Artem Metalidi Among the $777 Lucky 7's Day 1c Chip Leaders
Day 1c of Event #93: $777 Lucky 7's No-Limit Hold'em at the 2024 World Series of Poker (WSOP) was the busiest of the three starting flights, with 3,235 entrants joining the action. After 22 intense levels, only 150 of those bagged up stacks, meaning 300 players will return on Day 2.
Marc Rivera (3,255,000) of the Philippines claimed the Day 1c chip lead, some 21 big blinds ahead of Jeffrey Smith (2,380,000), who is just in front of Ukraine's Artem Metalidi (2,375,000) in third.
| Rank | Player | Country | Chips | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marc Rivera | Philippines | 3,255,000 | 81 |
| 2 | Jeffrey Smith | United States | 2,380,000 | 60 |
| 3 | Artem Metalidi | Ukraine | 2,375,000 | 59 |
| 4 | Duc Nguyen | United States | 2,370,000 | 59 |
| 5 | David Baize | United States | 2,000,000 | 50 |
| 6 | Brandon Navarrete | United States | 1,915,000 | 48 |
| 7 | Jared Moore | United States | 1,870,000 | 47 |
| 8 | Justin Datloff | United States | 1,845,000 | 46 |
| 9 | Justin Arnwine | United States | 1,815,000 | 45 |
| 10 | Lukas Hafner | Austria | 1,745,000 | 44 |
Metalidi has almost $3.9 million in live tournament cashes, an impressive total helped by his eighth-place finish in the 2018 WSOP Main Event, which banked the Ukrainian $1,250,000. He was runner-up in a $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em 6-Handed event in 2012 and finished in fourth-place in the $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em 6-Handed event in 2017. Could this be the tournament where Metalidi captures a WSOP bracelet?
Among the Day 1c survivors are such stars as two-time bracelet winner Ilija Savevski (1,365,000), Jack Duong (1,145,000), Jessica Vierling (1,095,000), Kathy Liebert (1,000,000), and Levi Berger (920,000). Last year's Main Event sixth-place finisher Dean Hutchison (945,000) is through to Day 2, as are Dinesh Alt (460,000), Anthony Spinella (385,000), and Bin Weng (380,000).
Day 2 starts at 10 a.m. local time on July 16. Play will continue for 17 forty-minute levels or until only five players remain, whichever comes first. Fifteen-minute breaks are scheduled every three levels, with a 60-minute dinner break penciled in after Level 31 (around 4:30 p.m. local time).
Return to PokerNews on July 16 to see how this massive event pans out.