Amid the flurry of activity around the Rio on Thursday at the 2014 World Series of Poker were two events in different stages of their play. In Event #3, the $1000 Pot Limit Omaha tournament, Steve Billirakis is looking to add to his bracelet collection as the leader at the final table and Miguel Proulx is at the top of the table in a massive $1000 No Limit Hold’em event.
Event #3 – $1000 Pot Limit Omaha – Day 2
With 106 players returning on Thursday to continue the fun and games of Pot Limit Omaha, Loren Klein held a massive chip lead entering the day’s play. With everyone in the money from the original 1128 player field, the early play saw the short stacks look to “double up or go home,” resulting in the departure of several notable names early. Ashton Griffin, Douglas Polk (one of the top online players known as ‘WCGRider’), A. P. Phahurat, Chris DeMaci and Humberto Brenes were among those leaving with a little change in their pocket.
Klein would stumble out of the gate, letting Steve Billirakis emerge as the new chip leader. That lead was short-lived, however, as the volatile Omaha game bit Billirakis in a hand against Stephen Chidwick. On a 3-10-2 rainbow flop, a seven turn and a six river, both players checked and, once Chidwick flashed his 10-10-5-3 for the top set, Billirakis could only slide his A-K-Q-10 to the muck and some of his chips to the Englishman.
Both Klein and Billirakis would recover, though, joined by former World Champion Greg Merson, who doubled up through Allan Le to put his name in contention. After five hours of play, the 106 player field had been whittled down to only the final 27 as the battle raged onward.
Billirakis would continue his move up the ladder, snapping off a full house with his 6-6-7-7 against Andrew Paterson on a 6-Q-4-10-Q board, and Merson would keep pace in besting Mikal Blomlie to crack the 300K chip mark. Not to be outdone, Klein chopped a massive pile of chips from Merson’s stack to take his place in the 300K club. When it came down to the final two tables, however, Billirakis had established himself as the chip leader.
Over the final level, the intensity increased even more. Billirakis and Klein continued to ravage their section of felt as Merson fell in fourteenth place at the hands of Brandon Shack-Harris. Coming down to the final table, Billirakis and Shack-Harris were neck-and-neck for the lead while Klein was in the middle of the pack. In the final hour of play, Nick Guagenti (9th, $14,649), Klein (8th, $18,750) and Patrick Arena (7th, $24,324) would hit the rail, setting up Friday’s final showdown between the six remaining players.
1. Steve Billirakis, 961,000
2. Brandon Shack-Harris, 695,000
3. Matthew Ryan, 604,000
4. Iori Yogo, 575,000
5. Morgan Popham, 303,000
6. Robert Paddock, 250,000
The final table play resumes this afternoon at 1PM (Las Vegas time) and the eventual champion will walk off with the WSOP bracelet and an even $205,000 for their three days’ of work.
Event #4 – $1000 No Limit Hold’em – Day 1
2224 players came out for the first low buy-in tournament of the 2014 WSOP and to say the action was frenetic would be an understatement. The money bubble burst with an hour to go in the day’s play and, following the departure of an unfortunate soul with nothing to show for his efforts, 56 more would hit the exits and earn a WSOP cash for their poker resumes. Some of those players included Humberto Brenes (his second cash of the 2014 WSOP), Douglas Carli, Athanasios Polychronopoulos and Amanda Baker, with only Baker ($1981) making the pay jump over the $1801 min-cash.
With 186 players still remaining, there is a bit of confusion over who actually has the chip lead. Canada’s Miguel Proulx appears to hold that honor with his 120,500 in chips, but official WSOP statistics have yet to be compiled. Joining Proulx in heading to Day Two is countryman Mark Radoja (already a two-time WSOP bracelet winner and holding 102,000 in chips), Phil Collins (69,800), ‘Grindette’ Jamie Kerstetter (69,700), Andrew Lichtenberger (62,700), Olivier Busquet (35,000) and Amanda Musumeci, who will have her work cut out for her with her 15,200 in chips.
The carnage of Event #4 goes on today with the goal of reaching the nine-handed final table for Saturday’s slate of events. The eventual champion of this particular $1000 NLHE tournament will take down the bracelet and a nice $360,435 in cash to start the 2014 WSOP on.