On Day 23 of the 2022 World Series of Poker, there were two bracelet winners and five other huge events including the first day of the $250,000 Super High Roller event. With wins for both Phil Hui and Andrew Yeh, there were celebrations at Bally’s and Paris in Las Vegas well into the night. Five other events took place, including the $250,000-entry Super High Roller, which saw players such as Phil Ivey and Adrian Mateos star at the felt.
Hui Claims Third Bracelet Win in Epic PLO Comeback
Phil Hui is no stranger to winning a WSOP bracelet in dramatic circumstances, with the former golfer already having won events at the World Series such as the $50,000-entry Poker Players Championship in 2019 for just under $1.1 million. Today, he claimed his third WSOP bracelet in style as he came back to win the $1,500-entry Pot Limit Omaha Event #45 for $311,782.
At a stacked final table full of stars, Hui took the third-lowest stack into the nine-handed unofficial final table, with another player needing to bust for the final eight to be confirmed. Hui started his rise to ultimate victory shortly after Dylan Smith busted to Shane Nardiello, with Dylan Weisman also on the rise. Sadly for the latter, his end was just beginning, as a vital pot against Hui went the eventual winner’s way to leave Weisman short.
After he busted, Weisman was not happy with his own play…. although he later admitted he might not have played as badly as he originally thought.
Dead in 8th ran awful played worse fml
— Dylan Weisman (@Dweisman13) June 23, 2022
After the elimination of Paul Fehlig in seventh place for £44,735, David Williams failed to grab his second bracelet as he busted in sixth for $58,606, the former busting to Nardiello and the latter to Hui. That put Hui not into the lead, but with a lot more chip control over pots and in taking out Williams, denied a poker great the chance to stop him.
Nardiello’s was a shock exit in fifth for $77,635 before Charles Coultas (4th for $103,979) and overnight chip leader David Prociak (3rd for $140,783) followed him from the felt. That left just Hui and Daniel Tordjman, who had risen through the ranks at the final table with the same quiet calm that Hui exuded. After going into the heads up with a 5:2 chip advantage, Tordjman initially chipped up, building an even bigger chip lead, but Hui’s resilience is not legendary without reason and he ground back into contention with a dogged determination.
Tordjman was on the brink of going into a 4:1 lead before Hui made a straight and a few hands later, the chips were level instead. Both men had the lead multiple times over the next period, but when hui doubled up into a 5:1 lead with aces full of sevens, he was in the position to end the contest and that he did when sevens and eights proved enough to take the title and his third bracelet.
Tordjman, so close to glory, had to settle for $192,674 and the runner-up position, while Hui could celebrate with a $311,782 payday and that priceless third bracelet to add to his collection.
WSOP 2022 Event #45 $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha Final Table Results:
- Phil Hui – $311,782
- Daniel Tordjman – $192,674
- David Prociak – $140,783
- Charles Coultas – $103,979
- Shane Nardiello – $77,635
- David Williams – $58,606
- Paul Fehlig – $44,735
- Dylan Weisman – $34,532
Yeh Claims Debut Gold After Impressive Heads-Up Victory
Andrew Yeh won the first WSOP bracelet of his career after a stunning heads-up victory over Craig Chait. After hours of heads-up action finally concluded with Yeh grabbing victory, he banked the $487,129 top prize in the 410,000-entry H.O.R.S.E. Championship at the expense of several stars at the final table.
With just five players remaining, John Racener was one of those star names coming into the five-handed final. Racener, however, was the first player to bust as he cashed for $108,253 and crashed out to Bryce Yockey in Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo. Yockey’s win at the time looked like an important one for him, putting him third in chips, but despite this, an extended period of play saw him buts in fourth place for $148,896.
With three players left, long-time chip leader in the event, Philip Long, busted for $209,424, missing out on heads-up when Yeh got the better of him in Seven Card Stud. Yeh took that pot and a big lead into heads-up play, with 9.1 million chips against 3.3 million for Chait. But although it looked like an unassailable lead for Yeh at points, Chait came fighting back time and time again and both men held the lead at different points.
Eventually Yeh proved the winner and celebrated with a huge rail who were inside the Thunderdome supporting him, with Chait left with the consolation prize of $301,068 as runner-up.
