The bubble is a defining point in any poker tournament: that is to say, it defines who wins money and who doesn’t. And when that tournament is the biggest live tourney ever held, it’s even more significant.
Those returning to bagged chips in yesterday’s fourth day of the Main Event did so knowing they were about to play what would be, for many of them, the most significant level of the tourney. 1,524 remained, seven more than the 1,517 spots which came with prize money.
There would be no time to settle in and figure out the table dynamics. The big stacks were going to ramp up the aggression and the shorties were going to have to pick their spots to shove. That or stall their way to the money, hoping enough rival short-stacks would bust first, or that a couple of bigger ones would clash in some kind of crazy cooler.
Double bubble trouble
Did someone say cooler? When the time came it would be a couple of players who bust out on the bubble. As a result they’ll share the $15,000 min-cash for 1,517th place, but each will have a story to tell. One will involve PokerOrg’s own Terrance Reid using his big stack to apply pressure with trash hands (that win), while the other will likely be a more painful one to recall.
We’ll look at that one first. When it comes to a big bubble like this one, people like to talk about a) how strong a hand would have to be to even play it, and b) how big a stack you’d need to enter a pot at this precarious stage.
For Lucas Reeves, pocket kings and a stack of close to 120 big blinds were enough for him to get it all in on the bubble. A preflop raising war with Marcelo Tadeu Aziz Junior ended with a 7-bet shove from Reeves and a call from Aziz. What did he have? What else.
Reeves: 
Aziz: 
The runout of 
gave Aziz a huge stack to kick on with, while Reeves could only kick himself.
The other player to bust the bubble was Christian Stratmeyer, who was seated at a table with PokerOrg’s Live Events Manager Terrance ‘TJ’ Reid. TJ had the big stack and was using it to sweep up the blinds in several uncontested hands in a row, and so opened for a min-raise to 16K. Stratmeyer shoved his 57K stack, and TJ made the call with what he described as a ‘very bad hand’.
Reid: 
Stratmeyer:
Big slick is a good hand, but not a made hand. The flop of 
went about as badly as it could have gone for Stratmeyer, and the 
turn and 
river did nothing to help matters. At least he won the high-card draw for a free seat in next year’s Main Event. Check out our video of the day, below, to watch it play out.
Mateos and Song top the charts after four days
With the bubble finally burst, the field reduced dramatically over the rest of Day 4, leaving us with just 464 players from the record-setting 10,112 to contest the remainder of the Main Event.
Among the thousand-plus players making their exits were Daniel Negreanu, Erik Seidel, Womens event champion Shiina Okamoto and former champions Daniel Weinman and Espen Jorstad, all of whom went out shortly after the bubble burst for a min-cash.
The day would also account for Joe McKeehen, Koray Aldemir, Tom Dwan and Super High Roller winner Santhosh Suvarna. Terrance Reid would also not last the day, busting around the 730-player mark.
Those coming back for Day 5 will want to avoid the big stacks, especially as the two biggest ones currently belong to two serial winners.
Stephen Song, number one in the overnight chip counts (4,745,000), is fresh off a runner-up finish ($111K) in an Aria High Roller just last week, and with a WSOP bracelet, a WPT Prime title, an EPT title and a fistful of WSOP Circuit rings to his name, Song is someone who knows how to close it out.
Second in the counts is Adrian Mateos (4,500,000), one of the most feared players on the high roller circuit with over $48M in lifetime tournament winnings. He has multiple EPT and Triton titles and has won WSOP bracelets on either side of the Atlantic - including the $250K Super High Roller in 2021.
Other big names still in the field include Jesse Lonis, Brandon Cantu, Alex Livingston, Ren Lin, Brian Rast, Kristen Foxen, Phil Ivey, Jonathan Little and Maria Ho. It’s too early to make any kind of call - there are still an astonishing six days to play - but anyone who wins is going to have to get through this bunch.
For that, they’ll surely deserve the $10,000,000 they win.
Germany’s Carsten Heidemann takes down the $600 Ultra Stack
Carsten Heidemann doesn’t seem to have an entry on The Hendon Mob, but that will change very shortly. The player from Germany came to this year’s WSOP as a keen amateur, here to check an item off his bucket list by playing the Main Event for the first time. That didn’t go so well, but he stayed on to play a side event (#YOLO) and ended up booking the win, the bracelet and $343,010 in cash.
Heidemann was one of just 19 to make it through to the third and final day of this event with a short stack of just 10 big blinds, but managed to chip up when it mattered and hang on in there at a final table dominated by the experienced Ramana Epparla.
