Phil Hellmuth is the third biggest stack with 12 remaining in the $10k Razz – watch it play out live tonight and see if he can win WSOP bracelet number 14
1. Short stack king runs it up
After a fairly quiet start to the WSOP, Phil Hellmuth is firmly in the hunt for his 14th career bracelet in the $10k Razz Championship. At the start of Day 2 he had his work cut out, returning as the third shortest stack of the 64 remaining players – good for just 4.5 big bets. But he used his infamous short-stacking skills to run this up to the third biggest stack by the end of the day with just 12 remaining.
He’s in good company. Erik Seidel is right behind him in fourth, followed by Mike Leah, Stephen Chidwick (7th), Shaun Deeb (9th) and Brandon Shack-Harris (11th). Deeb is looking for back-to-back bracelets after his win in the $10k Pot Limit Hold’em event. The chip leader is Adam Owen from the UK, and his previous biggest live cash is just $14k. He’s already guaranteed $22,597 but he’ll have his eye on the $271,105 first prize and the bracelet.
Watching a live stream of a Razz tournament without hole cards might not be everyone’s idea of fun, but with Hellmuth lurking it’s definitely one to watch. Shortly after the action finished he tweeted the following:
‘End of Day 2 in @WSOP Razz (7 Low): 12 of us left and I’m in 3rd place in chips. I love Razz and I’m playing great: need to keep it up!’
The action starts again at 2pm and the live stream will kick in once they’re down to the final table. In the meantime you can keep up with live updates here.
2. Moving day in the Millionaire Maker
1,130 players started Day 2 in the Millionaire Maker and after ten full levels just 145 players will return for Day 3. Some big names cashed and fell, like Antonio Esfandiari (261st) and Phil Galfond (252nd), but others are still in the hunt, including Justin Bonomo, Erick Lindgren, Mike Sexton and Niall Farrell.
Two other notable survivors are Olivier Busquet and Andrew Lichtenerger. Both are better known for buy-ins at the other end of the spectrum, with significant high roller earnings, but both have been lured in by the promise of seven figures for just a $1,500 buy-in. Lichtenberger embodies the ‘never-give-up’ spirit of poker – he started the day with just 12,000 chips and finished with 756,000, good for the 15th biggest stack.
Justin Pechie is leading the field with close to 1m chips and action resumes at 11am when the field will play down to the final table.
3. Blink and you’ll miss it
Lots of pros have been grumbling about the new WSOP structures, which give more play in the early stages and take longer to get to the money. There were no such complaints about Event #18: the $1,000 Turbo No-Limit, which gave everyone 5,000 starting stacks with 30-minute levels.
1,791 players put down their money and in the space of one day they were culled to just 29. Gregory Kolo is good for the chip lead with 862,000 but the UK has a couple of names still in the hunt. John Gale is in second place and looking for his second bracelet, while Stuart Rutter (9th) will be looking to better his third place finish in a WSOP event from 2010.
Play resumes at 1pm and will play to the winner who will receive $298,290.
4. Event #19: $3,000 Limit Hold’em
The field of 319 was halved in Day 1 leaving 161 players to bag up for Day 2. Joseph Thomas is on top, but there’s a whole host of big names clamouring behind him, including Sorrel Mizzi (8th), Daniel Negreanu (9th), Mark Newhouse (10th), Brian Hastings (11th), David Benyamine (13th), Maria Ho (16th), Antonio Esfandiari (17th) and Jonathan Duhamel (20th). At the wrong end of the pile is superstar David Kitai who had to bag up just 2,200 chips. Chip and a chair?
Action restarts at 2pm where the aim will be to play down to the final table.
5. The live stream is back!
If you’re looking to brighten up an otherwise dull Monday, the good news is that the WSOP live stream is back after a night off and tonight could be a corker. Two final tables will be streamed – although both are still playing down to the final table. Keep an eye on the live updates and catch the conclusion of both the $1k Turbo and the $10k Razz Championship. We’d expect commentary on the Razz, especially if Hellmuth makes it through to the final table. Watch the live stream here.
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