The World Series of Poker (WSOP) is the place where ambitious dreamers meet all-time legends of the game - a fact never more apparent than on Saturday, aka Day 5 of the 2024 WSOP.
Two players won bracelets: one an esteemed Hall of Famer, who now has enough WSOP jewellery to wear a different bracelet every day of the week. The other was a self-confessed shot-taker, risking far more than he should to take a stab at the big time.
Both are champions. And their stories begin our latest round-up from the tournament rooms of the Horseshoe and Paris Casinos, Las Vegas.
It's John Hennigan's 'World', we're just living in it
The top five players in poker's all time money list have a combined seven WSOP bracelets between them. That's the same number as one unassuming man from Philadelphia has amassed on his own: John 'World' Hennigan, who snagged that seventh title in Las Vegas on Saturday.
Hennigan may not be the most familiar player in the game to many casual observers. But those who know rate him very highly indeed, inducting him into the Poker Hall of Fame in 2018. Hennigan shows no signs of resting on his laurels and took down the $1,500 Dealer's Choice event, beating a final table also featuring Swedish tyro Viktor Blom.
It added another $138,296 to his bankroll and that seventh sliver of silver to his trophy cabinet.
PokerOrg's Matt Hansen joined the media scrum listening to Hennigan's post-victory press conference, where the champ promised he's "ready for the burn".
Underdog Samual takes shot, hits, and wins
Sensible poker players look away now.
The standard advice given to new poker players is to only risk what you can afford to lose. Never put more than about 5 percent of your bankroll on the table in any one game.
The thing is, sometimes it feels good to take a shot. And sometimes those shots hit the target.
Darius Samual, from Grimsby in the UK, took the shot of his life at the $25K Heads Up Championship at the WSOP and he remained undefeated through six tense matches to take down the title, win the bracelet and earn $500,000. He said, however, that only one of those things meant anything to him.
"I think I was the only one who didn't care about the bracelet, I only cared about the money," Samual told PokerNews after the win. He admitted, "I basically put 50 percent of my bankroll on one tournament. I really wanted to go for it and this payout is like 95 percent of my poker money now. I took a shot."
Samual would have been considered an underdog in each of his head-to-head encounters, versus seasoned pros James Chen, Ian Matakis, Matthew Wantman, John Smith, Artur Martirosian and, finally, Faraz Jaka. But even Russian titan Martirosian and American star Jaka, who battled Samual on the third and final day, were no match.
Samual got 
to outflop Jaka's 
in the final hand to seal the deal at the last. Jaka took $300K for second, but Samual completed the job - multiplying his bankroll 40 times in the process.
Ivey watch: Out, in again, out again
Phil Ivey returned to the WSOP for Day 2 of the $5,000 PLO event, sitting in 48th place. However, Ivey bowed out of the tournament in 57th, picking up a payout of $11,004, which is unlikely to have a significant impact on his life.
No worries, this being the WSOP, Ivey was able to hop across the hall and buy in to the $10,000 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship. But that turned out to be another whiff. We'll wait to see what draws him back again on Sunday.
Even without Ivey, it's a seriously talented field still involved in that Championship event, headed by Scott Seiver. Pretty much every name is a notable, with Day 2 likely to be another thriller. See selected counts below.
Meanwhile, the $5K PLO played through its full allocation of 10 levels, ending with 11 players still in with a chance. Bryce Yockey leads, from Aditya Sadhu, with international stars Joao Simao, Naoya Kihara, Gabriel Andrade and Joao Vieira also battling. The top-ranked player, however, is 2023 Hall of Fame inductee Brian Rast, who sits in ninth place but remains in the hunt for a seventh WSOP bracelet. Full chip counts are below.
In addition to all that, the $1,500 Limit Hold'em is down to its last six, with the winner set to be crowned on Sunday. Nick Guagenti, a bracelet winner from a 2020 online series, leads the way, aiming to add a live title. Five of the final six players are American, with only Finland's Juha Helppi punctuating the parade of Stars and Stripes.
Finally, the $1K Mystery Million has now welcomed 10,809 entries through its first three flights. The fourth and final flight will gather on Sunday, and it's certain to be the biggest yet. How high can it go?
Photo of the day
Hand of the day
A straight flush. The stone bubble. A signature hand!?!
Difficult to look anywhere else than Nicholas Rigby for today's hand of the day, which kept the American pro afloat on Day 1C of the Mystery Millions - and sent him, along with plenty others, into the money.
Not only that, Rigby won the hand with his trademark 'Dirty Diaper' -- aka deuce-three -- which in this case turned a straight flush.
According to Rigby, who tweeted directly at the WSOP and poker media outlets including PokerOrg, he took 
to a magnificent flop of 
. He already had a flush but improved to the second nuts, straight flush, when the 
turned. Rigby shoved, his opponent called, and Rigby took it down.
His unfortunate opponent apparently didn't realise he was calling a shove, thinking it was only a bet of 55,000 rather than 118,000. But the floor ruled in Rigby's favor and the bubble was burst.
Tweets of the day
"I've never been in the World Series of Poker store before, in my entire life," says Phil Hellmuth, wandering around the World Series of Poker store on Saturday.