WSOP 2022 Event #44 $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship Final Table Results:
- Andrew Yeh – $487,129
- Craig Chait – $301,068
- Philip Long – $209,424
- Bryce Yockey – $148,896
- John Racener – $108,253
- Paul Sokoloff – $80,523
- Mike Gorodinsky – $61,314
- Eric Wasserson – $47,819
Adrian Mateos Builds Big Lead in Super High Roller
Spanish pro Adrian Mateos is defending his 2021 Super High Roller title with a vengeance if Day 1 of this year’s corresponding event is anything to go by. Mateos built a huge chip lead as 52 entries were whittled down to just 30 survivors on Day 1, as he bagged up 9,745,000 chips by the close of play. Only Phil Ivey has above half of Mateos’ chips, with the 10-time WSOP bracelet winner piling up 6,830,000 by the close of play.
Elsewhere in terms of survivors, Dario Sammartino (4,835,000), Dan Zack (4,445,000) and Alex Foxen (4,250,000) all made the top 10 chipcounts, with Justin Bonomo (2,385,000), Ben Heath (1,890,000), David Peters (1,070,000) and Daniel Negreanu (655,000) taking different sized stacks through to Day 2.
Among those to bust and fail to make the Day 2 cut in this toughest of surroundings were Ali Imsirovic, Jake Schindler, Dan Smith, Chance Kornuth, Michael Addamo and Scott Seiver, though players can still enter or re-enter up to the first deal on Day 2.
WSOP 2022 Event #50 $250,000 Super High Roller Top 10 Chipcounts:
- Adrian Mateos – 9,745,000
- Phil Ivey – 6,830,000
- Dario Sammartino – 4,835,000
- Nick Petrangelo – 4,500,000
- Dan Zack – 4,445,000
- Alex Foxen – 4,250,000
- Martin Kabrhel – 3,935,000
- Koray Aldemir – 3,805,000
- Chris Hunichen – 3,750,000
- Aleks Ponakovs – 3,370,000
Stephen on Song in Event #46
Stephen Song ended the penultimate day in a dominant position as just five players remained in the $5,000-entry no limit hold’em Event #46. With his four opponents totalling approximately his stack, Song’s lead of 23.3 million chips to his nearest rival Tamer Alkamli (8,710,000) is a huge one. Song has already got one WSOP bracelet in his career and looks a huge favorite to do so again.
A total of 46 players started the day, with almost all of them ending on the rail. Joao Simao (43rd for $15,482), Anthony Zinno (32nd for $21,597), Joey Weissman (21st for 32,459), Robert Mizrachi (14th for $40,885), Anthony Spinella (13th for $40,885), and the man who led when Day 3 play began, Ezequiel Waigel (7th for $90,714), all departed on a day of drama that leaves Song as the table captain with just one table left.
If there is one of his opponents who has more experience than others at grinding back a chip deficit it is perhaps Elio Fox, who has won two previous bracelets and starts with 5,635,000 chips, though this equates to just 14 big blinds.
WSOP 2022 Event #46 $5,000 NLHE 6-Max Final Table Chipcounts:
- Stephen Song – 23,320,000
- Jonathan Pastore – 5,950,000
- Tamer Alkamli – 8,710,000
- Paraskevas Tsokaridis – 2,590,000
- Elio Fox – 5,635,000
Record-Breaking Field in Seniors Event
The $1,000-entry Event #47 saw Day 1b of the Seniors Championship swell with entries across Bally’s and Paris as a total of 7,188 entries across both starting flights set a new record in the event.
Ken O’Malley (363,500) leads the field with a massive prize pool of $6.3 million to fight for, and a top prize of well over $600,000. Closest to O’Malley is Alexandre Hill on 310,000, with Mike Fisher (300,000), Victor Amereno (291,500), Stephen Driggers (277,500), and Dara O’Kearney (110,000) just four of the players to survive a busy Day 1b.
While many stars made it, others such as the former WSOP Main Event winner Greg Raymer ended up on the rail, with ‘Fossilman’ having entered both Day 1a and Day 1b in pursuit of more gold to no avail.
