It looks on paper like Day #34 at the WSOP might have been a quiet one, with five mostly mid-stage events scheduled. One of them (the $1,000 Ladies Championship, led by Jamie Kerstetter) needed just one table at the end of the day, and one (the $10,000 2-7 Lowball Draw Championship) quickly didn’t need any tables at all, because the unstoppable Scott Seiver had won it. Doesn’t seem like that would fill a room, does it?
For anyone not live railing: there was no echoing excess of arena space. One of these five events is the affordable mega-tourney that is the $400 Colossus, which added 8,589 entries on Sunday’s Day 1C alone. That brings the total to 19,337 and the prize pool to over $2.8 million – an incredible pile of cash for an event with a three-figure buy-in.
On the periphery of this sea of Colossus-tacklers, the $25,000 High Roller PLO played down to 34, led by Brian Rast, and the $10,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship welcomed all the stars who didn’t shine on Day 2 of the PLO. These included Ali Eslami, Allen Kessler, Nacho Barbero, Todd Brunson, and even a short-stacked Seiver, who jumped straight back into action after picking up his third bracelet of the summer and seventh overall.
Ask and you shall re-Seiver
Most tournament poker players dream of winning one WSOP bracelet in a lifetime. Scott Seiver clearly dreams bigger than that over a much shorter timeframe, telling PokerOrg, “Like I said the whole time, I think I’m winning five bracelets this summer. I said that at the start and I’m sticking with it.”
It’s three down, two to go, then, as the $10,000 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Single Draw Championship is in the bag, with Seiver seeing off runner-up Jonathan Krela to pick up the bracelet and $411,041 in prize money. David Lin, Jeremy Ausmus, Jen Harman, Mike Watson, and Aaron Kupin rounded out the final table (in descending finishing place order), with 186 players having tested their mettle in what Seiver describes as, “One of my favorite games, if not my favorite…a beautiful game with a rich and storied history at the World Series.”
The volatile variant saw Seiver’s stack in peril more than once, with a three-way all-in pot against Harman and Krela going his way to boost him on his path to victory. He’d previously survived a squeaky spot against David Lin (see Hand of the day), where the draw of a single card to make a better ten-low kept him in contention.
There’s also a history to three-times-in-a-series winners: Seiver joins the elite rank of players such as Phil Ivey, Phil Hellmuth, Ted Forrest, and George Danzer (the last to do the triple in 2014). If he is not at least on the shortlist for the Poker Hall of Fame, it’s too short a list.
Seiver spoke to PokerOrg following his win about what it means to him to have a ‘goal-oriented summer’ and what the message was in his custom Babe Ruth final table shirt.
Kerstetter leads last ladies in $1K Championship
The $1,000 Ladies No Limit Hold’em Championship is about to crown its 2024 champion, and reaching some determined fingers for the rest of the chips in play is chip leader Jamie Kerstetter. One of the best without a bracelet, she finished in the runner-up spot in the WSOP Tag Team event with Espen Jorstad in 2022 (the year of his ME victory), winning the best part of $50K. A player, commentator and Tweeter extraordinaire, this could be Kerstetter's time to pick up some WSOP hardware.
There’s $171,732 up top in this 1,245-runner event, and now only five competitors to beat; the only player with a stack in the region of Kerstetter’s is Shiina Okamoto, while the stacks of Linda Durden, Mor Kamber, Cecile Ticherfatine and Ceci Lao combined do not equal either of those of the top two.
Six-handed play restarts at 15:00 local time and will be featured on the PokerGO livestream with what is likely to be in the region of an hour's delay.
Rast leads last 34 in $25K High Roller PLO
The popularity of this year’s $25,000 High Roller Pot Limit Omaha must have surprised the regulars in this format (and at this steep buy-in level) like Day 2 baggers Brian Rast, Erick Lindgren, Juha Helppi, and Kahle Burns. A total of 476 entries surpassed last year’s 449 and will have paid out $11,186,000 in prize money by the time the winner is decided. That winner will claim $2,246,728; second and third places also award over a million dollars apiece.
This event has already taken on the feel of a milestone in the four-card game, and one look at the 34 players still in contention for Day 3 proves that however the chips fall, there’s going to be a final table worth railing.