What could possibly have attracted him there this time? Well, who wouldn't want to check out a T-shirt of their own face?
It definitely suits some people though...
Video of the day
Chance Kornuth said it himself: This is what he wanted!
The day in numbers
$93,747
Career tournament earnings of Darius Samual before sitting down in the $25,000 Heads Up Championship, which he won for $500,000.
$43,106,952
Combined career earnings of the six players beaten by Samual en route to victory in the $25,000 Heads Up Championship. (James Chen - $10,707,208; Ian Matakis - $1,856,488; Matthew Wantman - $6,373,614; John Smith - $1,756,191; Artur Martirosian - $15,045,012; Faraz Jaka $7,368,439)
$39.95
Price tag for the Phil Hellmuth 'Poker Brat' T-shirt in the WSOP store.
Results
Event #6: $25,000 Heads-Up No-Limit Hold'em Championship
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Darius Samual | United Kingdom | $500,000 |
| 2 | Faraz Jaka | United States | $300,000 |
| =3 | Nikolai Mamut | United Kingdom | $180,000 |
| =3 | Artur Martirosian | Russia | $180,000 |
| =5 | John Smith | United States | $86,000 |
| =5 | Marko Grujic | Serbia | $86,000 |
| =5 | Owen Messere | United Kingdom | $86,000 |
| =5 | Patrick Kennedy | United Kingdom | $86,000 |
Event #7: $1,500 Dealer's Choice
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | John Hennigan | United States | $138,296 |
| 2 | Robert Wells | United Kingdom | $90,339 |
| 3 | Peter Gelencser | Hungary | $60,343 |
| 4 | Viktor Blom | Sweden | $41,237 |
| 5 | Brayden Gazlay | United States | $28,845 |
| 6 | Clint Wolcyn | United States | $20,665 |
| 7 | Ryan Pedigo | United States | $15,182 |
See WSOP site for full payouts
Ongoing events
Event #8: $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha (final 11)
| Place | Player | Country | Chips |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bryce Yockey | United States | 6,530,000 |
| 2 | Aditya Sadhu | United States | 5,825,000 |
| 3 | Farid Jattin | Colombia | 5,510,000 |
| 4 | Jason Berilgen | United States | 3,640,000 |
| 5 | Zachary Schwartz | United States | 3,240,000 |
| 6 | Joao Simao | Brazil | 2,995,000 |
| 7 | Naoya Kihara | Japan | 2,740,000 |
| 8 | Paul Radcliffe | United States | 2,265,000 |
| 9 | Brian Rast | United States | 2,065,000 |
| 10 | Gabriel Andrade | Ecuador | 1,500,000 |
| 11 | Joao Vieira | Portugal | 870,000 |
Event #9: $1,500 Limit Hold'em (final 6)
| Place | Player | Country | Chips |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nick Guagenti | United States | 2,800,000 |
| 2 | Joseph Brodsky | United States | 1,885,000 |
| 3 | Qinghai Pan | United States | 1,845,000 |
| =4 | George Chen | United States | 1,645,000 |
| =4 | Bradley Carter | United States | 1,645,000 |
| 6 | Juha Helppi | United States | 1,285,000 |
Event #10: $10,000 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship
| Place | Player | Country | Chips |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Scott Seiver | United States | 296,500 |
| 2 | Matt Glantz | United States | 285,000 |
| 3 | Steven Loube | United States | 257,500 |
| 4 | Chino Rheem | United States | 248,000 |
| 5 | Robert Yass | United States | 243,000 |
| 6 | Patrick Moulder | United States | 238,500 |
| 7 | Ray Henson | United States | 233,000 |
| 8 | Jeffery Stepaniuk | Canada | 209,000 |
| 9 | Christopher Logue | United States | 195,000 |
| Notables | |||
| 17 | Josh Arieh | United States | 148,500 |
| 19 | Erik Seidel | United States | 141,500 |
| 20 | Patrick Leonard | United Kingdom | 141,000 |
| 22 | Dylan Weisman | United States | 139,500 |
| 33 | Benny Glaser | United Kingdom | 120,500 |
| 51 | Phil Hellmuth | United States | 88,000 |
| 77 | Todd Brunson | United States | 54,000 |
See the WSOP site for full chipcounts
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 #6: $25,000 Heads-Up No-Limit Hold'em Championship – Darius Samual (UK)
Event #7: $1,500 Dealer's Choice – John Hennigan (USA)
What to look for on Day #6
It's Day 1D of Event #5: $1,000 Mystery Millions, the last of four opening flights in this monster. When registration closes after Level 16, we'll know for sure just how big this one has become - and what's not only in the regular prize pool, but in those bounty envelopes too. It's then down to the players to locate the biggest ones.
Event #11 gets started at 2pm, and here's where players will start looking for four low cards of different suits to scoop the pot. In other words, it's the $1,500 buy-in Badugi. There are plenty of mixed game stars who love this kind of thing, so prepare for another big field.
Meanwhile, as discussed above, the $5K PLO and the $1,500 Limit Hold'em will play to their winners.
WSOP Day #5 gallery
