2023 World Series of Poker

Event #59: $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em Freezeout
Day: 1
Event Info

2023 World Series of Poker

Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
a2
Prize
$675,275
Event Info
Buy-in
$3,000
Prize Pool
$4,266,660
Entries
1,598
Level Info
Level
37
Blinds
500,000 / 1,000,000
Ante
1,000,000
Players Info - Day 1
Entries
1,598
Players Left
240

Robert Kuhn Leads the Field After Day 1 of the $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em Freezeout

Level 17 : Blinds 5,000/10,000, 10,000 ante
Robert Kuhn
Robert Kuhn

Play has concluded on Day 1 of Event #59: $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em Freezeout, here at the 2023 World Series of Poker at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas. A total of 1,598 players entered the tournament, generating a total prize pool of $4,266,660, and the 240 who bagged up will return on June 27 to commence hostilities on Day 2.

After duking it out over 17 levels, the field was thinned to just 240 players, all of whom have cashed. When the dust had settled, it was Robert Kuhn who sat on top of the pile with a whopping 1,410,000 in chips, the only player to break through the one million barrier, although one player came super close also.

End of Day Top 10 Chip Counts

RankPlayerCountryChip CountBig Blinds
1Robert KuhnUnited States1,410,000118
2Giorgii SkhulukhiaRussia999,00083
3Juan DuenasUnited States967,00081
4Ryan LengUnited States874,00073
5Johan SchumacherBelgium820,00068
6Kazuhiro ShirasawaJapan806,00067
7James MackeyUnited States805,00067
8Jonathan McCannUnited Kingdom770,00064
9Alvaro Puchol-VinaSpain769,00064
10David DeckerUnited States765,00064

His closest rivals are Giorgiy Skhuluhiya (999,000) and Juan Carlos Vecino (967,000), and it was the latter who brought proceedings to a close when his flopped straight finally burst the bubble after a lengthy hand-for-hand period at the end of the day.

Other notables who finished the day with impressive chip counts include Ryan Leng (874,000), Upeshka De Silva (570,000), Matt Berkey (297,000), and Alex Foxen (294,000).

Among those who did not make it through the day were Vanessa Selbst, Jeffrey Lisandro, Chris Hunichen, and David Peters.

Day 2 will start at 10:00 a.m. local time on June 27 and there will be ten levels of 60 minutes, with a 15-minute break after every two levels – and a 60-minute dinner break after level 23 (approximately 4:30 p.m.) Blind begin at 6,000/12,000 with a 12,000 big blind ante.

Stay tuned to PokerNews for updates on this event and all others at the 2023 World Series of Poker.

Tags: Alex FoxenChris HunichenDavid PetersGiorgiy SkhuluhiyaJeffrey LisandroJuan Carlos VecinoMatt BerkeyRobert KuhnRyan LengUpeshka De SilvaVanessa Selbst

Jacobson Busted By Lindop

Level 10 : Blinds 1,000/2,000, 2,000 ante
Martin Jacobson
Martin Jacobson

Martin Jacobson raised from under the gun to 4,000, the player to his immediate right called and Alex Lindop in the cutoff three-bet to 16,000.

With action back on Jacobson, he four-bet jammed for approximately 64,000. Lindop called.

Martin Jacobson: A?5?
Alex Lindop: Q?Q?

The board ran out K?4?2?6?8?. Lindop became the beneficiary of Jacobson's stack.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Alex Lindop gb
Alex Lindop
180,000
180,000
180,000
WSOP 1X Winner
Profile photo of Martin Jacobson se
Martin Jacobson
Busted
WSOP Main Event Champion
WSOP 1X Winner

Tags: Alex LindopMartin Jacobson

Watson Goes Thin for Value, Busts Immediately After

Level 9 : Blinds 800/1,600, 1,600 ante
Mike Watson
Mike Watson

Jaspal Brar raised from the hijack to 2,400. Mike Watson in the big blind defended.

The hand checked through to the river as the full board read 4?K?7?6?J?. Watson took the lead with a bet of 2,500 and Brar eventually called.

Watson tabled K?8? for top pair, extracting value on the four-to-a-flush board.

Watson found himself all in and at risk the very next hand against Brar, with all the money in preflop.

Mike Watson: A?Q?
Jaspal Brar: Q?Q?

The board ran out 6?K?4?K?K? sending Watson to the rail.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Jaspal Brar ca
Jaspal Brar
66,000
66,000
66,000
WSOP 1X Winner
Profile photo of Mike Watson ca
Mike Watson
Busted
WSOP 1X Winner

Tags: Jaspal BrarMike Watson

Schumacher Shines While Kabrhel Causes Chaos

Level 8 : Blinds 600/1,200, 1,200 ante
Martin Kabrhel
Martin Kabrhel

The player in the small blind went all in and there was a long pause while Martin Kabrhel contemplated his next move.

Eventually the floor was called by Adam Freidman and the clock was put on Kahbrel while some other notable players from nearby tables who tried to reason with him over perceived excessive tanking.

Kabrhel, who has already caused plenty of controversy during the 2023 WSOP, finally called, as did Johan Schumacher, with considerably less fuss.

The flop fell K?J?3?. Schumacher bet 5,000 and with the floor standing over him Kabrhel made the call in quick time.

The turn was the 10? and was checked by both players.

