After two long weeks at the World Series of Poker Paradise, one of the final marquee events is Event #12: $10,000 GGMillion$ NLH Championship. A total of 532 hopefuls made their way to Atlantis Paradise Island Bahamas over the past two days for a shot at a coveted WSOP gold bracelet along with the first place prize of $807,430.
After a prolonged bubble and early hand-for-hand due to stalling issues, the final 75 players were guaranteed a minimum cash of $22,190. However, just 46 players have kept the dream alive by advancing to Thursday’s Day 3.
Leading the way is Taylor von Kriegenbergh who bagged an impressive 4,360,000. The high-stakes crusher won a massive pot on the soft bubble against Hossein Ensan and never looked back as he continued to apply pressure.
In second place is Germany’s Fabian Niederreiter, who won a massive flip at the end of the night on his way to a bag of 3,345,000. Rounding out the podium in third place is Jesse Lonis (2,520,000), who also won a huge all-in towards the end of play to rise up the counts.
End of Day 2 Top Ten Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Taylor von Kriegenbergh | United States | 4,360,000 | 109 |
| 2 | Fabian Niederreiter | Germany | 3,345,000 | 84 |
| 3 | Jesse Lonis | United States | 2,520,000 | 63 |
| 4 | Anh Do | Czech Republic | 2,220,000 | 56 |
| 5 | Marc Rivera | Philippines | 2,065,000 | 52 |
| 6 | Arthur Conan | France | 1,905,000 | 48 |
| 7 | Rui Neves | Portugal | 1,900,000 | 48 |
| 8 | Matthew McEwan | United States | 1,705,000 | 43 |
| 9 | Colby Covington | United States | 1,565,000 | 39 |
| 10 | Jordan Glazer | United States | 1,555,000 | 39 |
The Day’s Action
Just 419 players came out for the three starting flights of the event, but there were 532 entrants by the end of registration, meaning that over 100 people came in with a stack of less than 17 big blinds. Understandably, the start of the day was characterized by many all-ins and madness throughout the room.
Daniel Negreanu busted his first of three quick bullets on the first hand of the day, and Scott Seiver lasted precisely one hand longer at the same table. The first hour of play was nothing short of musical chairs as the players gambled before the end of registration.
Once the registration period closed, play became much more controlled as the bubble was already within sight.
Stacks became super shallow on the bubble as the reality of a $22,190 minimum cash became more and more real. The floor eventually had to begin hand-for-hand two spots from the money to deter stalling.
After 7 hands of hand-for-hand, it was Justin Zaki who burst the bubble. Both Zaki and Yueqi Zhu were forced all in from the blinds. Zhu hit a gutshot on the turn against the flopped middle pair of Zaki as he hit the rail short of the money.
On the same hand, a potentially legendary moment was taking place at Phil Hellmuth’s table. Chip-leader Taylor von Kriegenbergh jammed the small blind with queen-six and Hellmuth woke up with aces in the big blind. Von Kriegenbergh would turn open-ended but fail to connect on the river as Hellmuth survived the bubble for the first time this series. Hellmuth would go on to bag 1,345,000.
After the bubble burst, a flurry of bustouts quickly followed as so many short stacks had been maintained on the bubble. Eight players busted in the first six minutes of play.
Some of the notable eliminations in the money include Jessica Teusl (73rd), high stakes crushers Byron Kaverman (72nd) and David Peters (70th), and chess star Alexandra Botez (60th), who was eliminated by UFC star Colby Covington.
More bustouts included recent bracelet winner Eric Wasserson (59th), Aram Zobian (53rd), Brek Schutten (52nd), Benny Glaser (49th), and Sergio Aido (48th), who found a small pay ladder to $26,920.
Remaining Payouts
| Place | Prize | Place | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $807,430 | 9 | $100,880 |
| 2 | $622,340 | 10 | $70,930 |
| 3 | $479,890 | 11-12 | $58,310 |
| 4 | $370,040 | 13-16 | $48,060 |
| 5 | $285,340 | 17-22 | $39,620 |
| 6 | $220,030 | 23-32 | $32,660 |
| 7 | $169,660 | 33-46 | $26,920 |
| 8 | $130,830 |
Play resumes for the final 46 tomorrow, Thursday, December 19 at 10 a.m. local time. The action starts in Level 21 with blinds at 20,000/40,000 with a 40,000 big blind ante. Levels will remain at 40 minutes in length, and play will continue until a winner is crowned.
Stay tuned to PokerNews as we bring you all the action through to the conclusion of Event #12: $10,000 GGMillion$ NLH Championship and the other closing events here at WSOP Paradise.
