Adrian Buckley’s first ever cash at the WSOP is also the first seven-figure score of the 2015 WSOP – nice life
1. Millionaire Maker succeeds, makes a millionaire
When 7,275 players enter a $1,500 WSOP event you don’t expect to see many recognisable names on the final table. The Millionaire Maker – the first WSOP event this year to offer a seven-figure first prize – bucked that trend. Mike Sexton, Erick Lindgren and Olivier Busquet are all household names in the poker world and all threatened to win the event that was supposed to make a millionaire.
In the end though, all three fell short. Mike Sexton was first to drop when he ran his flopped top pair into Erick Lindgren’s set. Ever classy Sexton tweeted the following after being railed:
‘Didn’t get the 7-digit score, but you can’t complain about a 6-digit one – 9th. Really enjoyed @WSOP Milly Maker. GL to remaining final table.’
Lindgren then got on the wrong side of two flips with A-K. The second time was against Olivier Busquet’s Jacks for a huge 13m pot. Busquet was looking for his first WSOP bracelet but was eliminated in third when he shoved his short stack with A-4 and was himself found lacking against Jacks.
Heads-up was between Javier Zarco and Adrian Buckley. In keeping with the spirit of the tournament, both had already guaranteed their first six-figure cashes and one would go on to be a millionaire. That person was the least experienced of the two. Adrian Buckley had never cashed in a WSOP event before and had only recorded four cashes lifetime, the biggest being $5,546 in 2014. He scooped the bracelet and the $1,277,193 first prize when Zarco shoved with Sixes and Buckley called with Tens.
So, the Millionaire Maker made a millionaire, and he was thrilled. Talking after the event he said, ‘I really didn’t think I’d be here. I mean, getting through 7,000 people. It’s not something you think about until it happens. I hoped to run super deep, and knew I had the skill to get here. But it’s just surreal to live out the dream.’
2. Prince of Docness on top of the Omaha
The bubble has just burst in the $10k Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship and there’s a curious name at the top of the pile. Prince of Docness has his own official Hendon Mob entry and bagged up the most chips to head some more conventional names such as Daniel Alaei (3rd), Scott Clements (4th), Erik Seidel (10th) and Eli Elezra (18th), with 18 remaining. Prince of Docness aka Doc Kegal will return today at 2pm ET to try to secure his first bracelet.
3. Brutal grind in the $1k NLHE
14 hours of play is a slog in anyone’s book, but at least they all made the cash? Right? Wrong. 1,951 players slapped down the $1k to enter at the start of the day and 207 remain, with only 198 getting paid. That means a handful of very tired, very disappointed players will be trudging out of the Rio shortly after the action resumes today at 1pm. Chipleader Kyle White is the player least at risk of going home empty handed. Antonio Esfandiari – who’s been popping up near the top of a lot of tournaments without any real success yet – is in 23rd. The shortest stacks belong to Dwayne Vetter, Michael Sadowski and the UK’s Duncan Cadman – good luck to all the short stacks. Get it in good!
4. Event #23: $1,500 No-Limit 2-7 Draw Lowball
This event is still playing as we’re writing this, and Daniel Negreanu has just been eliminated in 30th spot. Shaun Deeb is still in but short-stacked, Ray Henson, who finished third in The Colossus, is in seventh and Robert Mizrachi is in second and looking for his second bracelet of the series. Christian Pham is the current chipleader.
5. Streaming tonight
There are two bracelets up for grabs tonight – Event #20: $1,500 NLHE and the $10k Omaha Hi-Lo. Both are still a way off the final table so keep an eye on the live updates for start times.
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