2023 WSOP Day 26: Phil Hellmuth Makes The Final 17 of $10,000 H.O.R.S.E.

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Phil Hellmuth

Day 26 of the 2023 World Series of Poker gave us plenty of action, with three bracelets being won, two events kicking off, and two events trucking through the middle game.

The Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas played host to these events in all their glory as three bracelets found new owners in Event #50: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship, Event #51: $1,000/Team TAG TEAM No-Limit Hold'em, and Event #52: $2,500 Mixed Limit Triple Draw Lowball.

Event #53: $1,500 MILLIONAIRE MAKER No-Limit Hold��em shuffled up and dealt again for the Day 1b flight while Event #55: $1,500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better kicked off its regular Day 1.

Event #48: $1,000 SENIORS No-Limit Hold��em Championship and Event #54: $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship are both one day closer to their final tables, with the H.O.R.S.E. event down to the final 17 and Phil Hellmuth still in the running.

AP Louis Garza Takes Event #50... And A Knee

Lou Garza

Event #50: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship was everything you'd hope from a $10k PLO final table, with great poker players putting on a show of great poker playing.

The live-streamed final table saw AP Louis Garza square off against Arthur Morris for a Texan v. Texan heads up match. To get there, the pair had to outlast hardened pros like Kosei Ichinose and Sam Soverel.

The Day 3 chip leader Stanislav Halatenko held on to enough chips to come in third, earning $570,307 in the process. Travis Pearson and Peng Shan completed the Day 4 lineup after Soverel, Ichinose, and Ren Lin were knocked out during Day 3's final table play.

This was Garza's first bracelet despite several top 20 finishes at the WSOP over the last few years.

Garza brought some definite sartorial flair to the table, and when asked about his stylish get-up, Garza responded, "Man, that's just me all day, any day, Monday, Tuesday, Jesus' birthday, your birthday." There may also have been another reason he wanted to look his best, as Garza had brought his own jewelry. After the win, he proposed to his girlfriend in the PokerGO studio.

Happy endings all round!

Event#50: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship Final Table Results

PlaceWinnerCountryPrize (in USD)
1AP Louis GarzaUnited States$1,309,232
2Arthur MorrisUnited States$809,167
3Stanislav HalatenkoUkraine$570,307
4Travis PearsonUnited States$407,915
5Peng ShanChina$296,154
6Sam SoverelUnited States$218,297
7Kosei IchinoseJapan$163,405
8Ren LinChina$124,243

Teamwork Works For Michael and Satoshi Tanaka

Michael Savakinas - Satoshi Tanaka

The Michael Savakinas-Satoshi Tanaka axis took down Event #51: $1,000/Team TAG TEAM No-Limit Hold'em earning themselves a pair of shinies for the trophy cabinet to go with a $190,662 payday.

Team Savanakis kept fresh by subbing in a new player at the end of every blind level. This unusual strategy seemed to work, allowing them to rise the ranks as their opponents fell one by one.

"When the final table started, we decided to switch on the levels," Tanaka explained. "I think that gave us an edge because no one else was doing that."

During heads-up play, the pair were up against the team of Vincent Moscati and Tanner Bibat. However, the eventual winners started with a chip lead and ended with all the chips. Team Moscati won $117,872 for second place.

Event #51: $1,000 Tag Team Final Table Payouts

PlaceTeam/PlayersCountryPrize
1Michael Savakinas - Satoshi TanakaUnited States$190,662
2Vincent Moscati - Tanner BibatUnited States$117,872
3Jonah LaBranche - Dustin WillsUnited States$85,040
4Rickey Evans - Roberto ValdezUnited States$62,090
5John Ventre - Kenneth GalloUnited States$45,884
6Marcus Stein - Amber DonatelliUnited States$34,326
7David Williams - Theo TranUnited States$26,000
8Carlos Inukai - Emmanuel AvilaUnited States$19,942
9Justin Pechie - Ronnie BardahUnited States$15,492
10Ramon Kropmanns - Jessica SerialBrazil$12,190

Nick Pupillo Wins Mixed Triple Draw Bracelet

Nick Pupillo

Event #52: $2,500 Mixed Limit Triple Draw Lowball is an unusual event. Players rotate through rounds of A-5 triple draw, 2-7 triple draw, and Badugi.