Epparla knocked out several players and held the chip lead for much of the final table, including the start of heads-up play. Two big pots in quick succession went Heidemann's way, however, and after just 15 minutes the player from Germany had all the chips.
"It is the dream of every poker player to win a bracelet,” an emotional Heidemann told WSOP after his win, “I am so happy, it's so amazing. Yeah, I am crying now."
Alsante defeats Punsri for $5K NLH title
1,042 entries created a prize pool of $4,793,200 in event #87: $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em (8-Handed), and those entries included some successful and experienced pros. Liv Boeree, Kevin Rabichow, Johan Guilbert and Mike Watson were among those who made the money in this one, but could only manage a min-cash of $9,952.
88 players made it through to Day 2, and that number fell quickly once cards were in the air. Just 39 remained at the first break, including the likes of Alex Foxen, Artur Martirosian, Patrick Leonard and Punnat Punsri. Of those, Leonard and Punsri would make it to the final table, but it was Alsante who really hit the ground running, eliminating Leonard and Hirokazu Kobayashi in short order.
Alsante kept on acquiring chips and held around 75% of the chips in play at the four-handed stage, but it wouldn’t be a cakewalk. Heads up play with Thailand’s number one money-winner Punnat Punsri lasted around an hour, but ultimately it was Maryland's Alsante who took it down for his first bracelet and a huge $785,486.
Photos of the day
Come bubble time, everyone wants to capture the moment...
...even those like Daniel Negreanu who have seen it many, many times before.
Hands of the day
It’s got to be the two all-ins that saw the bubble burst and over 1,500 players land at least $15,000 each.
Imagine losing to pocket aces on the bubble. And then imagine losing to 8-3 suited. Which would be worse?
Decide for yourself - we’ve got a more detailed look at each of the hands in a dedicated article.
Tweet of the day
They say the couple that plays together, stays together. Does that still apply at the final table? We’re keeping an eye on this one, for sure.
Video of the day
You can see the epic KK vs. AA hand above, so right here we’re going to celebrate our guy TJ showing the world how can be a monster - in the right hands.
The day in numbers
0
Recorded tournament results on the resume of Ultra Stack winner Carsten Heidemann (before yesterday, that is)
7
Preflop bets in the AA vs. KK Main Event bubble hand
1,050+
Players who cashed the Main Event yesterday
Coming up on Day #45
The $1K Mystery Bounty PLO event has finished its two starting flights and 463 remain from the 4,283 who entered. Australia’s Najeem Ajez has the chip lead (1,454,000) at the head of a field which includes Chance Kornuth, Felipe Ramos, Leo Margets and plenty more players hungry to grab those big money bounties, not to mention the lion’s share of the $1,496,880 prize pool. They’ll play down to a winner from 11am.
76 of 158 players in the $10K Eight-Game Mix will return for Day 2, testing their mettle in games such as razz, 2-7 lowball, PLO and Stud8. Some big names lead the way including Jordan Siegel (1st, 336,500), Mike Watson (2nd, 332,500) and Calvin Anderson (5th, 280,500). They’ll play 8 levels from 1pm, and crown a winner of this inaugural event on Friday.
New tournaments kicking off, now that the Main Event has cleared out a little, include the first starting flight of event #89: $3,000 Mid-Stakes No-Limit Hold'em Championship. This is another new event for the 2024 WSOP and will offer another Day 1 on Friday before the field combines for Saturday’s Day 2. Another new event is the $1,500 Six-Handed PLO tourney, which will begin at noon and run for three days.