Hall of Fame inductee Rast lies in the chip lead with a stack of 4,785,000, narrowly above Maxi Lehmanski and Billy Tarango and a million or so above the next highest-bagging players, including bracelet-winners Eelis Parssinen, Michael Moncek, and Joni Jouhkimainen. They’re all guaranteed at least $60,672 – the same prize awarded to 35th place finisher Connor Drinan and 38th place Phil Ivey. Also exiting via the cash desk on Sunday were Stephen Chidwick, Nick Shulman, Benny Glaser, and Gus Hansen.
Tom Dwan may have burst the bubble by busting Gabriel Andrade in 73rd place with a fortunate spike of trips on the turn, but he was not to win in the end, nor were Shaun Deeb, John Racener, Alex Foxen or Erik Seidel.
Hi-Lo, Hi-Lo, it's off to work they go
Day 1 of the $10,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship brought all the expected Stud luminaries to the felt who were not still forging through the $25K PLO (it must be terrible to watch your favorite niche variant play through nine levels while stuck in another event and guaranteed over $60,000).
It's no surprise to learn that chip leader Ali Eslami’s prior bracelet was claimed in this game in 2022 (the $1,500 version); Andrey Zhigalov, Allen Kessler, and Brandon Shack-Harris are all well-known mixed-game grinders returning with big stacks. Kessler in particular seems to feel the doors of opportunity opening:
With 74/143 still in the running, and registration open for an hour of the second day, there will be plenty of chances for the likes of Rob Hollink, Todd Brunson, Dario Sammartino, Anthony Zinno, and newly-minted bracelet winner Nikolay Fal to challenge for the lead – and the title – on Day 2.
Photo of the day
Hand of the day
Blaise Bourgeois posted this one-card-each draw that saved Scott Seiver’s stack in the $10,000 No-Limit 2-7 Single Draw vs. David Lin to PokerOrg Instant, showing just how close to elimination the eventual champ was at one point:
With five left in the $10K NL 2-7 Single Draw Championship, David Lin opened to 200,000 with 
and Scott Seiver jammed for 600,000 with 
. Lin called and pitched the while Seiver pitched the .
With Seiver behind and needing help, Lin drew a 
to make a ten-nine while Seiver drew a 
to make a ten-seven and chip back up to 1,450,000.
Tweet of the day
Two-time Global Poker Award winner Jamie Kerstetter shows why she was Best Twitter Personality twice with this ‘dust yourself off and get back to work’ message after falling over on stage:
Video of the day
Scott Seiver tank-calls for his third bracelet of 2024, even though “everything’s screaming fold…”
The day in numbers
2
Bracelets Scott Seiver has left to win this Series to fulfill his not-so-wild-now prediction
19,337
Entries in the $400 Colossus
74
Coincidentally, the number of players making it through from Day 1 of Event #74 ($10K Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo)
Coming up on Day #35
A field of 2,358 would ordinarily signal the wild success of a poker tournament, but this is just Day 2 for the $400 Colossus. They’ve already seen off over 15,000 other players (some of them more than once, with a single re-entry allowed per flight) over three start days, and there’s going to be a hefty top prize at the end of this lengthy road for someone.
While it’s far too early to hazard guesses about just who that someone might be, of the 1,057 Day 1C survivors, players such as Max Kruse, Manuel Cardoso, Matt Glantz, Men Nguyen, Alessandro Pichierri, and Ian Simpson have all bagged healthily.
The $1,000 Ladies NLHE Championship will decide a winner, with Jamie Kerstetter leading the final table (restarting at 15:00 and livestreamed with an expected hour delay). The $25K High Roller PLO will play to its own final table, with Brian Rast leading the 34 Day 3 combatants, all already guaranteed at least $60,672. The $10K Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo Championship enters Day 2 with 74 players remaining and an hour’s late registration still available.
Overall, Day 35 will be like watching all of the lifecycle stages of a tournament in one room: the just-starting $1,000 Tag Team, $10,000 Mystery Bounty, and $2,500 Mixed Big Bet; the tadpole Day 2 of the Colossus and Stud Hi-Lo; the voraciously self-devouring $25K PLO and the end of the Ladies Championship.
