The Muck · WSOP Daily Brief
Day 42
Day 1d did what Day 1d does. The final starting flight drew 4,694 entries, the biggest opening day of the series, pushing the Main Event to 8,077 total entries and an official $75.1 million prize pool with late registration still open into both Day 2 flights. Taylor von Kriegenbergh bagged the unofficial flight lead at 312,800. Five former champions survived the day, Scotty Nguyen and Doug Polk did not, and a man named Patrick Lander became the fourth straight instant Day 1 elimination by shoving six high into a set. Day 2abc runs today, when the 2,468 survivors from the first three flights finally combine. Also filled in from yesterday's holes: Justin Fawcett's double board payday was $322,564, and ESPN says Bulgaria's Yulian Bogdanov topped Day 1c, though given ESPN's chip count track record this week we are handling that one with tongs.
Story 01 of 5
The fourth and final starting flight of the Main Event drew a massive 4,694 players on Sunday, and 3,638 of them survived five levels, per PokerNews. That brings the field to 8,077 total entries, with the official event info page showing a $75,116,100 prize pool and 6,106 players remaining. Taylor von Kriegenbergh bagged the unofficial Day 1d lead with 312,800, ahead of Michael Comisso (293,000) and Sean Costa (292,600). Late registration stays open through the first two levels of both Day 2 flights: Day 2abc today at 11 a.m., when the 2,468 survivors of the first three flights combine, and Day 2d on Tuesday, July 7.
Why it mattersThe record math is now a live question with a hard deadline. Last year finished at 9,735 entries, so the Main Event needs roughly 1,650 more late registrations across two Day 2 flights to pass it. Caesars poker boss Jack Effel told ESPN before the series that more players enter at the end of flights than the beginning, and the WSOP built the ESPN comeback and a new 25,000 square foot arena around this exact tournament. Whether the final number starts with an 8 or a 9 is the difference between a good year and a headline. We will know by Tuesday afternoon.
Story 02 of 5
Six past Main Event champions played the final flight and five made it through, per PokerNews: Ryan Riess (113,100), Scott Blumstein (105,600), Joe McKeehen (46,500), Chris Moneymaker (39,500), and Robert Varkonyi (33,100). Scotty Nguyen busted, as did Doug Polk, whose day PokerNews separately described as a roller coaster before it ended early. Elsewhere in the notables column: Viktor Blom bagged 217,100, Martin Kabrhel landed among the top stacks with 202,200, and a 'more subdued' Will Kassouf, back after his controversial ending to last year's Main Event, quietly bagged 73,000. UFC star 'Suga' Sean O'Malley delivered the shuffle up and deal and then went and bagged 43,700 himself.
Why it mattersMoneymaker surviving Day 1 of a Main Event that is live on ESPN again is the kind of narrative synergy the broadcast partners would have paid for, and technically did. Polk busting the day after announcing he is stepping back from The Lodge caps a rough news week for him. And Kassouf playing quiet poker is either personal growth or a strategy, and the live reporters will be watching closely to find out which.
Story 03 of 5
Patrick Lander became the first elimination of Day 1d less than half an hour into the flight, and he did it holding unsuited six-five, per PokerNews. Lander three-bet preflop, semi-bluffed a gutshot on a 9-8-4 flop, barreled the ace turn through a check-raise from Bryan Buonocore's flopped set of eights, then faced a 12,000 river lead on a blank king and responded by shoving roughly 45,000 with six high. Buonocore tank-called for the full double. It was the fourth consecutive flight with an immediate Day 1 elimination, following ace-king into aces on 1a, a runner-runner beat on 1b, and a straight into a rivered full house on 1c.
Why it mattersThe first three guys had hands. Lander had a story to tell. Punting 300 big blinds with six high in the most prestigious tournament in poker is objectively a disaster and subjectively the most alive any of us will ever feel. PokerNews noted he went down swinging, which is the polite way to phrase it. The four-for-four streak of instant eliminations is now its own genre of Main Event coverage, and there are no more Day 1 flights to extend it.
Story 04 of 5
Chicago club owner Jimmy D'Ambrosio turned a side feature table into a party on Day 1d and still bagged 175,200, per PokerNews. D'Ambrosio, who booked a profit north of $170,000 on High Stakes Poker in March, said he has been 'partying for the last 100 days' since, had not slept since Friday, and nearly did not play at all. He told PokerNews he remembers almost none of his hands, never had aces or kings, and got his chips from players trying to play back at him. His post-bag plan: 'rip some shots with some friends at Aria.' In less chaotic corners of the room, Garett Maybery rivered quads over a flopped set of tens in Level 1 and rode the momentum to 236,100.
Why it mattersThe WSOP spent all spring selling the ESPN return as poker's mainstream comeback, and D'Ambrosio is a walking argument that the product does not need scripting. His own quote made the case: 'We don't want a bunch of robots.' He now gets a full day off before Day 2d, which he has announced he will not spend sleeping. Fading him at your own risk; the man has been running pure since March.
Story 05 of 5
Two items from yesterday's missing list now have answers, with caveats. VIP-Grinders' bracelet results tracker lists Justin Fawcett's Event #83 Double Board Bomb Pot PLO win at $322,564 and describes it as his second career bracelet; PokerNews had confirmed the win but not published the payout at our press time yesterday. Separately, ESPN's live blog reports Bulgaria's Yulian Bogdanov topped Main Event Day 1c, the flight leader PokerNews had not named in any recap we found. One wrinkle: ESPN's Main Event chip counts have contradicted PokerNews' official numbers two days running, so we are reporting the Bogdanov claim as ESPN's until the live reporting team publishes its own Day 1c leaderboard.
Why it mattersThe Fawcett number matters for the record books, since he holds the only double board bracelet ever awarded and now we know what it paid. The Bogdanov item matters mostly as part three of the ESPN accuracy saga. Curiously, ESPN's own Day 1a top five listed Rafael Mota at 810,000 and Ryuta Nakai at 323,000 side by side, and Nakai's figure matches PokerNews' official count exactly. So ESPN is publishing numbers that agree with the live reporting desk and numbers that do not, in the same table. Somebody over there should look into that before the final table airs live in August.
Day 1d counts are unofficial per PokerNews, with the full leaderboard due after publication. The 2,468 survivors from flights 1a-1c combine today on Day 2abc; Day 1d players return Tuesday.
Main Event Day 1 eliminations carry no prize money; the bubble is still days away.
The 1998 champion's Main Event ended early, per PokerNews. No baby, no more Main Event this year.
PokerNews called his day an 'insane roller coaster' before it ended. Steps back from The Lodge on Friday, busts the Main on Sunday. Rough news cycle.
Shoved roughly 45,000 with unsuited six-five and six high into a flopped set, per PokerNews. The fourth straight flight with an instant elimination, and comfortably the most creative.
Not a bustout, but the UFC champ who announced shuffle up and deal bagged less than a starting stack. Filed here as a warning shot for Day 2d.
Bagged 86,900 on Day 1d. A Main Event deep run from the points leader would start turning the $1 million race into a coronation. Standings unchanged in our sources since the last SoMuchPoker update.
Bagged 156,300 on Day 1d, nearly double Deeb's stack. Ninety-five points back, and the Main Event is the one tournament where a single run erases that gap. He and Deeb return the same day. Sweat accordingly.
Bagged 54,100, below starting stack but alive with the whole tournament ahead. Eighth bracelet secured, POY charge still needs one more big result.
No Main Event bag for Kihara appeared in the Day 1d notables our sources published. Whether he is in the field is an open item; see missing.