Level 24 has been concluded with 11 players remaining and they are racing off the T-5,000 chips before bagging and tagging for the night. Full chip counts and a recap of today's action are to follow.
The most expensive four-card event of the 2023 World Series of Poker schedule at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas is one step closer to crowning a champion. Out of a massive field of 200 entries in Event #71: $50,000 Pot-Limit Omaha High Roller, only 11 players remain in contention for the biggest slice of the $9,550,000 prize pool.
To put things in perspective, the 33 late entries at the start of Day 2 ensured that the High Roller contest gathered a field bigger than the previous two editions in 2021 and 2022 combined, further showcasing the tremendous growth in many mixed game and high-stakes tournaments during this ongoing festival in Sin City.
When another 12 levels of 40 minutes had concluded, not only had the money bubble burst but the unofficial final table was almost reached. Four bracelet winners remain in contention to potentially increase their tally and they are led by Tyler Smith, who held the top spot for an extended period and bagged up 14,000,000. Fellow bracelet winners Isaac Haxton (2,500,000) and Ian Matakis (2,150,000) can be found at the bottom of the leaderboard.
Matakis has had a memorable 2023 WSOP already as he captured his first WSOP gold bracelet in Online Event #2: $500 No-Limit Hold'em Bankroll Builder at the start of the series. He then finished seventh just one day ago in Event #65: $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em (6-Handed) before max late-registering this event. Known under his moniker "potamophobia" during the start of the global pandemic, his fear of rivers may only be challenged by the fear of an opponent raising the pot behind.
Second in chips behind Smith is the always dangerous Jesse Lonis, one of the rising young players on the international live poker circuit with a WSOP online domestic bracelet to his name from one year ago. He was involved in plenty of big pots thanks to his aggressive playing style, undeterred by the fact that this is his first event with such a high price tag. Lonis already has 10th and 9th place finishes in Freezeout tournaments during the 2023 WSOP and will be aiming to further improve on those finishing positions.
Several PLO specialists remain in contention such as Elias Harala (6,575,000), James Park (4,325,000), Adam Hendrix (3,500,000) and Jonas Kronwitter (3,225,000).
Seat Assignments for the Final Day
Casino
Table
Seat
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Blinds
Horseshoe
1
2
Danny Hannawa
United States
6,125,000
25
Horseshoe
1
3
Tyler Smith
United States
14,000,000
56
Horseshoe
1
4
Jonas Kronwitter
Germany
3,225,000
13
Horseshoe
1
5
Kabeelan Rajamurthy
Malaysia
5,400,000
22
Horseshoe
1
6
Anthony Marsico
United States
3,525,000
14
Horseshoe
1
8
James Park
United Kingdom
4,325,000
17
Horseshoe
2
1
Jesse Lonis
United States
8,650,000
35
Horseshoe
2
3
Ian Matakis
United States
2,150,000
9
Horseshoe
2
4
Isaac Haxton
United States
2,500,000
10
Horseshoe
2
7
Elias Harala
Finland
6,575,000
26
Horseshoe
2
8
Adam Hendrix
United States
3,500,000
14
The penultimate tournament day started with a short delay in order to accommodate all late entrants with all but one open seat getting sold. Some of those jumping in at the last minute barely lasted one full level with Eric Rabl and Gjergj Sinishtaj bowing out in the very first hand. Other big names such as Phil Hellmuth, Jason Koon, Erick Lindgren, Josh Arieh, and Bryce Yockey followed their path to the rail soon after.
Often involved in the action was Lonis, who notched up several knockouts along the way and was only overtaken by Smith on the final six tables. As the money bubble drew closer, several big names of the international poker scene all came short of a cash price including Shaun Deeb, Chance Kornuth, 2022 runner-up Dash Dudley, Day 1 chip leader Alex Foxen, and James Obst. The latter was ousted by Smith when the Aussie called off a river shove with two pair and the busted nut flush draw. [Removed:422] was eliminated by Danny Hannawa on the same table shortly after to let the bubble burst.
Notables to bow out thereafter included Anton Morgenstern, Jared Bleznick, Krasimir Yankov, Matthew Wantman, and Eelis Pärssinen. This locked up a cash prize of at least $157,963 for all survivors and the top three finishers will earn seven-figure paydays with $2,303,017 reserved for the eventual champion.
The final 11 players will return to the side feature tables of the Horseshoe Event Center on Sunday, July 2nd, 2023, at 1 p.m. local time. Recommending blinds in level 25 will be 125,000-250,000 with a big blind ante of 250,000. One further redraw awaits with nine hopefuls remaining. All those still in contention by then will also receive an additional eight time eight time bank extensions.
Stay tuned right here on PokerNews for the conclusion of this record-setting $50,000 High Roller.