The Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas are buzzing on this, the fourth weekend of action at the 2023 World Series of Poker. The Ladies’ Championship has reached the money and should be looking at setting a final table on Saturday. Around the felt battlegrounds, Ryan Miller was able to vanquish Bryn Kenney in what was an epic heads-up fight for the Stud Hi/Lo Championship.
Mary Dvorkin Leads Final 47 in Ladies’ Championship
330 women came back on Friday for action in the $10,000 Ladies’ Championship but, with only 195 of those ladies picking up a cash from the event, there was a bit of tension in the air. Canada’s Bernice McLennan led the field to the line for Day Two action, and the pre-money battles raged around the arena. Several notables would not survive the carnage, including Gaelle Baumann, Melanie Weisner, Angela Jordison, Kristen Foxen, and Esther Taylor all falling short of the money bubble.
The money bubble would pop when Samantha Gonzalez shoved her nearly 100K stack to the center over a three-bet from Lu Huang and after a raise from Aroha Ngata. With Gonzalez’s chips in the center, Ngata made the call and Huang quickly mucked her cards. Unfortunately for Gonzalez, she was completely dominated in the hand:
Gonzalez: A-K
Ngata: A-A
The Ace on the flop basically ended any drama, and a turn deuce left Gonzalez drawing dead. Once the board paired with a second five on the river, Ngata earned elimination, and the remaining 195 players were in the money.
After that mark, the cash-out cage became the most popular spot in Las Vegas. Earning a little cash for their efforts were such players as Veronica Brill (175th, $1601), Allyn Shulman (171st, $1601), Karina Jett (165th, $1601), Jamie Kerstetter (119th, $2002), Ruth Hall (90th, $2152), Lily Kiletto (86th, $2349), and Tiffany Michelle (56th, $3337).
The day was decent for the chip leader McLennan. She was able to spin up her stack to almost a million in chips, making her a very viable stack in the remaining 47-player field. McLennan was bypassed late in the evening by Mary Dvorkin, who would pick up a monster half-million pot against Daris Justice when she hit a runner-runner full house. That was a key moment in driving Dvorkin to the lead:
1. Mary Dvorkin, 1.42 million
2. Eunji Park, 1.4 million
3. Shiina Okamoto, 1.225 million
4. Talia Fligelman, 1.19 million
5. Bernice McLennan, 980,000
6. Chrysi Phiniotis, 950,000
7. Tara Cain, 915,000
(tie) Felisa Westermann, 915,000
9. Nam Nguyen, 900,000
10. Marguerite Spagnuolo, 820,000
Action will continue on Saturday in the WSOP Ladies’ Championship until the final table is determined. Sunday the Ladies’ Champion will be crowned, who will take the WSOP bracelet and the $192,167 first place prize.
Miller Outlasts Kenney in Marathon Heads-Up Match
In what was a marathon heads-up battle that saw both men hold the lead at different periods, Ryan Miller was able to finally vanquish Bryn Kenney in the $10,000 Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo 8 or Better Championship to win his first-ever WSOP bracelet.
Six men returned on Friday to battle it out for the title, with four of those players looking to earn their first bracelet. Day One chip leader Maximilian Schindler, David ‘Chino’ Rheem, Eddie Blumenthal, and final table chip leader Miller all were looking to “break their duck,” while Andres Korn and Kenney sought to add another piece to their jewelry case. As the only two players over the two million mark in chips, it figured to come down to Miller and Kenney and that’s what occurred.
Miller sunk down the leaderboard in the early going, while Kenney surged ahead. Kenney would be responsible for the knockouts of Blumenthal and Rheem in sixth and fifth places, respectively, while Miller righted the ship with a double through Schindler. Still, once Schindler was eliminated by Kenney in third place, the chips were stacked against Miller (5.96 million for Kenney versus 2.5 million for Miller).
That was before the epic, five-hour fight, however. Miller would claw his way into the lead, only to give it back – and then some – in falling behind by a 3.5:1 margin against Kenney. Miller would surge again, though, in scooping two straight hands to get healthy once again. Miller would eventually grind out enough of a lead that he was able to put Kenney away for good.
On that final hand, Kenney brought in with his (A-Q) 5 against Miller’s (A-7) 9, and Miller completed the bet (which Kenney called) to see another card. Fourth Street brought a four for Miller and a nine for Kenney, but both men checked their options with nothing seemingly brewing on the up cards. An Ace came up for Miller on Fifth Street, giving him a pair, while Kenney paired his up nine with a second nine.
Kenney committed his final chips to the center at this point, with a pair of nines showing (and no low potential) and Miller was happy to go to battle with his Aces. Neither man would improve after Fifth Street, with Kenney running out 10-2 and Miller 3-J to end the tournament in Miller’s favor.
1. Ryan Miller, $344,677
2. Bryn Kenney, $213,027
3. Maximilian Schindler, $149,981
4. Andres Korn, $107,824
5. David ‘Chino’ Rheem, $79,189
6. Eddie Blumenthal, $59,441
7. Yong Wang, $45,624*
8. Joao Vieira, $35,826*
(* – eliminated on Thursday, part of official final table)