Day #44 gallery
Results
Event #84: $600 Ultra Stack No-Limit Hold'em
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Carsten Heidemann | $343,010 |
| 2 | Ramana Epparla | $228,670 |
| 3 | Albyn Bello | $170,410 |
| 4 | Phuoc Nguyen | $127,950 |
| 5 | Jason Wester | $96,790 |
| 6 | Robert Szumowski | $73,780 |
| 7 | Juan Garibaldi | $56,670 |
| 8 | Arnold Park | $43,870 |
Full results at WSOP
Event #87: $5,000 8-Handed No-Limit Hold'em
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Matthew Alsante | $785,486 |
| 2 | Punnat Punsri | $523,648 |
| 3 | Philip Wiszowaty | $372,446 |
| 4 | Oleg Vasylchenko | $268,407 |
| 5 | Ramin Hajiyev | $196,024 |
| 6 | Jon Vallinas | $145,107 |
| 7 | Hirokazu Kobayashi | $108,895 |
| 8 | Patrick Leonard | $82,862 |
Fullr results at WSOP
Ongoing events
Event #86: $1,000 Mystery Bounty Pot-Limit Omaha (Day 1b)
| Place | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Najeem Ajez | 1,454,000 |
| 2 | Kao Saechao | 1,364,000 |
| 3 | Welker Mendes Demedeiros | 1,357,000 |
| 4 | Tyler Brown | 1,239,000 |
| 5 | James Carroll | 1,230,000 |
| 6 | Chance Kornuth | 1,188,000 |
| 7 | Giuseppe Pantaleo | 1,187,000 |
| 8 | Jason Stockfish | 1,090,000 |
| Notables | ||
| 30 | Felipe Ramos | 737,000 |
| 35 | Jake Schwartz | 697,000 |
| 65 | Leo Margets | 508,000 |
| 85 | Ryan Riess | 445,000 |
| 138 | Bryce Yockey | 328,000 |
Full chip counts at WSOP
Event #88: $10,000 Eight Game Mixed Championship (6-Handed)
| Place | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jordan Siegel | 336,500 |
| 2 | Mike Watson | 332,500 |
| 3 | Daniel Tafur | 320,000 |
| 4 | Ali Eslami | 282,500 |
| 5 | Calvin Anderson | 280,500 |
| 6 | Marco Johnson | 274,500 |
| 7 | Dai Ishibashi | 271,000 |
| 8 | Ian Johns | 251,000 |
| Notables | ||
| 11 | Yuri Dzivielevski | 218,000 |
| 13 | Maxx Coleman | 209,500 |
| 19 | Viktor Blom | 180,000 |
| 21 | Robert Mizrachi | 176,000 |
| 25 | Jared Bleznick | 166,500 |
| 52 | Benny Glaser | 82,500 |
| 75 | Daniel Negreanu | 15,500 |
Full chip counts at WSOP
Event #81: $10,000 WSOP Main Event World Championship
| Place | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stephen Song | 4,745,000 |
| 2 | Adrian Mateos | 4,500,000 |
| 3 | Will Berry | 4,465,000 |
| 4 | Aloisio Dourado | 4,335,000 |
| 5 | Biao Ding | 4,265,000 |
| 6 | Malo Latinois | 4,130,000 |
| 7 | Luis Vazquez | 4,055,000 |
| 8 | Nazar Buhaiov | 3,875,000 |
| Notables | ||
| 35 | Daniel Hachem | 2,690,000 |
| 44 | Jesse Lonis | 2,520,000 |
| 106 | Ren Lin | 1,920,000 |
| 138 | Nacho Barbero | 1,620,000 |
| 191 | Tony Dunst | 1,335,000 |
| 197 | Kristen Foxen | 1,320,000 |
| 334 | Phil Ivey | 650,000 |
| 439 | Jim Reid | 300,000 |
Full chip counts at 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 #38: $1,500 MONSTER STACK No-Limit Hold'em - Pedro Neves (Portugal)
- 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 #70: $400 Colossus - Martin Alcaide (Bulgaria)
- Event #71: $1,000 Ladies No-Limit Hold'em Championship - Shiina Okamoto (Japan)
- Event #72: $10,000 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw Championship - Scott Seiver (USA)
- Event #73: $25,000 Hit Roller Pot-Limit Omaha - David Eldridge (USA)
- Event #74: $10,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship - Arash Ghaneian (USA)
- Event #75: $1,000 TAG TEAM No-Limit Hold'em - Jimmy Setna & Jason James (Canada)
- Event #76: $10,000 Mystery Bounty No-Limit Hold'em (8-Handed) - Matthew Lambrecht (USA)
- Event #77: $2,500 Mixed Big Bet (6-Handed) - Wing Liu (Hong Kong/UK)
- Event #78: $1,000 Mini Main Event - Georgios Skarparis (Cyprus)
- Event #79: $50,000 High Roller Pot-Limit Omaha - Daniel Perkusic (Germany)
- Event #80: $800 Independence Day Celebration - No-Limit Hold'em - Francis Anderson (USA)
- Event #82: $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em - Aditya Agarwal (India)
- Event #83: $1,500 Eight Game Mix (6-Handed) - Garth Yettick (USA)
- Event #84: $600 Ultra Stack No-Limit Hold'em - Carsten Heidemann (Germany)
- Event #85: $1,000 FLIP & GO No-Limit Hold'em Presented by GGPoker - Chance Kornuth (USA)
- Event #87: $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em (8-Handed) - Matthew Alsante (USA)