The final table bubble burst with WSOP bracelet winner Andrew Brown being sent to the rail by Aaron Mermelstein. Mermelstein eventually went out in third place, leaving Nick Pupillo and Ryan Moriarty heads up.

2-7 triple draw was the game afoot when heads-up play started between Pupillo and Moriarty. Heads up play lasted just a few hands before Moriarty found his Reichenbach with a K-9 low against Pupillo's 9-7. The pair got it all in, and Pupillo got the bracelet.

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Event #52: $2,500 Mixed Limit Triple Draw Lowball Final Table Results

PlacePlayerCountryPrize
1Nick PupilloUnited States$181,978
2Ryan MoriartyUnited States$112,472
3Aaron MermelsteinUnited States$74,545
4Tomomitsu OnoJapan$50,608
5Hye ParkUnited States$35,212
6Brant HaleUnited States$25,126

Billy Baxter in the Running For SENIORS Event Bracelet

Billy Baxter

The big story of Event #48: $1,000 SENIORS No-Limit Hold��em Championship was Billy Baxter's steady rise through the field. With seven WSOP bracelets and a spot in the Poker Hall of Fame already in hand, Baxter is one to watch.

Age brings experience and there is plenty of that in the remaining field of the Seniors Event. Gordon Eng (15,975,000) tops the leaderboard with Lonnie Hallett (15,300,000) and David Stearns (10,575,000) in close pursuit. Former Seniors champion, Dan Heimiller (3,625,000) also remains in the bracelet chase, looking for a duplicate.

Baxter's top ten chip stack at the end of Day 3 also bodes well for the continuation of his story tomorrow. Baxter and co will return on June 25 at 12 p.m. local time (note that this is a change from the 10 a.m. start marked on the original WSOP schedule).

Event #48: $1,000 SENIORS No-Limit Hold��em Championship Top Ten Chip Counts

RankPlayerCountryChip CountBig Blinds
1Gordon EngUnited States15,975,00064
2Lonnie HallettCanada15,300,00061
3David StearnsUnited States10,575,00042
4Amin MostafaviUnited States10,525,00042
5Jamie BakerCanada9,700,00039
6Ron FetschUnited States8,700,00035
7Billy BaxterUnited States6,400,00026
8Rudolf FourieSouth Africa6,000,00024
9Loren CloningerUnited States6,000,00024
10David ThompsonUnited States5,675,00023

Hellmuth Makes Final 17 In $10,000 H.O.R.S.E.

Brian Yoon

Event #54: $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship is one of the most prestigious events. The $10k buy-in and mixed game format tends to attract an elite player field.

Brian Yoon won his fifth WSOP bracelet earlier in this year's series and is now in pole position going into tomorrow's final table. He leads the 17 remaining players at the end of Day 2. With 185 entries, the prize pool for this event is $1,720,500.

Yoon may be top of the pride right now, but if he want's the lion's share of the pot, he will need to stay ahead of big-name players like Connor Drinan (1,200,000), Scott Seiver (965,000), Carol Fuchs (865,000), and 16-time braceletee Phil Hellmuth (700,000).

Day 3 action will begin on June 25 at 2 p.m. local time.

Event #54: $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship Day 2 Top Ten Chip Counts

RankPlayerCountryChip Count
1Brian YoonUnited States1,465,000
2Connor DrinanUnited States1,200,000
3Christopher ClaassenUnited States1,070,000
4Scott SeiverUnited States965,000
5Carol FuchsUnited States865,000
6Roman VerenkoUkraine855,000
7Brad RubenUnited States775,000
8Phil HellmuthUnited States700,000
9Mike GorodinskyUnited States635,000
10David "Bakes" BakerUnited States620,000

Eric Rodawig Leads Stud Hi-Lo Event After Day 1

Eric Rodawig

Event #55: $1,500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better attracted 566 players, generating a $755,610 prize pool and a $155,275 first place.