Day #34 gallery
Results
Event #72: $10,000 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw Championship (7-Handed)
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Scott Seiver |
$411,041 |
| 2 | Jonathan Krela |
$274,217 |
| 3 | David Lin |
$187,177 |
| 4 | Jeremy Ausmus |
$130,794 |
| 5 | Jen Harman |
$93,615 |
| 6 | Mike Watson |
$68,672 |
| 7 | Aaron Kupin |
$51,661 |
Full results on WSOP
Ongoing events
Event #70: $400 Colossus No-Limit Hold'em - Flight C
| Place | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vincent Lee |
1,470,000 |
| 2 | William Wilkinson |
1,390,000 |
| 3 | Austin Alcala |
1,287,000 |
| 4 | Wenguo Lin |
1,117,000 |
| 5 | Shawn Beaupre |
1,114,000 |
| 6 | Alan Helfenstein |
1,084,000 |
| 7 | Joshua Welch |
1,044,000 |
| 8 | Michael Byers |
1,011,000 |
| 9 | Tamir Saidman |
1,000,000 |
| 10 | Mihaly Lukacs |
987,000 |
Full chip counts on WSOP
Event #71: $1,000 Ladies No-Limit Hold'em Championship
| Place | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jamie Kerstetter |
9,330,000 |
| 2 | Shiina Okamoto |
8,640,000 |
| 3 | Linda Durden |
3,110,000 |
| 4 | Mor Kamber |
1,755,000 |
| 5 | Cecile Ticherfatine |
1,100,000 |
| 6 | Ceci Liao |
970,000 |
Results so far on WSOP
Event #73: $25,000 High Roller Pot Limit Omaha (8-Handed)
| Place | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brian Rast |
4,785,000 |
| 2 | Maxi Lehmanski |
4,500,000 |
| 3 | Billy Tarango |
4,400,000 |
| 4 | Eelis Parssinen |
3,795,000 |
| 5 | David Eldridge |
3,700,000 |
| 6 | Michael Moncek |
3,670,000 |
| 7 | Tyler Stafman |
3,635,000 |
| 8 | Joni Jouhkimainen |
3,255,000 |
| 9 | Erick Lindgren |
3,235,000 |
| 10 | Matthew Kolibas |
3,080,000 |
Full chip counts on WSOP
Event #74: $10,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship
| Place | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ali Eslami |
395,000 |
| 2 | Andrey Zhigalov |
276,500 |
| 3 | Allen Kessler |
273,000 |
| 4 | Brandon Shack-Harris |
244,500 |
| 5 | Hirashi Yamanouchi |
236,000 |
| 6 | Nacho Barbero |
215,500 |
| 7 | Brad Ruben |
205,500 |
| Notables |
||
| 10 |
Rob Hollink |
190,000 |
| 11 |
Todd Brunson |
187,500 |
| 12 |
Chris Vitch |
181,000 |
| 24 |
Dario Sammartino |
134,000 |
| 45 |
Jeremy Ausmus |
81,500 |
Full chip counts on WSOP
Bracelet winners
- Event #1: $5,000 Champions Reunion – Asher Conniff (USA)
- Event #2: $500 Casino Employees No-Limit Hold’em – Jose Garcia (USA)
- Event #3: $500 Kickoff No-Limit Hold'em Freezeout – Daniel Willis (UK)
- Event #4: $1,500 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better (8-Handed) – James Chen (USA)
- Event #5: $1,000 Mystery Millions - Malcolm Trayner (Australia)
- Event #6: $25,000 Heads-Up No-Limit Hold'em Championship – Darius Samual (UK)
- Event #7: $1,500 Dealer's Choice – John Hennigan (USA)
- Event #8: $5,000 Pot Limit Omaha (8-Handed) - Bryce Yockey (USA)
- Event #9: $1,500 Limit Hold'em (8-Handed) - Nick Guagenti (USA)
- Event #10: $10,000 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship - Scott Seiver (USA)
- Event #11: $1,500 Badugi - David Prociak (USA)
- Event #12: $1,500 6-Handed No-Limit Hold’em - Simeon Spasov (Bulgaria)
- Event #13: $10,000 Dealers Choice Championship - Robert Mizrachi (USA)
- Event #14: $1,000 Super Turbo Bounty No Limit Hold'em - Thibault Perissat (France)
- Event #15: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better - Caleb Furth (USA)
- Event #16: $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em - Brent Hart (USA)
- Event #17: $800 No-Limit Hold'em Deepstack - TJ Murphy (USA)
- Event #18: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha - Dylan Weisman (USA)
- Event #19: $10,000 Limit Hold'em Championship - John Racener (USA)
- Event #20: $300 Gladiators of Poker No-Limit Hold'em - Stephen Winters (USA)
- Event #21: $25,000 High Roller No-Limit Hold'em (6-Handed) - Brek Schutten (USA)
