Another action-filled day at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas saw two 2023 World Series of Poker bracelets awarded, and Dan Cates‘ quest for a three-peat in the $50,000 Poker Players Championship ended abruptly.
The first bracelet of the day came in Event #41: $1,500 Big O, a brand-new tournament for the 2023 WSOP. A field of 1,458 players started the event with high hopes, but only one of them walked away as a WSOP champion. Scott Abrams is that champion after they defeated Robert Williamson III heads-up to secure the event’s bracelet and $315,203 top prize.
Some 3,778 players may have bought into Event #42: $800 No-Limit Hold’em Deepstack (8-Handed) but it only took two days of poker action to find the tournament’s champion Qiang Xu is that player. Xu got their hands on a $339,033 payout plus their first gold bracelet.
James Obst Leads the Way in the $50,000 Poker Players Championship
Event #43: $50,000 Poker Players Championship saw 26 late entrants, taking the total attendance to 99, but only 32 players had chips requiring bagging and tagging when the curtain came down on the day’s action.
Dan Cates was one of the players who busted on Day 2. Cates, who had won this event in 2021 and again in 2022, played throughout the tournament dressed as The Terminator, as you do. All eyes were on Cates terminating the opposition, but it was he that was dismantled when Daniel Alaei made a wheel against him during a Limit 2-7 Triple Draw round in Level 10.
Cates announced, “I’ll be back,” but unless he can travel back in time like the real Terminator, Cates must be referring to the 2024 edition of this event.
Australia’s James Obst (2,972,000) leads a ridiculously stacked field into Day 2 of this event. Obst and the aforementioned Alaei (2,064,000) are the only two players armed with at least two million chips.
Phil Ivey (1,655,000), Talal Shakerchi (1,598,000), and Johannes Becker (1,387,00) round out the top five chip counts.
Day 3 commences at 1:00 p.m. local time on June 20, with PokerNews bringing you all of the action for another six levels.
Event #43: $50,000 Poker Players Championship Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | James Obst | Australia | 2,972,000 |
| 2 | Daniel Alaei | United States | 2,064,000 |
| 3 | Phil Ivey | United States | 1,655,000 |
| 4 | Talal Shakerchi | United Kingdom | 1,598,000 |
| 5 | Johannes Becker | Germany | 1,387,000 |
| 6 | Josh Arieh | United States | 1,365,000 |
| 7 | Brian Rast | United States | 1,306,000 |
| 8 | Lyle Berman | United States | 1,268,000 |
| 9 | Dzmitry Urbanovich | Poland | 1,196,000 |
| 10 | Nacho Barbero | Argentina | 1,158,000 |
