Today is a big day for those looking for poker glory and a big payday with many big WSOP events taking place at GGPoker.
One of the biggest events for four-card players resumed today with Event #42: $400 PLOSSUS kicking off at 7 p.m. GMT/3 p.m. EDT.
The event's lofty $1 million guarantee was smashed with 4,356 entrants joining in on the action during the 15 opening flights to generate a $1,637,856 prize pool.
The field has already been trimmed to just 642 players with 548 players guaranteed a $938 payday.
Finnish poker legend Juha Helppi is in good shape in his quest to win his second bracelet this festival in PLO and third overall bracelet as he heads into the second day with a chip leading stack of 1,410,836.
He followed that up last week online by winning his second bracelet in Event #35: $5,000 PLO Championship for $290,286 payday.
Players closest on Helppi's tail are "Katya 21" (1,344,176), "Vasooli Bhai" (1,286,969), and "Kultti" (1,280,775).
Today's six-max PLO action features 15-minute blind levels starting at 4,500/9,000 and will continue until the nine-max final table is reached at which point all remaining players will be guaranteed at least $14,597.
The final table will be live-streamed on Saturday, August 1 with hole cards displayed on GGPoker.tv.
Tomorrow's eventual winner will go home not only with a huge $221,557 top prize but also a WSOP Europe package valued at $15,000 and a coveted WSOP gold bracelet shipped to their doorstep.
Stay tuned at PokerNews to see who makes the final table in the $400 PLOSSUS at GGPoker.
Fedor Holz opened to 60,000 from the small blind and was called by Andras Nemeth in the big blind.
Holz bet 90,000 after the came on the flop and Nemeth called. Holz then fired out for a pot-sized bet of 300,000 after the appeared on the turn and Nemeth called again.
The completed the board on the river and Holz bet the pot of 900,000 leaving just 92,215 behind. Nemeth used a bit of his time bank before he made the call.
Holz turned over for a straight and won a huge pot after Nemeth turned over to propel up to second place in the tournament.
Nemeth then dusted off the rest of his short stack the next hand but did manage a pay jump going out in 304th place with the top 305 players guaranteed at least a $1,300 payout.
Justin "LappyPoker" Lapka opened to 200,000 from the button and was called by Fedor Holz in the big blind.
Holz check-raised the flop from 220,000 to 1,100,000. Lapka bet big and Holz called for for an additional 834,720 more he had left in his stack.
Justin "LappyPoker" Lapka:
Fedor Holz:
Both players held the same two pair when the chips were committed. However, Holz improved to a straight after the came on the turn followed by the on the river.
Juha Helppi entered today as the chip leader in hopes of securing his third WSOP gold bracelet and his second this year at GGPoker.
Unfortunately for the Finn, he will instead have to settle with the 65th place prize of $2,580.
Helppi opened to 360,000 from under the gun and was called by Phil Kessel in the big blind.
Kessel checked after the came on the flop and Helppi bet 585,000. Kessel jammed more than enough to cover the nearly 1.1 million chips Helppi had behind and got a call.
Juha Helppi:
Phil Kessel:
Kessel won the hand after the came on the turn followed by the on the river.
However, our coverage just got amped up a little! Besides our traditional updates, the PokerNews Twitch stream is back to bring direct you coverage from the digital arena.
PokerNews will be streaming on most Sundays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays, focusing on all the action over at GGPoker. The stream will be hosted by PokerNews's Social Media manager Jesse Fullen and an array of co-hosts will rotate in and out alongside him to commentate on the action.
"kidrurim" opened for 600,000 from under the gun before Fedor Holz raised to 2,250,000 from the button.
Simon Higgins used his entire time bank before he called off his stack of 842,760 from the big blind and "kidrurim" also made the call.
"kidrurim" fired out for 5,492,760 after the came on the flop. Holz jammed for 6,620,484 and the cards were turned over after "kidrurim" made the call.
Fedor Holz:
Simon Higgins:
"kidrurim":
Higgins and "kidrurim" chopped the main pot with two-pair after the came on the turn followed by the on the river and Holz was eliminated in 28th place.