WSOP 2022 Event #47 $1,000 Seniors Championship Top 10 Chipcounts:
- Ken O’Malley – 363,500
- Daniel Hake – 325,500
- Mark Schlig – 324,000
- Alexander Hill – 310,000
- Brian Topp – 307,000
- April Facey – 306,000
- Andrew Finlay – 304,000
- Richard Anthony – 301,500
- Michael Fisher – 300,000
- Peter Muhlbek – 298,000
Two More Events Close the Day
Two more big WSOP events closed out the action, as in Event #48, 200 players were reduced to just 16 still in the hunt in the $1,500-entry 8-Game Mix event. Jason Stockfish (2,540,000) has a big lead to defend on the final day, with Jake Liebeskind (1,692,000) and Eric Buchman (1,461,000) his nearest rivals.
Others to make the top 10 included the 2019 WSOP Player of the Year Robert Campbell (1,229,000), and Hye Park (1,063,000), with mixed game legend and 2022 bracelet winner Adam Friedman (1,027,000) still looking for the win. Others such as Daniel Weinman, Scott Abrams, David ‘Bakes’ Baker, Jeremy Ausmus and Shaun Deeb all missed out on the final day after losing their chips on Day 2.
WSOP 2022 Event #48 $1,500 Eight Game Mix Top 10 Chipcounts:
- Jason Stockfish – 2,540,000
- Jake Liebeskind – 1,692,000
- Eric Buchman – 1,461,000
- Ryan Roeder – 1,376,000
- Robert Wells – 1,309,000
- Nick Yunis – 1,283,000
- Robert Campbell – 1,229,000
- Menikos Panagiotou – 1,116,000
- Hye Park – 1,063,000
- Adam Demersseman – 1,053,000
The final event to close down for the evening was Event #49, the $2,000 buyin no limit hold’em event. A total of 1,977 entries made the prize pool an awesome $3.5 million, and of the 311 players who survived to keep dreaming of the half-million top prize, it is popular poker pro Faraz Jaka (735,000) who has the most chips.
Jaka is followed by some very well-known pros as players such as nearest rival Dan Colpoys (730,000), Romain Lewis (520,000), Natalie Hof (431,000), Alex Keating (309,000), Kristen Foxen (306,000), Joao Vieira (295,000), Maria Ho (166,000), Chris Moorman (160,000), Harrison Gimbel (129,000), Johan Guilbert (184,000), Bertrand ‘ElkY’ Grospellier (95,000) and Matas Cimbolas (85,000) all made Day 2.
With players such as 2009 world champion Joe Cada, Matt Stout, Kenny Hallaert, Calvin Anderson and Anatoly Filatov all losing their stacks on the day.
WSOP 2022 Event #49 $2,000 NLHE Top 10 Chipcounts:
- Faraz Jaka – 735,000
- Dan Colpoys – 730,000
- John Perry – 729,000
- Tommy Kivela – 669,000
- Daniel Custodio – 540,000
- Romain Lewis – 520,000
- Jack Corrigan – 501,000
- Unknown – 478,000
- Damien Le Goff – 465,000
- Gerson Caldeira – 462,000
2021 WSOP Player of the Year Josh Arieh updated poker fans on the situation with yesterday’s explosive hand against Phil Hellmuth.
PLO- PH limped utg+1, sb calls, I check bb w A288cc. Flop QJ6cch. Checks around. Turn 8h, I bet 6k, PH pots with 21k behind. I tank call. River Kc I bet 20k he calls and then the tantrum begins https://t.co/PFZviUfPI3
— Joshua Arieh (@golferjosh) June 23, 2022
Hellmuth himself updated fans on a particular problem he and others face – getting rest days when there are so many great tournaments on offer.
1 A huge issue for us players during @WSOP: rest. For some of us (not me!), that’s 7 weeks of playing poker every…single…day…When to take a day off? It takes discipline to take a day off! Why? Because we have all played when we were super tired and won tourneys.
— phil_hellmuth (@phil_hellmuth) June 24, 2022
Scott Seiver has had a great Series so far, winning his fourth bracelet, but he can see the difference between a min-cash in a lower tournament and the latest tournament buy-in.
That feeling when you go from scratching and clawing to try to mincash a 1500 to registering a 250k
— Scott Seiver (@scott_seiver) June 24, 2022
Finally, even legendary players still feel that buzz when they sit down in a WSOP event for the first time.
I am now playing my 1st ever @WSOP event! The $2000 freezeout, right here…in Las Vegas, Nevada!
— Spraggy (@spraggy) June 23, 2022
Official photographs courtesy of PokerGO, the home of live-streamed action throughout the 2022 World Series of Poker in Las Vegas.
