Nine days into the 2024 World Series of Poker, we are yet to experience a double winner this summer, but there was another two-time champion crowned in Las Vegas last night as the Bulgarian player Simeon Spasov won the second bracelet of his career. Elsewhere, Robert Mizrachi put himself in pole position to win his fifth, while Daniel Negreanu and Phil Ivey both fell short in their bids for gold in the latest megastar mixed game event.
Spasov Hails Second Bracelet Win
There was a sensational finish in the $1,500-entry 6-Max Event 12 as No Limit Hold’em proved impossible to perfect once again in Las Vegas. Random elements are everywhere at a WSOP final table and John Henry Gordon’s rush to the top of the leaderboard with seven left counts as one of them. Winning with aces against Anthony Marquez on the final table bubble Gordon went into the final table as chip leader.
From there, the overnight leader Daniel Palau was taken out by the eventual winner Spasov as the Spaniard’s 9♥ 9♦ couldn’t beat Spasov’s A♣ Q♥ with all the chips on the line, a board of A♠ 7♠ 6♥ K♦ K♠ sending the Spanish player home with $83,452. Eliminations for Mark Dube (5th), Steve Yea (4th) and Chih Fan (3rd) followed before Spasov got the job done heads-up, his A♠ 7♣ triumphing against Gordon’s 8♥ 6♥ in the final hand, sealing Spasov the title, the $439,815 top prize and the gold bracelet, sending his Bulgarian rail wild with celebration.
| WSOP Event #12: $1,500 6-Max NLHE Final Table Results: | |||
| Place | Place | Country | Prize |
| 1st | Simeon Spasov | Bulgaria | $439,815 |
| 2nd | John Henry Gordon | United States | $293,218 |
| 3rd | Chih Fan | Taiwan | $210,645 |
| 4th | Steve Yea | South Korea | $152,995 |
| 5th | Mark Dube | United States | $112,362 |
| 6th | Daniel Palau | Spain | $83,452 |
| 7th | Joseph Brum Pacheco | Brazil | $62,687 |
Mizrachi Close to the Gold in Dealer’s Choice
Robert Mizzrachi leads the last three in the $10,000 buy-in Dealer’s Championship, with his stack of 3.62m good for a final day chip lead over Michael Martinelli’s 3.29m and Japanese player Ryutaro Suzuki’s 1.55 million chips. With a top prize of $333,045 and Mizrachi’s potential fifth gold bracelet up for grabs, the American will be favorite when play resumes for the additional day required in this star-studded event.
On the penultimate day of the action, stars such as Daniel Negreanu (10th) and Phil Ivey (11th) both missed the final table, before Richard Bai (6th) and David Bach (5th) made way. The former WSOP Main Event finalist Ben Lamb was last to leave before play concluded in fourth place for $99,885.
| WSOP Event #13: $10,000 Dealer’s Choice Championship Final Table: | |||
| Place | Place | Country | Prize/Chips |
| 1st | Robert Mizrachi | United States | 3,620,000 |
| 2nd | Michael Martinelli | United States | 3,290,000 |
| 3rd | Ryutaro Suzuki | Japan | 1,555,000 |
| 4th | Ben Lamb | United States | $99,885 |
| 5th | David Bach | United States | $71,476 |
| 6th | Richard Bai | United States | $52,985 |
Furth is a Clear First in Omaha Hi-Lo
Just 14 players remain involved in the $1,500-entry PLO Omaha Hi-Lo Event #15, with Caleb Furth’s incredible stack of 124 big blinds (7.45 million) dwarfing everyone’s else’s totals, with Andrew Paterson (3,980,000) and Walter Chambers (3,870,000) closest by. With 192 players reduced to just over a dozen, the overnight chip leader did prevail, however, as Daniel Lowery (1.91m) held firm to make the third, and last, day of the event. The top prize is $265,361.
| WSOP Event #15: $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha Hi-Lo Day 2 Chipcounts: | |||
| Place | Place | Country | Chips |
| 1st | Caleb Furth | United States | 7,450,000 |
| 2nd | Andrew Paterson | United States | 3,980,000 |
| 3rd | Walter Chambers | United States | 3,870,000 |
| 4th | Andreas Frohli | Austria | 2,815,000 |
| 5th | Jonathan Lewis | United States | 2,435,000 |
| 6th | Daniel Lowery | United States | 1,915,000 |
| 7th | Tom Koral | United States | 1,640,000 |
| 8th | Mike Holtz | United States | 1,420,000 |
| 9th | Michael Machugh | Canada | 1,400,000 |
| 10th | Mathias Bayer | Austria | 1,265,000 |
Nate Silver and Brent Hart Knocking on 8-Max Door
There’s an even bigger $660,284 up for grabs as top prize in the $5,000-entry 8-Max NLHE Event #16, with Shant Marashlian (2,785,000) leading from Anthony Cierco (2,275,000) and Mark Tarich (2,255,000). Behind the top trio sit some very interesting players with everything to gain, such as ‘Barstool Nate’ Silver who has 1,885,000 chips as he bids to win a first WSOP bracelet event. Other superstars still with a chance at gold include Sam Soverel (1,135,000), Kenny Hallaert (840,000), Poker Hall of Famer Brian Rast (650,000) and the 10-tie WSOP bracelet winner Erik Seidel (290,000).
| WSOP Event #16: $5,000 8-Max NLHE Day 2 Chipcounts: | |||
| Place | Place | Country | Chips |
| 1st | Shant Marashlian | United States | 2,785,000 |
| 2nd | Anthony Cierco | France | 2,275,000 |
| 3rd | Mark Tarich | United States | 2,255,000 |
| 4th | Nate Silver | United States | 1,885,000 |
| 5th | Brent Hart | United States | 1,750,000 |
| 6th | Mitchell Halverson | United States | 1,705,000 |
| 7th | Unknown | United States | 1,685,000 |
| 8th | Adam Saven | United States | 1,290,000 |
| 9th | Alex Queen | United States | 1,270,000 |
| 10th | Corey Thompson | United States | 1,220,000 |
Other Bracelet Events Begin on Day 9 of WSOP
Three more events began Day 1 flights on Wednesday, with No Limit Hold’em Event #17, costing $800 to play, first to end. An incredible 4,732 entrants were reduced to just 310 survivors, with professional player James Calderaro (2.44 million) on top. Other big names at the close of play, with Rafael Reis (1,325,000), Daniel Strelitz (1,105,000) and Shaun Deeb (770,000) all still fighting and within the top 100.
In the $1,500 PLO Event #18, Day 1 ended with Mike Dentale (1,230,000) top of the leaderboard with former WSOP Player of the Year Daniel Zack (953,000) second in chips and poker legend Chino Rheem (624,000) in third. Others to survive included Phil Ivey (278,000), Jared Bleznick (313,000), and Dylan Weisman (482,000) as 1,469 entrants played and just 161 made Day 2 with a chance of taking home the top prize of $294,311.
Just 54 players made Day 2 of the $10,000 buy-in Limit Hold’em Championship as 104 entries took part in Event #19 on Day 1. Finnish star Juha Helppi (254,000) topped them at the close of the opening day, with legends such as Max Hoffman (237,000), Mike Lang (218,000), six-time WSOP winner Josh Arieh (116,000) and five-time bracelet winner John Monnette (115,000) all making the Day 2 cut.
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This article originally appeared on PokerStake.com
