Mike Watson Leads the Final Seven into Day 4 of Event #49: $2,000 No-Limit Hold'em
Day 3 of Event #49: $2,000 No-Limit Hold’em has come to an end at the 2022 World Series of Poker and the final seven players will need one more day to decide a winner.
The event drew 1,977 runners and generated a prize pool of $3,519,060, from which the winner will take home $527,944.
Mike Watson is the chip leader after 33 levels of play with 14,775,000 and he is looking for his first bracelet after a career of close calls and over $14 million earnings. Watson is followed closely by Daniel Custodio in second with 14,425,000 and Ioannis Angelou Konstas in third with 9,375,000. Custodio’s highest live WSOP finish was a run to 56th in this year’s $1,500 freezeout and the best WSOP career finish for Angelou Konstas was a fourth-place run in the 2017 Crazy Eights event.
Rounding out the returning players are Christopher Frank, Walter Ripper, Simeon Spasov, and Evan Sandberg.
Event #49: $2,000 No-Limit Hold’em Final Table Chip Counts
| Rank | Name | Country | Chip Counts | Day 4 Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mike Watson | Canada | 14,775,000 | 37 |
| 2 | Daniel Custodio | Portugal | 14,425,000 | 36 |
| 3 | Ioannis Angelou Konstas | Greece | 9,375,000 | 23 |
| 4 | Christopher Frank | Germany | 6,640,000 | 17 |
| 5 | Walter Ripper | Brazil | 5,300,000 | 13 |
| 6 | Simeon Spasov | Bulgaria | 5,200,000 | 13 |
| 7 | Evan Sandberg | United States | 3,825,000 | 10 |
With the exception of Frank, who won the 2017 $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em event, the returning players are all in search of their first WSOP bracelet after prior champions Tyler Cornell and Heidi May were knocked out in the final two tables.
Steven Winsell was first out at the final table when his suited ace-five couldn’t catch up to Watson’s pocket kings. Not too far behind was Hyunwoo Lim, who lost when Sandberg made a wheel with ace-five.
Newcomer Jack Corrigan rolled into the 2022 WSOP with less than $2,000 in lifetime earnings, but a run to 14th in the Monster Stack gave that a dramatic boost. Corrigan was out in eighth when he ran his ace-king into Frank’s pocket aces, a finish that took him over $100,000 in earnings in just three cashes at the 2022 WSOP.
Other runners that cashed but failed to make the final table include Dalibor Dula, Faraz Jaka, Nate Silver, and two-time WSOP champ Dmitry Yurasov.
Remaining Payouts
| Place | Prize |
|---|---|
| 1 | $527,944 |
| 2 | $326,296 |
| 3 | $239,679 |
| 4 | $177,761 |
| 5 | $133,129 |
| 6 | $100,688 |
| 7 | $76,912 |
The final seven players battled over the last two levels of the evening, but several players doubled up to survive and they will all return for the Day 4 finale on Sunday at 1 p.m. Action will pick up in Level 34 with blinds at 200,000/400,000 with a 400,000 ante and levels will increase every 60 minutes until a winner is declared.
Be sure to keep it with the PokerNews team throughout the rest of the weekend for updates on your favorite tournaments at the 2022 World Series of Poker in its new home at Bally’s and Paris Las Vegas.
, it was the end of the road for Corrigan who was eliminated in 8th place. 
and Sandberg made a wheel on the river to eliminate Lim in ninth place for $46,253.
and Steven Winsell was eliminated in 10th place.
it was the river that saved Corrigan and eliminated Schumacher in 13th place.
it was the flush of Custodio that eliminated May in 14th place.
and Ripper's aces held to eliminate Tabarin from the tournament in 15th place for $23,298.