A total of 183 players remain in the running at the end of Day 1.

Big names who did not make it to Day 2 included Daniel Negreanu, Barry Greenstein, Jeff Madsen, Patrick Leonard, the actor James Woods, Allen Kessler, Ted Forrest, Jeff Lisandro, and Scotty Nguyen.

Players who will be returning tomorrow include Brian Rast (118,000), Frankie O'Dell (100,000), Adam Friedman (98,500), and Norman Chad (70,000).

Play begins again on June 25 at 1 p.m. Vegas time for Day 2, during which the money bubble is expected to burst.

Event #55: $1,500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better End of Day 1 Top Ten Chip Counts

RankPlayerCountryChip Count
1Eric RodawigUnited States234,500
2Kevin CoteUnited States187,000
3Constantine ZdanowichUnited States186,500
4Qibang CheungUnited Kingdom175,000
5Michael EstesUnited States173,000
6William BuckleyUnited States164,500
7John EspositoUnited States163,500
8Ivan SchertzerUnited States161,000
9Rafael ConcepcionUnited States155,500
10Kao SaechaoUnited States155,000

2023 Millionaire Maker Becomes Biggest $1,500 Field Ever

Zi Long Zhang
Zi Long Zhang Tops Day 1b Chip Counts

Zi Long Zhang leads Day 1b of Event #53: $1,500 MILLIONAIRE MAKER No-Limit Hold��em with 407,000 in chips (although official counts recorded Holtz as the Day 1b chip leader, Holtz has admitted on Twitter to entering a joke chip count of 420,069 �� his stack is instead around 48,500).

The overall chip leader for the event remains Yong Yi who bagged 750,000 on Day 1a. They have the distinction of being in the lead of the biggest live $1,500 event ever played with 10,430 entries.

Among the big names who bagged big were Loni Hui (220,000), Faraz Jaka (57,000), Vanessa Kade (51,000), Espen Jorstad (149,500), and Jamie Gold (83,000).

Notables who did not make it to Day 2 included WSOP Main Event Champions Koray Aldemir and Damian Salas, as well as Mario Ho, Will Kassouf, and Yuri Dzivieleski.

Play will resume on June 25 at 10 a.m. Vegas time.

Event #53: $1,500 MILLIONAIRE MAKER No-Limit Hold��em Start of Day 2 Top Ten Chip Counts

PlacePlayerCountryChip CountBig Blinds
1Yong YiUnited States750,000300
2Sihao ZhangLuxembourg725,500290
3Nicola BasileCanada480,000192
4Peng LiUnited States460,000184
5Paul GunnessUnited States430,000172
6Ryan DoddUnited States414,500166
7Zilong ZhangUnited States407,000163
8Alex GreenblattUnited States405,500162
9Christian VacaUnited States405,000162
10Pei LiCanada396,500159

What To Expect on Day 27 of the 2023 WSOP

Day 27 of the World Series of Poker will see the launch of three new live bracelet events (plus the full one-day run of Online Event #10: $400 No-Limit Ultra Deepstack). These three events will be Event #57: $25,000 High Roller Pot-Limit Omaha, Event #58: $3,000 6-Handed Limit Hold��em, and the much anticipated Event #56: $500 SALUTE to Warriors.

There will also be several events continuing their action. Plus, Event #53: $1,500 MILLIONAIRE MAKER No-Limit Hold��em will return at 10 a.m. for the combined Day 2. Event #55: $1,500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better, Event #48: $1,000 SENIORS No-Limit Hold��em Championship, and Event #54: $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship will all continue to play out their midgames.

Unusually, the only bracelet that is scheduled to be won tomorrow is the online event.

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