Ryan Hughes en pole pour le 3e bracelet, Connor Drinan sur ses talons
Poker is a game that requires adaptability and mastering different variants. For the 10 players who will return tomorrow to crown a champion in Event #23: $1,500 Eight-Game Mix, they'll get a chance to prove they can do it better than anyone.
The man leading the way is Ryan Hughes, no stranger to wearing WSOP gold. Hughes is already a two-time bracelet winner and will take the chip lead into tomorrow with 2,534,000. Right behind him is another multiple bracelet winner in Connor Drinan, who finished the day with 1,990,000. Three other bracelet winners made the top-10: Brett Shaffer (800,000), Ryan Leng (770,000), and Dan Zack (384,000).
For Schuyler Thornton, Tyler Willse, Hunter McClelland, George Alexander, and Brandon Bergin, winning the bracelet tomorrow will be a new experience for them. To get this far, they had to navigate a field of 484 players. Day 2 began with 144 players still in the mix, with the money bubble coming at 73rd place.
Day 3 Seat Chart
| Table | Seat | Player | Chip Counts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 154 | 1 | Tyler Willse | 1,165,000 |
| 154 | 2 | George Alexander | 936,000 |
| 154 | 3 | Hunter McClelland | 1,110,000 |
| 154 | 4 | Connor Drinan | 1,990,000 |
| 154 | 5 | Ryan Leng | 770,000 |
| 154 | 6 | empty |
| Table | Seat | Player | Chip Counts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 155 | 1 | empty | |
| 155 | 2 | Brandon Bergin | 934,000 |
| 155 | 3 | Daniel Zack | 384,000 |
| 155 | 4 | Ryan Hughes | 2,534,000 |
| 155 | 5 | Schuyler Thornton | 1,505,000 |
| 155 | 6 | Brett Shaffer | 800,000 |
Notables to fall before the money included Allen "Chainsaw" Kessler, David "Bakes" Baker, and Dutch Boyd. Vu Hoang and Matthew Schultz were both eliminated during hand-for-hand play and shared 73rd place.
From there, the likes of Felipe Ramos (46th), Matt Glantz (42nd), David Williams (41st), and Yuri Dzivielevski (20th) fell by the wayside. Five-time bracelet winner Michael Mizrachi made a run at the final table but was busted by Drinan in 11th place near the end of the night.
The 10 remaining players will return tomorrow and play down to the final table of six and the eventual champion. PokerNews will be there the entire way with live updates and chip counts until the final card is dealt.