Jonathan Witz mène à 18 left; Matusow et Elezra visent un 5e bracelet
After an action-filled day at the tables of the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino, the Event #45: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship has not only reached the money but was whittled down all the way to just 18 remaining contenders out of a field of 344 entries. They have all locked up a portion of the $3,207,800 prize pool in the latest high-stakes contest of the 2021 World Series of Poker in Las Vegas.
With plenty of big names still in contention, the action throughout the day was dominated by Jonathan Witz and Chris Sandrock, who finished in first and third place respectively. Witz topped the counts with a stack of 2,620,000 as he edged past Arthur Morris (2,390,000) while Sandrock occupies the final spot on the podium with 1,900,000 in chips.
Six WSOP bracelet winners bagged up chips including Daniel Zack and Tommy Le, who are both inside of the overnight top 10. Zack already has six cashes to his name during the in-person festival including a fourth place finish in Event #23: $1,500 Eight Game Mix 6-Handed. Le came narrowly close to double his bracelet tally after his runner-up finish to Josh Arieh in Event #39: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha.
Meanwhile, both Eli Elezra and Mike Matusow are still in the mix and are hunting for their fifth taste at WSOP gold.
Top 10 Chip Counts in Event #45: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship
| Place | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jonathan Witz | United States | 2,620,000 | 105 |
| 2 | Arthur Morris | United States | 2,390,000 | 96 |
| 3 | Chris Sandrock | United States | 1,900,000 | 76 |
| 4 | Daniel Zack | United States | 1,845,000 | 74 |
| 5 | Kyle Montgomery | United States | 1,430,000 | 57 |
| 6 | Artem Maksimov | Russia | 1,400,000 | 56 |
| 7 | Anderson Ireland | United States | 1,305,000 | 52 |
| 8 | Nader Younes | United States | 1,190,000 | 48 |
| 9 | Tommy Le | United States | 1,000,000 | 40 |
| 10 | Jordan Spurlin | United States | 960,000 | 38 |
The top 52 finishers cashed for at least $16,141 and among those to reach the money and come up shy of making Day 3 were notables such as Jim Collopy, Randy Ohel, Brandon Shack-Harris, Toby Lewis, JC Tran, David Benyamine, Adam Hendrix, John Racener, and the reigning WSOP Player of the Year Robert Campbell.
Before the cards went in the air, another 27 players entered with a fresh stack of 60,000 and many of them vanished quickly without anything to show for. Shiva Dudani, Stephen Chidwick, and Rok Gostisa were the only late entrants to reach the money. Among the dozens of Day 2 casualties was also the defending champion Dash Dudley.
Former $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship bracelet winner Jan-Peter Jachtmann was one of many contenders who sent over his chips to Sandrock, who entered Day 2 with the biggest stack and was unfazed by all the big names that appeared on his tables throughout the ten levels of 60 minutes each. Sandrock was the first player to reach a seven-figure stack and remained in the top five for the entire duration.
The money bubble burst on the first hand after the dinner break when Brian Okin was ousted by Brandon Schaefer. Casualties thereafter came at a rapid pace and some notable hands included the elimination of David Benyamine, the dramatic double knockout of Adam Hendrix and John Racener via rivered quads for Daniel Zack, as well as the exit of Robert Campbell against PLO aficionado Tommy Le.
The remaining 18 players will play down to the final five as of 2 p.m. local time on Monday, Oct. 25, and the recommencing blinds on Level 21 will be 10,000/25,000 with a big blind ante of 25,000. Stay tuned then to find out right here on PokerNews who makes the cut for the live-streamed showdown on the following day.