted | |
|
||
With around 1,000,000 already in the pot and the board showing 10♦4♠10♣Q♣8♥, John Hardin bet 500,000 in middle position. Daniel Negreanu went all in for 1,185,000 in the cutoff.
"Two jacks still good?" Hardin asked, but Negreanu didn't respond.
Eventually, Hardin folded and Negreanu took a big pot without showdown.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
3,100,000
1,800,000
|
1,800,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
800,000
-635,000
|
-635,000 |
A total of 151 players are set to return for Day 2 of Event #3: $500 Kickoff No-Limit Hold’em Freezeout at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas.
The bubble burst Wednesday, and 523 players made the money out of 3,485 entrants, which generated a prize pool of $1,463,700. For the remaining players in to Day 2, the goal now is to continue advancing for a chance to take down the top prize of $175,578 and a coveted WSOP bracelet.
WSOP bracelet winner Qiang Xu raced out to a Day 1 chip lead with 2,130,000 by the time the players bagged in the early morning hours. Steve Borella is close behind with 1,835,000, while WSOP bracelet winner Jason Wheeler is fourth with 1,615,000.
| Rank | Player | Country | Chips | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Qiang Xu | China | 2,130,000 | 71 |
| 2 | Steven Borella | United States | 1,835,000 | 61 |
| 3 | Gregory Snyder | United States | 1,665,000 | 56 |
| 4 | Jason Wheeler | United States | 1,615,000 | 54 |
| 5 | Addam Smith | United States | 1,565,000 | 52 |
| 6 | John Hardin | United States | 1,435,000 | 48 |
| 7 | Zhiyuan Xu | China | 1,385,000 | 46 |
| 8 | Ishan Mohamed | United States | 1,350,000 | 45 |
| 9 | Charles Tonne | United States | 1,345,000 | 45 |
| 10 | Shawn Smith | United States | 1,320,000 | 44 |
The remaining field boasts a group of notables, all of whom are capable of making a run to the top of the leaderboard. The list includes multiple WSOP bracelet winners: Marco Johnson (1,005,000), Michael Wang (915,000), Tamas Lendvai (820,000) and Poker Hall of Famer Daniel Negreanu (650,000).
The players are scheduled to resume play for Day 2 at 11 a.m. at the Horseshoe in Las Vegas, with starting blinds in Level 23 of 15,000/30,000 and a 30,000 big blind ante. Play will continue the final table is established.
Stay tuned to PokerNews throughout the day as the remaining 151 players compete for a coveted WSOP bracelet.