When Schumacher bet the 6? river, Kabrhel announced, "Sorry guys but you'll have me around for at least one more hand" and tossed his cards in the muck.

Small Blind: A?K?
Johan Schumacher: A?A?

Schumacher won the pot, sending the small blind to the rail. A few minutes later, cheers could be heard from the table and Kabrhel was seen leaving the card room.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Johan Schumacher be
Johan Schumacher
117,000
117,000
117,000
Profile photo of Adam Friedman us
Adam Friedman
55,000
55,000
55,000
WSOP 5X Winner

Tags: Adam FreidmanJohan SchumacherMartin Kabrhel

Royal Flush Over Quads

Level 8 : Blinds 600/1,200, 1,200 ante
Thomas Eychenne
Thomas Eychenne

Thomas Eychenne recounted to PokerNews that on a board of Q?Q?10?J?, all the money went in on the turn and the cards were tabled.

Opponent: Q?Q?
Thomas Eychenne: A?K?

Eychenne was still alive against quads as he had one out to a Royal flush. The river landed the 10?; Eychenne hit his one-outer for a royal to defeat quad queens.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Thomas Eychenne fr
Thomas Eychenne
115,000
115,000
115,000

Tags: Thomas Eychenne

Kessler Busts in the "Craziest" Hand of His World Series

Level 4 : Blinds 300/500, 500 ante
Allen Kessler
Allen Kessler

The cutoff raised to 1,200 and Giyeon Han three-bet to 3,500. Allen Kessler cold-called from the small blind and the original raiser folded. Both Han and Kessler started the hand with about 40,000 in chips.

The flop came 8?7?3? and Kessler check-raised Han's continuation from 3,000 to 8,500. Han called.

The turn came the 10? and Kessler fired out for 10,500. Han raised, putting Kessler all in for his effective stack of 24,500 and Kessler snap-called.

Allen Kessler: 10?10?
Giyeon Han: J?9?

Kessler's turned set was way behind the turned straight of Han. The Q? river failed to pair the board and Kessler was sent to the rail.

"That was one of the craziest hands I've played at all the world series" Kessler announced. "I did check-raise the flop?" he confirmed with both PokerNews and the table.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Giyeon Han us
Giyeon Han
85,000
85,000
85,000
Profile photo of Allen Kessler us
Allen Kessler
Busted

Tags: Allen KesslerGiyeon Han

Huge Hero Call From Quoss

Level 3 : Blinds 200/400, 400 ante
Fabian Quoss
Fabian Quoss

It was three-ways to a flop of 6?2?8? with the pot at approximately 2,800.

The action checked to Fabian Quoss in the cutoff who bet out for 1,000. The button called and the small blind raised to 3,700. Only Quoss continued.

The turned 4? saw another bet from the small blind, this time for 8,400. Quoss called.

On the 10? river, the small blind emptied the clip shoving all-in, putting Quoss to the test for his last 22,700.

After nearly two minutes in the tank, Quoss called off for his tournament life and his opponent showed A?9? for ace-high while Quoss held J?6? for third pair, scoring him a huge double up.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Fabian Quoss de
Fabian Quoss
72,400
72,400
72,400

Tags: Fabian Quoss

Welcome to Event #59: $3,000 Freezeout No-Limit Hold'em

David Jackson
David Jackson

Welcome to Event #59: $3,000 Freezeout No-Limit Hold’em, which will take place today at 10 a.m. in the white section at Paris and Horseshoe Las Vegas.

A great warm-up for the main event, last year’s contest attracted 1,359 entrants and created a total prize pool of $3,628,530, with the eventual winner capturing $598,173 and the coveted gold bracelet.

Phil Hellmuth
Phil Hellmuth

It was a star-studded affair in 2022, with the likes of Maria Ho, Daniel Negreanu, and Justin Bonomo all contributing to the prize pool, as well as former main event winners Koray Aldemir, Hossein Ensan, and Phil Hellmuth, with Hellmuth being denied his 17th bracelet in heads-up play to eventual champ and now two-time bracelet winner, David Jackson.

Jackson earned his first WSOP bracelet after taking down Event #25: $777 LUCKY SEVENS as part of the 2021 GGPoker WSOP Online Bracelet Events. Jackson made it through a field of 2,014 entries to win the bracelet and $194,178.

PlacePlayerCountryPrize
1David JacksonUnited States$598,173
2Phil HellmuthUnited States$369,698
3Jeffrey LoHong Kong$266,559
4Justin SalibaUnited States$194,525
5Timothy SullivanUnited States$143,699
6Renan BruschiBrazil$107,472
7Onur UnsalTurkey$81,390
8Richard ScardinaUnited States$62,423
9Anton WiggSweden$48,494

Players will start with 40,000 chips and play 17 40-minute levels today, with 20-minute breaks coming after every three levels and a 75-minute dinner break after Level 12 (approx. 7:30).

Late registration will be open for the first 12 levels.

As always, keep following along with PokerNews for up-to-the-minute live coverage of this championship event.

Tags: Anton WiggDaniel NegreanuDavid JacksonHossein EnsanJeffrey LoJustin BonomoJustin SalibaKoray AldemirMaria HoOnur UnsalPhil HellmuthRenan BruschiRichard ScardinaTimothy Sullivan