Brandon Sheils In the Top Ten Going into Day 2
The second and final day of Event #80, the first-ever $800 Independence Day Celebration - No-Limit Hold’em, will be underway at 11 a.m. at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas.
The two starting days, played on July 3 and July 4, drew 3,928 entrants altogether and, after 22 levels of play on the Day 1 flights, 356 of players are returning for Day 2. The prize pool is $2,765,312 with 430 places paid for the minimum of $1,602 and $254,469 going to the winner.
Bulgaria's Ivan Denev claimed the first flight's chip lead and has maintained it after the conclusion of both flights. William Zaiss, who was chip leader at the end of Day 1b, follows in second place.
Day 2 Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chips | Big Binds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ivan Denev | Bulgaria | 2,480,000 | 62 |
| 2 | William Zaiss | United States | 2,280,000 | 57 |
| 3 | Michael Phillips | United States | 2,010,000 | 50 |
| 4 | Nipun Java | India | 1,925,000 | 48 |
| 5 | Mark Seif | United States | 1,895,000 | 47 |
| 6 | Che Chun Chu | China | 1,880,000 | 47 |
| 7 | Lukas Hafner | Austria | 1,875,000 | 47 |
| 8 | Brandon Sheils | United Kingdom | 1,865,000 | 47 |
| 9 | Yoshiya Agata | Japan | 1,860,000 | 47 |
| 10 | Yuchung Chang | United States | 1,825,000 | 46 |
Brandon Sheils has, per his own accord, played almost every event at this WSOP. The British pro has an impressive record with $1,467,797 in live tournament winnings. At the WSOP, his best result so far is a 15th-place finish in the 2023 Monster Stack and he will be looking to improve that with a big stack going into this final day.
A few WSOP bracelet winners also find themselves among the top stacks. Mark Seif has won two WSOP bracelets, both in 2005. He already has five cashes at the 2024 WSOP, including a 12th-place finish in the $1,000 Seniors Championship for $44,153.
Indian pro and three-time bracelet winner Nipun Java is coming in with the fourth-largest stack. Java has $3,010,108 in total live tournament winnings, enough for third place on India's all time money list. He will be looking for his fourth bracelet after winning the $1,000 Tag Team No-Limit Hold'em and $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em Online Championship in 2017 and the $777 No-Limit Hold'em Lucky 7s online event in 2023.
Among others who made it to Day 2 are bracelet-winner Benjamin Ector, $25K Fantasy Draft pick John Riordan (1,100,000), 2010 WSOP Main Event sixth-place finisher John Dolan, Kenny Hallaert, Bradley Gafford, Brett Apter, Oliver Price, Men "The Master" Nguyen, Martin Zamani, Dan Heimiller, Kevin MacPhee, and Ari Engel.
Play will continue at 11 a.m, resuming Level 23, meaning the blinds will be 20,000/40,000 with a big blind ante of 40,000. The tournament will continue with 30-minute levels until the end. There will be a 15-min break every four levels and a 60-minute dinner break prior to start of final table.
Be sure to follow PokerNews as we bring you all the action from the floor as the 2024 WSOP heads into its final two weeks.