Ali Eslami Leads 68 Survivors into Day 2 of Stud Hi-Lo Championship; Eli Elezra Eyes Repeat Win After 2007 Victory
Day 1 of the Event #67: $10,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo Championship has come to a conclusion at the 2019 World Series of Poker with the 134-player field reduced down to 68 survivors with Ali Eslami the chip leader.
This event is the last mixed game championship of the WSOP, and is easily one of the most popular game variants as it dates back to its first appearance on the WSOP schedule in 1976. This event has a long history at the WSOP, and since the relocation to the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino, it has undergone a few different buy-in amounts going from $3,000, to $5,000, up to $10,000, and then back down to $5,000 before returning to $10,000 since 2014.
This event has also crowned champions that have stood the test of time, and are still considered as some of the games greats as the likes of Chris Vitch (2017), George Danzer (2016 and 2014), Max Pescatori (2015), Adam Friedman (2012), Eric Rodawig (2011), Frank Kassela (2010), and Eli Elezra (2007) are all previous champions. The defending champion Dan Matsuzuki has not entered the tournament as of yet, but with registration open through until the start of Day 2, there is still a chance for him to defend his title.
A total of 134 players took a seat throughout Day 1, and the likes of WSOP bracelet winners Scott Clements, Scott Bohlman, Lawrence Berg, Benny Glaser, Tom Koral, Mike Gorodinsky, Phillip Hui, John Monnette, Marco Johnson, Shaun Deeb, David Bach, and David "Bakes" Baker all found themselves on the rail along with previous champions Pescatori and Kassela.
Once the dust settled on Day 1, a total of 68 players would survive with Ali Eslami making a late surge to take the chip lead with 275,500. Eslami was a regular at the WSOP just a few years ago, but his poker resume has his last recorded cash in the 2014 WSOP Main Event. Sitting behind Eslami is Andres Korn who held the chip lead for the majority of the last few levels, and even peaked past the 300,000-chip mark before ending with 266,500. Elezra (265,000), Harvey Goldstein (242,500), and Jon Turner (229,500) round out the top few chip counts.
Also still in the mix are 2019 WSOP bracelet winners Dan Zack, Robert Campbell, Anthony Zinno, Frankie O'Dell, and Adam Friedman, while a plethora of other WSOP bracelet winners are still in the mix.
Registration for this event is open through to the start of Day 2; approximately 2 p.m. on Monday, July 1, where players will start with 60,000 in chips and be playing 4,000-8,000 limits.
Day 2 is set to begin on Monday, July 1, at 2 p.m. (PDT), with the PokerNews Live Reporting Team providing continuous live updates of the last mixed game championship of the 2019 World Series of Poker. So stay tuned right here to PokerNews.com for continued coverage of Event #67, along with everything you need to know from the 2019 World Series of Poker.