Meanwhile, "kidrurim" catapulted into the chip lead after the hand.
Brazil's Yuri Dzivielevski emerged from the Day 2 field in the WSOP Event #42 $400 PLOSSUS on Sunday after virtually bagging a healthy stack of 51,590,103 in chips into the nine-max final table taking place at GGPoker on Saturday, Aug. 1 at 7 p.m. GMT.
Dzivielevski is looking for his second taste at WSOP gold to add to the bracelet he won last year live in Las Vegas after shipping WSOP Event #51: $2,500 Mixed Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better, Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better for $213,750.
He will be competing for even more this time around as Saturday's final table will award a huge first-place prize of $221,557 along with a WSOP Europe package valued at $15,000.
Dzivielevski is no stranger to online poker and is one of the most experienced pros in the game. He was ranked as the top online tournament player in the world at PocketFives several times in 2014 and 2015 and is impressively currently ranked in seventh place in the world.
Regardless of how it turns out, Dzivielevski will add to his nearly $7 million in tracked online scores.
Closest on Dzivielevski's tail are Gabi "kidrurim" Livshitz (second - 38,927,193), Tautvydas "GuliGul" Jokubauskas (third - 24,393,060), Samuel "vivaegipto" Bernabeu (fourth - 20,357,958), and Chad "ThefastLayne" Layne (fifth - 21,793,958).
2020 WSOP $400 PLOSSUS Final Table Chip Counts
Place
Player
Country
Chips
Blinds
1
Yuri Dzivielevski
Brazil
51,590,103
64
2
Gabi "kidrurim" Livshitz
Israel
38,927,193
49
3
Tautvydas "GuliGul" Jokubauskas
Argentina
24,393,060
30
4
Samuel "vivaegipto" Bernabeu
Spain
20,357,958
25
5
Chad "ThefastLayne" Layne
United States
21,793,740
27
6
Dustin "JohnSmiley1" Dirksen
United States
16,719,743
21
7
Matt "DNSFD" Vengrin
United States
17,046,432
21
8
Marcus "Phil Kessel" Cara
Canada
14,015,112
18
9
Juan "Darth Vador" Perez
Mexico
12,500,374
16
Day 2 Recap
The PLOSSUS attracted a huge field of 4,356 entrants during its 15 opening flights. This was trimmed down to 642 players with 538 players guaranteed at least a min-cash of $938.
Finnish poker veteran Juha Helppi entered the day with the chip lead in hopes to put himself in a good position to win his third career bracelet.
He followed that up last week online by winning his second bracelet in Event #35: $5,000 PLO Championship for $290,286 payday.
Helppi made a deep run but his dreams were shattered after Michael "Phil Kessel" Cara ousted him in 65th place for $2,580.
Day 2 began at a fast and furious pace. The money bubble quickly broke during the third blind level of the day after Pablo Silva was eliminated in 549th place.
The pay jumps were quickly increasing throughout the day and in addition to Day 1 chip leader Helppi, all eyes were on GGPoker Ambassador Fedor Holz who was consistently piling on chips throughout the day.
Eventually, Holz's run for WSOP gold came to an end as he bowed out in 28th place for $3,649 in a three-way pot with Livshitz claiming the lion share in the side pot and splitting a smaller main pot with Simon Higgins.
Final Table Payouts
The final table kicks off on Saturday with the conclusion of Level 24 with blinds at 400,000/800,000.
All returning players are guaranteed at least a payout of $14,597 with everyone having their eyes on winning the coveted WSOP gold bracelet on the line along with a $221,557 top prize and a WSOP Europe package valued at $15,000.
Place
Prize
1
$221,557*
2
$165,147
3
$116,777
4
$82,573
5
$58,388
6
$41,287
7
$29,194
8
$20,643
9
$14,597
*The winner will also receive a WSOP Europe Package valued at $15,000 and a WSOP gold bracelet.
Join PokerNews on Saturday, Aug. 1 at 7 p.m. GMT / 3 p.m. EDT to see who will win the 2020 WSOP PLOSSUS at GGPoker.