Damjan Radanov Leads Wire-to-Wire on Day 2 of the $1,500 H.O.R.S.E.
A total of 217 players returned for Day 2 of Event #15: $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino. After ten levels of play, that number dwindled down to just 24 players who will return on Friday, June 8, at 2 p.m. in the hunt for a bracelet. Day 1 chipleader Damjan Radanov didn't relinquish his seat on top of the mountain and retained the chip lead at the end of Day 2.
Radanov finished the last few levels of Day 1 on a heater and did not lose any momentum on Day 2, seemingly increasing his stack every round of play, right up until the very end of the day. Radanov bagged 518,000 in chips and is followed by Michael Berger, who bagged 439,000, and Tim Frazin, who finished Day 2 with 416,000 in chips.
There were several other well-known pros to make it to Day 3 with an impressive stack, including three-time bracelet winner Brian Hastings (265,000). Hasting won two of those three in non-Hold'em games. Scott Clements (198,000) is another well-known grinder that also made it through to the final day. Also known as "BigRiskky", Clements holds multiple bracelets in non-hold 'em events as well. Another pro to make it through is Ismael Bojang (275,000), who makes a living playing both in no-limit hold'em and mixed games, with a total of $2,793,768 live earnings to date.
The second day of the H.O.R.S.E event was set to play ten levels of 60-minutes each, with many bracelet winners among them at the start of the day. Some of the bracelet holders that bowed out during these ten levels included 14-time bracelet winner Phil Helmuth, Andrey Zaichenko, Chris Bell, Rep Porter, James Obst, and 2016 $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. Champion Ian Johns.
The bubble popped about halfway through level 14 as Doug Lorgeree was eliminated by Sandeep Vasudevan during a Razz hand. The remaining 110 players were then all guaranteed a min-cash of $2,253. Final tablist will be getting at least $18,541 for their efforts and first place will be pocketing $202,787, along with a prestigious WSOP bracelet.
Some notable players to make the money include three-time bracelet winner Barry Greenstein (47th - $3,595), Calvin Anderson (49th - $3,170), Chris Tryba (80th - $2,435), and two-time bracelet winner Brandon Shack-Harris (88th - $2,319).
24 players will be returning tomorrow and continue with the same amount of hands to be played during the Razz round that they had left at the end of Day 2. The tournament will resume in level 21 and will be playing down until a winner is crowned.
Day 3 Seating and Chip Counts
| Table | Seat | Player | Nationality | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 425 | 1 | Brian Hastings | United States | 265,000 |
| 425 | 2 | Nicholas Derke | United States | 252,000 |
| 425 | 3 | Scott Gullett | United States | 230,000 |
| 425 | 4 | Michael Berger | United States | 439,000 |
| 425 | 5 | Scott Clements | United States | 198,000 |
| 425 | 6 | Andrey Zhigalov | Russia | 193,000 |
| 425 | 7 | Richard Monroe | United States | 93,000 |
| 425 | 8 | Ismael Bojang | Germany | 275,000 |
| 433 | 1 | Benjamin Covello | United States | 106,000 |
| 433 | 2 | Daniel Plonsker | United States | 151,000 |
| 433 | 3 | Bradley Smith | Canada | 168,000 |
| 433 | 4 | Vincent Kolly | Switzerland | 280,100 |
| 433 | 5 | Sandeep Vasudevan | United States | 368,000 |
| 433 | 6 | Daniel Evans | United States | 136,000 |
| 433 | 7 | James Opie | United States | 296,000 |
| 433 | 8 | Matt Woodward | United States | 292,000 |
| 441 | 1 | J Smith | United States | 130,000 |
| 441 | 2 | Timothy Frazin | United States | 416,000 |
| 441 | 3 | John Holley | United States | 185,000 |
| 441 | 4 | Jose Arenstein | Brazil | 21,400 |
| 441 | 5 | Suketu Patel | United Kingdom | 126,000 |
| 441 | 6 | Damjan Radanov | United States | 518,000 |
| 441 | 7 | Jonathan Hart | United States | 100,000 |
| 441 | 8 | Jonathan Breneman | United States | 244,000 |
Final Table Payouts
| Place | Prize (USD) |
|---|---|
| 1st | $202,787 |
| 2nd | $125,336 |
| 3rd | $87,769 |
| 4th | $62379 |
| 5th | $45,006 |
| 6th | $32,971 |
| 7th | $24,531 |
| 8th | $18,541 |
The PokerNews team will be bringing all the live reports from this and every other WSOP tournament this summer.
and Bojang check-called a bet from Berkowitz. 
on the turn and then Bojang bet when the 
hit the river. Berkowitz called and Bojang tabled 
for two pair to take the pot, leaving Berkowitz with around 15,000 chips.
against the 
of Berkowitz. The board ran out 
and Bojang's pocket aces held on for the elimination.
and Brownstein was unable to connect with his hand. Hoang raked in the pot and scored the elimination.
and Hoang check-called a bet from Greenstein.
, action checked to Greenstein who then bet and Hoang folded. Greenstein scooped in the pot and is still in contention for his fourth bracelet.
, Andrey Zaichenko led out from the big blind. Damjan Radanov raised in position and Zaichenko called. The turn brought the 
for top two pair but could not beat the chip leader's straight.
/ 
/ 
, Hellmuth had 
, and Opie was sitting with 
which did not improve his hand enough, as he was sent to the rail. 
/ 
for a full house and more than enough to take down the pot.
