Phil Ivey Brings Top Ten Stack Into Fantasy-Filled Day 2 of $10,000 Dealer's Choice Championship
Another great day for mixed game lovers around the world is on the horizon as Day 2 of Event #13: $10,000 Dealers Choice Championship (6-Handed) kicks off at 1 p.m. local time. On Day 1 of the prestigious staple of the 2024 World Series of Poker, 124 entries were recorded. However, late registration is still open for the first level of play today, enabling more of poker's elite to prove their prowess in the 21 different games.
Phil Ivey was one of the many poker legends in the mix on Day 1, managing to bag a stack of 171,500 chips when play concluded at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas. His stack will be good for over 114 big blinds in no-limit and pot-limit games and nearly 30 big bets in the fixed-limit games, placing him tenth on the start-of-day leaderboard. Also among the 68 survivors were fellow Hall-of-Famers Daniel Negreanu, who is closely behind Ivey with 159,500 chips, and Todd Brunson, who ended up with slightly more than a starting stack, bagging 61,500 chips.
None of them could come close to Day 1 chipleader George Alexander, however. The Floridian has been playing in WSOP events since 2010 and has made three final tables in that period. With a stack of 277,000 chips, he has given himself a good start in the hunt for a fourth one. Despite his resume, Alexander is still searching for his first WSOP bracelet, and the same can be said for Brian Brunner and Michael Martinelli, who complete the podium with 246,000 and 234,500, respectively.
The 2008 Player of the Year Erick Lindgren (217,000) was the only other player who crossed the 200,000-chip mark, while the likes of Nick Schulman (184,000), Daniel Zack (177,000), and Robert Mizrachi (173,000) also secured their spot in the top ten.
Start of Day 2 Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | George Alexander | United States | 277,000 |
| 2 | Brian Brunner | United States | 246,000 |
| 3 | Michael Martinelli | United States | 234,500 |
| 4 | Erick Lindgren | United States | 217,000 |
| 5 | Nick Schulman | United States | 184,000 |
| 6 | Yingui Li | China | 180,000 |
| 7 | Maxx Coleman | United States | 179,000 |
| 8 | Daniel Zack | United States | 177,000 |
| 9 | Robert Mizrachi | United States | 173,000 |
| 10 | Phil Ivey | United States | 171,500 |
With such a star-studded field, it comes as no surprise that over half the remaining players have been drafted for the $25K Fantasy League. Among the 35 players whom the team owners have their hopes on are Bryce Yockey (149,500) and Nick Guagenti (144,000), who both already added a second bracelet to their trophy rooms this WSOP, David "Bakes" Baker (134,000) and David "ODB" Baker (79,500), defending champion Chad Eveslage (50,000), and the short-stacked Mike Matusow (21,000).
The tournament will resume at 1 p.m. in Level 10, which has blinds of 1,000/1,500 for big bet games and limits of 3,000/6,000 for the fixed limit games. This will also be the final level for registration, with new players receiving the starting stack of 60,000 chips.
Play will then continue for seven more levels before the remaining players bag up for Day 3. The first four levels will be 60 minutes in length, after which they will increase to 90 minutes. A 60-minute dinner break is scheduled after Level 14, around 7 p.m.
Stay tuned to find out which of poker's elite will make it through to the finale of the $10,000 Dealer's Choice Championship as PokerNews will report the mixed game action straight from the tournament floor, and be sure to check out all of the other exciting tournaments happening at the 2024 WSOP as well.