- Event #22: $1,500 Limit 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw (6-Handed) - Aaron Cummings (USA)
- Event #23: Event #23: $1,500 SHOOTOUT No-Limit Hold'em - Dan Sepiol (USA)
- Event #24: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship - Sean Troha (USA)
- Event #25: $3,000 Limit Hold'em 6-Handed - Daniel Vampan (USA)
- Event #26: $25,000 High Roller No-Limit Hold'em (8-Handed) - Nick Schulman (USA)
- Event #27: $1,500 Big O - Michael Christ (USA)
- Event #28: $1,500 Freezeout No-Limit Hold'em - Evan Benton (USA)
- Event #29: $10,000 Limit 2-7 Triple Draw Championship (6-Handed) - Phil Ivey (USA)
- Event #30: $600 Mixed No-Limit Hold'em/Pot-Limit Omaha Deepstack - Alen Bakovic (Canada)
- Event #31: $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em 6-Handed - Nicholas Seward (USA)
- Event #32: $1,500 Seven Card Stud - Richard Ashby (UK)
- Event #33: $600 Pot-Limit Omaha Deepstack (8-Handed) - Alex Manzano (Chile)
- Event #34: $2,500 No-Limit Hold'em Freezeout - Antonio Galiana (Spain)
- Event #35: $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. - Phillip Hui (USA)
- Event #36: $800 No-Limit Hold'em Deepstack (8-Handed) – Timur Margolin (Israel)
- Event #37: $10,000 Big O Championship – John Fauver (USA)
- Event #39: $50,000 High Roller No-Limit Hold'em (8-Handed) - Sergio Aido (Spain)
- Event #40: $1,500 Razz – Scott Seiver (USA)
- Event #41: $1,500 Mixed No-Limit Hold'em/Pot Limit Omaha Double Board Bomb Pot - Xixiang Luo (China)
- Event #42: $10,000 Seven Card Stud Championship - James Obst (Australia)
- Event #43: $1,500 Mixed: PLO Hi-Lo 8; Omaha Hi-Lo 8; Big O - Magnus Edengren (Sweden)
- Event #44: $2,000 No-Limit Hold'em - Jared Kingery (USA)
- Event #45: $10,000 HORSE Championship - Maksim Pisarenko (Russia)
- Event #46: $1,000 Seniors No-Limit Hold'em Championship - Khang Pham (USA)
- Event #47: $100,000 High Roller No-Limit Hold'em - Chris Hunichen (USA)
- Event #48: $1,000 Pot-Limit Omaha (8-Handed) - Chris Vitch (USA)
- Event #49: $3,000 Freezeout No-Limit Hold'em - Erlend Melsom (Norway)
- Event #50: $10,000 Razz Championship - George Alexander (USA)
- Event #51: $1,500 Super Turbo Bounty No-Limit Hold'em Freezeout - Peter Park (USA)
- Event #52: $5,000 6-Handed No-Limit Hold’em – Mostafa Haidary (Australia)
- Event #53: $3,000 Nine Game Mixed - Yuri Dzivielevski (Brazil)
- Event #54: $1,500 Millionaire Maker No-Limit Hold'em - Franco Spitale (Argentina)
- Event #55: $250,000 Super High Roller – Santhosh Suvarna (India)
- Event #56: $2,500 Mixed Triple Draw Lowball (2-7, A-5, Badugi) – Patrick Moulder (USA)
- Event #57: $10,000 Super Turbo Bounty No-Limit Hold’em – Frank Funaro (USA)
- Event #58: $50,000 Poker Players Championship - Daniel Negreanu (Canada)
- Event #59: $1,000 Super Seniors No-Limit Hold'em - Sean Jazayeri (USA)
- Event #60: $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em - Paolo Boi (Italy)
- Event #61: $2,500 Mixed: Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better; Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better - Dario Sammartino (Italy)
- Event #62: $600 PokerNews Deepstack Championship - Hector Berry (UK)
- Event #63: $1,500 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw - David Funkhouser (USA)
- Event #64: $600 No-Limit Hold'em Deepstack - Chris Moen (USA)
- Event #65: $5,000 Seniors High Roller No-Limit Hold'em - Mark Checkwicz (USA)
- Event #66: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship - Elie Nakache (France)
- Event #67: $500 Salute to Warriors - No-Limit Hold'em - Ben Collins (UK)
- Event #68: $2,500 No-Limit Hold'em - Colin Robinson (USA)
- Event #69: $1,500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better - Nikolay Fal (Russia)
- Event #72: $10,000 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw Championship - Scott Seiver (USA)
